A schoolteacher's woes

      I Would advise , based on the 'letter to the editor' published on October 12 in a local English daily, the teacher, who has been subjected to totally illegal and unethical salary deduction for the whole month just for one day's absence to the nearest labour court' against the school authorities for violation of the labour law and the standing orders act of Bangladesh.
      Even domestic helps cannot be treated in such a manner. Further, he will not need any lawyer to represent himself in the labour court . He can do it himself , and he will be given a due hearing.
      All said and done, it was an inhuman and cruel act on the part of the school management; and they should be ashamed of themselves. The matter needs to be investigated but the nearest upazila nirbahi officer should be duly informed by the complainant , to get fair play and justice.
      I hope and pray that the teacher concerned qualifies in the BCS examinations and then hopefully, in good time, he will be able to drive home the ideas of justice and fair-play, to the high handed members of the school committee.
    

The Nobel Peace Prize and the message

      The Nobel committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 is to be divided in three equal parts between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their non - violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work. The committee has cited in delivering awards through press release that we cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influnce developments at all levels of society.
     If we look at the careers of this year's winners, we find that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, is known as the 'Iron Lady' by her supporters.She was imprisoned in the 1980s for criticising the military regime of Samual Doe and then backed Charles Taylor's rebellion before falling out with him and being charged with treason after he become president. In 2009, Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended that she be barred from office for 30 years for her role in backing Taylor, who is currently on trial for war crimes in The Hague. Despite the popular appeal of her opponent, analysts say she won because of background as a development economist. Sirleaf, a divorcee whose exhusband died a few years ago, is the mother of four sons and has six grandchildren. 'When the plane hasn't landed yet, don't change the pilots.' her posters say.

Our children , our asset

        A child has the right to be born safely anywhere in the world. He or she will become a human through learning many things for leading a life in the society, community , state finally, the world. According to United Nations Declaration of the Right of the Child, 'Every child, without dis any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights of the Child,'Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these right, without distinction or discrimination on account of race,colour,sex,language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family.' Every country should strictly follow this declaration as a member of the United Nations.
       A child has a right to be education, cared for and protected , no matter wherever in the world it lives, as well as the right to have fun , learn and express itself. In reality , we see children in the garment factories, workshop, construction site, hand - made cigarette factories, roadside restaurants and the agricultural sector in our country. Children work as bus or three-wheeler helpers, street vendors, brick field workers, and domestic helps. They work in hazardous conditions. In addition , they are less conscious about health and safety. Thus the children's community will become an orchard for our society.

Our children , our asset

        A CHILD has the right to be born safely anywhere in the world. He or she will become a human through learning many things for leading a life in the society, community, state finally, the world.According to United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child,'Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these right, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour ,sex  

Transit tariff

    I am writing in response to the letter written by your reader, Urmila, on the matter of transit of India cargo through Bangladesh by road or rail , which was published on September 28 . I believe the tariff for transport should be the same as applicable for such cargo from Bangladesh. However, in addition, a charge should be levied for customs inspection and clearance, both at the point of entry and departure from Bangladesh territory.
     This could be levied on a fixed tariff basis for each and train at each of the two points when leaving and entering, or it may be determined on a tonnage basis. Additionally, an additional charge for track maintenance and upkeep may also be added for rail transport, considering the heavy use of the track for the transport of transport of heavily laden goods trains in both directions.
     All this should be sorted out properly so that we do not suffer any financial loss for this interaction, which will be an enormous economic boon for Indian traders, considering the usual overland rail or road transport tariff they now incur.

Work or stay at home ?

This refers to the function of stay-at-home moms.In this day,does it sound easier that it is? Is the family of any significance in today's world, where women often give paramount importance to their career? Why is staying at home treated as a misfortune and domesticity a punishment?
   A women's presence at home during the first few years of a child's life is ideal and desired by most of the families.But in present day  conditions , it may or may not be possible. As to what women can do after the children fly away from the nest is a question for the women to answer.Many turn to writing,social service, higher studies,etc.Children do respect and admire the mother who,after bringing them up,spends her time usefully .It is attitude and necessity that make a women career-oriented or a home maker.The satisfaction a women derives from raising her children, however, cannot be valued in terms of money.

Mistakes in govt supplement

            A government supplement , issued by the press information department of the information ministry,published in English-language dailies on Thursday caught my attention.
            Of the three lead articles,the one written by Syed Abul Hossain and translated by Sahana Akhtar had grammatical mistakes both in the heading and the sub-heading.The heading reads 'the communication infrastructure is being changed.' The definite article 'The' before the collective noun 'communication infrastructure'was completely superfluous.The sub-heading was also very confusing grammar-wise.It says'changes will there be in Bangladesh.'It really takes the cake!What was in the mind of the translator?Did she just substitute 'suitable' English words for Bangla ones as set in the Bangla expression?Did no one oversee or scrutinise the translation?May be they were all too busy enjoying the long weekend,which possibly began for them on Wednesday,or perhaps everyone was in a hurry to leave office.Or, may be,this is a new style of English of which I am ignorant , having left college way back in the 1950s.