Time to rebuild trust

Rumi Ahmed

Published in the Daily Star on 25 March 2009.

One’s life is in the other’s hands. Photo: AFP

I teach applied lung physiology to over 200 first year medical students in the United States. Every year I start the class with a confession and an apology. My students pay $40,000 a year only as tuition. An overwhelming majority of these students finish medical school with an average loan of $200,000.

‘We are poor, but are we not human?’

Asif Saleh and Rumi Ahmed

Published in the Daily Star on 24 March 2009.

 

Unattended and uncared for.

Every Saturday our prime minister speaks directly to the common people for a few hours and hears their grievances, and later asks the relevant ministry to take action on these matters.

Yesterday was one such day. I wasn’t there. But if I were, what would I tell the PM?

Violence is not the only way to be heard

Asif Saleh

Published in the Guardian on 13 March 2009.

After the border guards’ mutiny, Bangladeshi politicians have to ensure disgruntled sections of society feel they have a voice.

Justice with due process

Asif Saleh and Jalal Alamgir

Published in the Daily Star on 9 Mar 2009.

NEVER did we think that we would be haunted with mass graves in independent Bangladesh. Never did we think that we would have to unearth mutilated, bayonet-torn dead bodies. And yet, today, we are assaulted once again by mass graves and the cold-blooded murder of our army officers, their families, and civilians.

We mourn our loss. We offer prayers in solidarity with the families and their loved ones. And in no uncertain terms, we want the killers responsible to be brought to justice.

I want to believe

Jyoti Rahman

Published in the Daily Star on 8 Mar 2009.

On that day, no soul shall be wronged; and you shall not be rewarded aught but that which you did. (The Quran, 36: 54).

Surah Yasin is usually recited in Muslim households when someone passes away. The above-quoted ayaat from the surah has been in my mind lately. I want to believe those words, not just in the promised day of reckoning, but here and now, in this People’s Republic of ours.

Bangladesh faces security crisis

In the aftermath of mutiny, US and Britain should continue supporting democracy.

Jalal Alamgir

Published by Globalpost on 2 March 2009.

How Devolution Can Change Our Politics

Jyoti Rahman

Published in the Daily Star Forum, March 2009.

This piece examines the benefits of spreading out political power.