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All that glitters...

Shahnoor Wahid
FINALLY we have set real life example of what the famous line, "All that glitters is not gold" means. We have presented gold plated crests to foreign dignitaries that were made with 75% less gold than what has been declared by the organisers! Yes, you heard that right, 75% of gold is missing from the crest given to the foreign freedom fighters whom we had honoured some months back. Even the amount of silver is also much less than what has been declared. And none other than the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) authorities unearthed the scam which has been published by Prothom Alo on April 6.
Reportedly, suppliers in cahoots with some staff members of the department concerned did this to earn a hefty amount each at the cost of our national pride, prestige and sentiment. This has no doubt taken corruption in this country to the highest level indeed. Had he been around, Greek conqueror Alexander would have uttered in total disgust, "I am not surprised any more Seleucus. I have had my fill. Let's get out of this darn hole." What beats us is that those people who "minted" money in such a lowly way possibly talk about morality, ethics and righteousness with their children every day.
This horrendous incident urges me to call up everyone from the literary, agriculture, business, sports and cultural arenas to take the gold crest or gold medal they received from various local organisations to a goldsmith and have them checked. If our gold-hungry brothers can do such a shameful thing to our foreign guests, they can do even worse to our own people. We really should "dig" deep to find out how much gold is there under the surface.
We know sportsmen and women in the Olympics or other big international events playfully bite on gold medals, but that's not really done to express any doubt. Firsdy, the event organisers wouldn't do something like what our brothers did without any qualms. Secondly, there are layers of checking and rechecking to ensure that the medals contain the exact amount of gold that is supposed to be there. But, who knows? If the news from Bangladesh gets front page coverage in those countries, players might actually bite harder to check for themselves the authenticity of the medals. And from here on maybe foreign guests will bite on the gold crests to ensure there is gold in them!
Gold has this strange influence on people. Novels, short stories and historical facts would tell us a lot about this strange metal. Mighty kingdoms have fallen for possessing enormous quantities of gold. Incas died by the thousands for the gold they possessed. Pyramid diggers dared to venture into the labyrinth only for the gold of the dead Pharaohs. Nothing could dissuade them from going into the graves again and again. Alchemists of the dark ages tried to create gold in their laboratories.
Goldfinger, the villain in the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, poured hundred percent authentic liquid gold on his victims. He could save money by making an alloy with less costly metals but he had to prove his class so he never opted for less when it came to killing. Sadly enough, even a villain rates better than our greedy officials. When the family members buried the mummified bodies of the Pharaohs in the depth of pyramids they decorated the lifeless form with pure gold ornaments. Gold was precious even in those days and had to be ferried in from distant lands. And yet, to save money or to make money, the followers did not use anything below the purest of gold. 1 am sure when the Pharaohs offered foreign guests a gift made with gold it contained 100% and not 25% gold.
So, our villains have made big money by cheating some elderly and respected foreign guests who risked their lives for the liberation of this country 43 years ago. Have these villainous men become richer? Are they happier now? Will they pay the school fees of their children with that money? What if those children one day read about it? Wil) they have any respect for their parents for doing such a dastardly thing? The writer Is Special Supplement Editor, The Daily Star.