Hartal: Suffering of a working woman

It was ten past nine at the morning in Dhaka. I got prepared for my office before one hour. It was raining cats and dogs outside. The strong wind was frequently changing direction. In normal (non-hartal) rainy days, I could phone a taxi cab and go to the office or could send someone to bring a baby taxi. But it was a hartal day. I had no other choice other than going out in the rain. Umbrella did not help much. I had to get a rickhshaw. It did carry me to my office (a long journey of more than one hour), but wasn't able to protect me from rain. It is not a good experience for a woman to work a full day with wet cloths.

Shiekh Hasina is a woman. Will she understand how a working woman like me suffers from her hartals?

Dalia Satter

Dhaka

The never ending cycle

4th of July 2002-- the 226th Independence Day of the USA. For

Bangladesh, it is simply another hartal day. Our politics is about a never-ending cycle of lies, lies and more lies. On 3rd July night BTV ran a short documentary on Sheikh Hasina's promise of "No Hartal" while campaigning for the October 2001 elections. It is not only an undying cycle of lies, it is one of ironies, contradictions and more lies. Being the opposition, you must call a hartal every month and being the government, it is your 'duty' to let the public know the oppositions' flaws. The foreign media is ready to pounce upon any mistake by the government of Bangladesh, as we all are aware of. Our country is only 30 years old and we have just realised that we are not even sure who declared Independence in 1971.

Our reputation is also on the decline in many countries. Add to that the economic, health and security problem the country is facing every single day. Miracle is not the answer as something like that would be called a "propaganda". I am sorry to point out the negatives, but that is the way it is.

Haji Mohammad Isam

Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Hartals aren't what they used to be!

I was quiet disappointed on July 4 when I took my car out to get to the office at 9:30 in the morning. There was a traffic jam as rickshaws, tempos, buses, cars, ambulances and vans plied nonchalantly on the road utterly defying the "hartal" call. By the time I reached the office, I had to circle around the office building a couple of times looking for a place to park!

Whatever happened to the good old days when hartals meant roads would be filled with pedestrians and rickshaws? One could breathe clean air, relish the long rickhshaw rides, enjoy the sound of "silence" as the city would unwind and lay back all because of the strike!

My point to Shiekh Hasina/Khaleda Zia is that if reasons for a hartal are not strong enough or if you don't have the power to see it through, don't bother at all! People no longer care, and the impact it once had is now gone.

Farhan Quddus

Old D.O.H.S. Dhaka

No foreign magazines!

I can't believe that the present government has decided to tax so heavily of foreign magazines such as Times, NewsWeek, Reader's Digest etc.

These foreign publications are an extremely good source for our youths in learning what is going around the world and also improving their English speaking or reading ability. This tax on knowledge is not going to do any good rather it will isolate the Bengali citizens from the surrounding world. I would like to make a request to all the honourable and learned MPs in the parliament--if you really love Bangladesh and want this country to prosper "Please don't tax on knowledge".

Rubayet Ahmed

New York, USA

"The Drama at the DMCH”

Your editorial of June 30, "The drama at the DMCH" really touched me. What a society we live in! It is worthwhile to reproduce a part of the editorial "what we need to do is to

ask ourselves what sort of society we have built, where a mother is forced to give away her child for money. It may hurt us deeply but we must come face to face with the fact that there is a bottom tier of our population who are victims of extreme poverty and to whom neither the NGOs, and far less the government have been able to reach. The large number of women and children who are trafficked abroad are part of the same phenomenon of trade in human beings that exists in our country".

Such problems must be given priorities and has to be tackled from all possible angels. The civil society cannot shelve its responsibility towards the ill, the old, the infirm, and the unemployed. The mother and the abandoned child are our social responsibility.

Shahabuddin Mahtab

Dhaka

Ban student and teacher politics

My heartfelt congratulations to our PM for her proposal to ban student and teacher politics to save our educational institutions from ruin.

However, I am deeply shocked to learn that our Leader of the Opposition opposed this important and timely proposal put forward in the JS. It is well known to all that the present student politics is the root of all violent activities such as killings, kidnappings, illegal toll collections, and tender snatching in the campuses. Unfortunately, political parties support campus politics.

I urge all political parties to be sincere in reaching a consensus on this vital issue to ban the student and teacher politics immediately for the greater national interests.

M. S. Uddin

Nagoya, Japan

BRTC taxicabs

I just saw an ad in the paper by the BRTC for the supply of 500 taxicabs.

This is intrinsically wrong on so many levels. Why on earth should we expand another state parasite? The way the BRTC works is buy, use and throw away. Look at the Volvo buses, which have been plying our streets for these last few months. Already they are showing wear and tear far more than normal. The Ashok Leyland buses bought a year ago are half wrecked already.

Now they are buying another 500 taxicabs. Why not let the private sector provide this service? Even more interesting, the taxicabs are not even CNG. If this state parasite must expand its fief then why not at least in environmentally friendly cars?

Just goes to show that the right hand of this government doesn't know what the left is doing.

Cervantes

Dhaka

To help yourself help the helpers

With the reference to the letters 'Helping the helping hands' I was shocked on Ms Basmiah Jahir's opinion that the government should step up about the issue. According to her the general mass of Bangladesh will act properly after only getting the nicest advice from our very kind and respected government.

Ms Jahir probably is not aware of the fact that our government and the leading opposition party both are very busy in restoring the stature and rights of their past leaders. So,

Ms. Basmiah, you are doing a good job by being nice towards your household helpers. Our small efforts will definitely bring change in the lives of the people of our country, without the help of the people of the government. Let us not judge what others are doing but judge what we have done for others. Let's not be disappointed by others and let's not become the disappointment of others.

One simple point everybody does not understand is that by helping our poor helpers we are actually helping ourselves, which Ms. Shahrin Hussain Tania wanted to say. For example, one of my close relatives always behaves in such a way that so within one week the domestic aides leave her house. With no helpers she then has to do all the work by herself. But again when she gets any helpers she forgets her hardship and repeats the same mistake. Being harsh on the helpless helpers she becomes the ultimate sufferer.

M. S. Hamid (Bobby)

Old DOHS, Dhaka