Star Diary

Where are we heading?

It was a Thursday morning and I was in my class. Eventhough all the other schools were closed that day due to Union Parisad Election, we decided to keep our kindergarten open. Suddenly a woman rushed into our school premises wailing. I did not know her but I felt sympathy for her. Abdur Rahman, another teacher of our school happened to know her well. She was mother of Asadullah, a student in class three. When we asked her what happened, she replied that her nephew had just been shot at the nearby polling station in Madhurchar. Now she asked for permission for Asadullah to go with her to her bothers home. Immediately we allowed him to go with his mother. While going back the woman asked for 'Dua' again and again for his nephew. 

The next day I was shocked looking at the news on the first page of The Daily Star titled 'A grief stricken father wailing touching the face of his son...' Even before we could overcome the grief of Shohagi Jahan Tonu's death, we were again hit by the killing of Shuvo Kazi Shrabon, a ten year old school boy, who got killed by a stray bullet in the up election violence. What was his crime? All he wanted was to go to the polling centre and see people vote. In the afternoon as I went out for a walk, I saw many people enjoying the victory of their candidates. I did not feel happy, even for a moment. In fact Shrabon's face kept haunting me again and again. I remembered his parent shocked at the untimely death of their beloved son. How long do we have to wait to see violence-free election in our country? 
Enamul Hasan
Ashabus Suffah Kindergarten, Karaniganj, Dhaka   

AN OUTRAGEOUS ENCOUNTER

Last Thursday as I was about to get out of my car, when three women came rushing to me and threatened me rudely,  "If you don't give us money, a black snake living inside this wooden box will bite you and kill you."  I looked at them in surprise as one of them demanded five hundred taka from me. I told her that I am a student and I do not have the money. Then another woman commanded her companion to throw faeces at me and jeered such a way that boiled my blood. The bystanders just watched silently, in fact there were a few policemen standing nearby. Their attitude confirmed that such incidents take place everyday. To my utter horror, the moment those women saw another boy of my age some distance away; they ran towards him. I was disgusted by the way these women were earning money. All of them looked physically fit to earn their livelihood some other way instead of carrying a fake snake with them.  
Esaba Ahnaf
Maple Leaf  International School, Dhaka