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Musing in mid-afternoon

Shahnoor Wahid
I once again swallow the bitter truth....anything Incomprehensible is possible in Bangladesh, if only one can spend the right kind of money. Money indeed can fetch "tiger milk," as the saying goes. There arc people in this country who would cut open their mothers' throat if given the demanded amount. They would create a false document of owning government property with the help of some* government officials and sell plots to willing buyers. They would grab forests and riverbanks and then go to a seminar to talk against grabbing and river pollution. These are some of our incorrigible VIPs and CIPs (Funny, there are no AIPs --Agriculturally Important Persons --though they work hard to fill our stomach.)
So long, cows, heroin, yaba, speed, phensydil, small arms, trucks-load of assault rifles, grenades and rocket launchers were smuggled into the country. But now things have gone one scale up. Now, mafia dons are being smuggled into Bangladesh! What an achievement! We wake up one morning and come to know that mid-level dons, wanted in some foreign land, have started to cross over the borders with the help of their local cohorts. Who cares what damage those dons would do to the country? I need money and I would do anything to get it. Simple equation.
The arrested pati-dons have confessed their links with big dons, who are trying to set up a base or a network in Bangladesh with the help of some local businessmen and politicians. Ah! Notice how these people are always behind all sorts of nuisance! Anything coldssally scandalous, be sure the nexus of corrupt politicians and unscrupulous businessmen is there to reap benefit. 1 wonder, where their allegiance lies!
So, we wait for the drama to unfold the many mysteries involving the arrested pati-dons. We hope no one, no "influential quarter," will interfere in the investigation process. We hope we will know about those local businessmen and politicians who sold their souls to the devil. We hope the findings won't be brushed under the rug to save somebody's son or brother or brother-in-law. Remember, sons, brothers and brothers-in-law of politicians and top bureaucrats are a dangerous lot. They can be the cause of "The Fall of the Roman Empire."
The parliamentary sub-committee has taken the decision to ask the "terri ble trio" to return Tk. 1.36 crore, the amount they had taken from the public exchequer as fuel allowance. But cynics are keeping their fingers crossed, speculating that no one will cough up a single penny. Why? Because those who have taken the easy-comc-easy-take money still believe they had the "right" to take it. They also conveniently thought that taking furniture and upholstery from government quarters to their houses was their birth "right." How can you drill a sense of propriety into those thick skulls?
Looks like they have not learned any lesson from the recent debacle in the British Parliament. Actually, when it comes to money, all equations change
abruptly. The recent news clipping from a British newspaper will throw some light on the ludicrous side of the whole affair. The Sunday Telegraph news item reads: "Labour MP Frank Cook has apologised for apparently trying to claim back from the taxpayer a £5 donation he made during a church service to commemorate the Battle of Britain."
"Mr. Cook said he had 'no recollection' of asking to be reimbursed, but accepted that the newspaper would not have invented the claim. T don't know how it happened. I have no recollection of it in 26 years in Westminster, you will find no other claim from me on any kind of offertory donation or wreath for a funeral or memorial service....! don't know how it happened, it is wrong that it happened, I can't explain it and I am sorry that it has happened. I can't give any better explanation because 1 don't have one.... 1 am responsible. That's it. I can't explain it. I'm sorry." Wow! At least there is some form of humility there!
A nation obsessed with litigation?
If you notice keenly, filing a case in a court of law seems to have become a pastime for the majority of the people of this country. Every day someone or the other is filing a case against someone or the other to send him or her to jail. On the other hand, every day people are running to the courts to get someone or the other released from jail. Imagine the man-hour we thus lose every day running to and from police stations, courts, lawyer's chamber and then jail!
Plaintiffs also withdraw cases on incomprehensible grounds. Why did they have to file a case in the first place? Well, it is a pastime, so they had nothing better to do perhaps. In this country of litigation-loving people, you will find dozens of cases filed against people ranging from our Jogai and Madhai to prime ministers, ministers, MPs and businessmen. But, dear litigators, if you could sit down with a cool head, you could settle many smaller issues outside the courts. Give it a thought, please. Shahnoor Wahid is a Senior Assistant Editor of The Dary Star He can be contacted at shahnoorwahid @ yahoo co iA