Of hijackers and doctors
One of my cousins, who happens to be a doctor, was severely beaten with iron rod by some hijackers in broad daylight and all his belongings were taken away. The miscreants hit him on this leg, back and head. And his hand also got fractured as he tried to shield his head with his hand from the iron rod. He was profusely bleeding from his fractured skull. The pedestrians as usual did not bother to get into trouble by helping him. With no money in pocket he had to walk on his wounded leg. Barely conscious, he made it to a nearby hospital.
The hospital authority outright declined to give any assistance as he had no money. He gave his identity to his fellow professionals which did not help much. At last he had to beg them to make a phone call before he gets unconscious which would mean certain death surrounded by the ‘life savers’ who were getting annoyed by the empty-pocketed troublemaker. He assured them of bearing all the expenses once he contacted his relatives. Dazed, he had hard time remembering the phone number. The busy people at the hospital were planning to call the security at this point. Finally, he made the phone call and relatives rushed with money for his rescue.
There is not much to say about the increasing number of hijackers and snatchers prowling in the midst of ‘the emergency’. What intrigues me is that it seems the first lesson our would-be doctors are given is that first check the wallet of the patient and then decide to proceed. May be, I will ask my cousin when he comes round.
Saif
Dhaka
Democratisation of politics against
criminalisation of politics
Despite all its failures democracy is still the only option the mass people of Bangladesh opt for. How sugar-coated may be the words of the unelected people they are not deluded by them. Because, they know the original face of the unelected people will be exposed with the passage of time.
Historically, people of this part of the world showed their preference for democracy through movements against all kinds of unfair rules and policies.
But, the much-talked-about ‘failure of democracy’ during the last few years was caused mostly by the criminals in the disguise of politicians. We saw genuine political leaders also patronised criminals to survive and the criminals turned into politicians. Especially, the top three political parties were almost in a race of hiring criminals.
I work in an industrial area. I see local miscreants coming here to take unfair advantage from the industries and introducing themselves as presidents, secretaries etc. of either of the top two parties or their front organisations. The same situation is prevailing in all the industrial areas as far as I know. Investors are also helpless because complaining to police may give them relief for some days under this changed situation but will invite more troubles if the old situation returned. The same are applicable in case of VAT and customs people. Investors are paying them bribes as usual, but stealthily.
People welcomed 1/11 because they wanted to see an end to all the irregularities that were taking place either because of patronisation of the political parties or for their inabilities to check those.
Today or tomorrow, we will go back to elected system of government and emergency rules will be lifted. But, how will we get rid of the sufferings caused by the miscreants and dishonest employees of the regulatory bodies are still unsettled. Arresting a few is not a permanent solution.
We feel a system should be developed to check these common sufferings, otherwise mere election will not ensure our democratic rights. Some guidelines should be there in selecting party leaders. In regulatory bodies, we can think of restricting discretionary power. But on top of everything, press freedom should be ensured and the media’s opinion should be evaluated with due importance.
Imtiaz
Uttara, Dhaka
