Star Diary

JOY OF A FATHER

Last Friday, my one and only son got his first salary from his office.  With the small amount that he received, he bought a Panjabi for me, a saree for her mother and a dress for his little sister. I was very much delighted seeing his sense of responsibility and concern for us. The moment he got me the gifts, I became very emotional thinking my little son has grown up and started thinking for his family. Actually, this joy of a father cannot be described in words. This is a heavenly feeling. Parents raise their children up with proper education for them to have a better future. But when the children start taking responsibility of their parents and family, that becomes a proud moment for their parents.  
Alamgir Kabir
Madhupur, Tangail

THE DARKER SIDE OF OUR MODERN WORLD

Bithi sat in front of me with her runny nose talking about her coughs pausing for some time to breathe through her mouth since she had a partially blocked nose to deal with. My five year old patient lived in a slum near Bijoy Sharani and came to the health camp that was set up on Victory Day last year. When I asked her if she had any other complain, she showed her feet and my heart skipped a beat after what I saw. A huge chunk of her sole was missing and the wound had clotted blood and dirt all over it. She said to me a cat in her locality bit her left foot when she prodded the cat with a stick to get her attention. As she went to her mother with the wounded feet, her mother beat her with the same stick and later gave her some "lobon pora" and that's it. Her neighbour was waiting in line behind her with her toddler on her lap. When I asked her neighbour about the incident she found the incident highly amusing and did not take it seriously at all. I explained to them why it was important to take her to a hospital immediately and finally they realized the gravity of the situation. Our teacher who was present there immediately referred her to the Infectious Disease Hospital but Bithi had to wait for her mother to come back home to take her there. There are hundreds of kids in the streets going through the same situation and unaware of the grievous outcome of animal bites. We are raising awareness through various organizations and we are working on various situations to put an end to this darker part of the society. It is important to reach out to everyone so that no one is left behind, and no other Bithi is left unattended.
Fabiha Tanzeem
Purana Paltan. Dhaka