MAILBOX

Tech zombies

Nowadays we can judge a person easily by their social media activities. It seems as if we are being controlled by devices—whether it be a family gathering or a vacation with friends—as we are busier sharing the best moments on social media to let people know what we are doing rather than enjoying the trip or spending time with family. Children are not getting properly nurtured and aren't properly bonding with parents, while toddlers calm down with smartphones. A point will come when parents regret this. We have lost the ability to think nowadays as most of us pass a major portion of our free time on social media. Social media controls our minds to such an extent that we are always anxious to know about other people's whereabouts. Use of devices has also deteriorated our health. It manifests through neck pain, eyesight problems, and wrist problems. We can't live without social media but surely, we can exert control over ourselves and not become tech zombies.

Rafid Alam

Mohammadpur, Dhaka

Women writing the war

Treatment of women writers in comparison to male writers, with regard to war literature, can be varied. But the contribution of women to warfare literature is not less than that of male writers. The complexities faced after the war are highlights of several texts by women writers. The difficulties faced in the aftermath are not inferior in any way. Where male writers overwhelmingly tend to lead with "heroic masculinity", women writers tend to delve into life behind the battlefield. The binary oppositional views of warfare reflect through their literature in a parallel way. Therefore, there is nothing to be judged. The article published on September 7 in Star Weekend is featured with an attempt to amend the negotiated minds. Literature penned by either a male or a female writer should be counted equally.

Joshinta Areng

Notre Dame University, Dhaka

Giving bribes

I once lost my university identity card, and had to make a general diary in order to get a new ID from my university. I immediately ran to the nearest police station and to my surprise I saw a school boy was being yelled at by a police ASI for the same thing. Then I had to tell the ASI that even I had come there to file a report on my lost ID card. I wasn't even finished when he started shouting at me too. After shouting, he then told me to write an application and submit it to the police officer. The police officer also asked me for a bribe directly and despite the fact that I was a student, I had to give him Tk 200.

When I was processing my passport back in 2013, I was supposed to give Tk 6,900 whereas I had to give Tk 3,100 extra as a bribe. I had to give another Tk 2,000 taka to an SB officer for my passport verification. I was bound to give this money because I heard people saying that if I don't bribe them they would create hassles in my passport processing. Bribe has indeed become an unofficial establishment in the country.

But it is also true that only a few days back, people younger than me showed us how to run a country without law enforcement agencies. We have considered the bribe as part of our daily life. I still dream that maybe someday Bangladesh will be one of the least corrupt countries.

Maria Zaman

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Dhaka