No cheers for Joy

Deputy sports minister vandalises joint secy's office as banner misses his name

Hasan Jahid Tusher

Youth and sports ministry officials are left frustrated for what they said was "continuous misbehavior" by Deputy Minister Arif Khan Joy.
They alleged Joy had ransacked the room of a joint secretary of his ministry on Sunday as his name was not included in the banner as a guest at a national youth day programme.
Joy lost his temper during the programme at the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium when he saw the name of State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder was written on the banner as chief guest, according to ministry officials and eyewitnesses.
Leaving the programme, he then returned to the ministry and ransacked Joint Secretary Masukh Miah's room. He also shouted at a few officials, they said.
Talking to several officials and staffs of the ministry, The Daily Star yesterday learnt that Sunday's incident was not the first time they were at the receiving end of Joy's wrath.
At least three officials of the ministry, two of them directors of two projects with the rank of deputy secretaries, took transfer orders to other ministries in the last few months for Joy's "misbehaviour".
Mashuk Mia and a few other officials, too, are now trying to get transferred to other ministries, officials said.
Asked about Joy's "misbehaviour", Sports Secretary Nur Mohammad yesterday said, "Misunderstandings happen when two people work together and those can be resolved at times."
Reflecting on Sunday's incident, he said, “The deputy ministry got angry as his name was not in the banner of the national youth day programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
“As the prime minister did not come to the programme, the state minister was the chief guest. The deputy minister asked some officials as to why his name was not in the banner. Being angry, he tried to leave the programme venue a few times. But we tried to manage him.
At one stage he came out of the auditorium and came back to the ministry. Later we heard that he vandalised the room of a joint secretary. It was shameful for us.”
The secretary said he had immediately informed the matter to his higher authorities including the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister's office. Asked whether he got any response from them, he said he was yet to get any official instruction to this effect.
There is also allegation that during a tour to the 65th congress of FIFA at Zurich in Switzerland in May this year he led a five-member delegation but left one of them behind illegally.
Joy included Shelim Uddin by introducing him as the delegation coordinator and a member of Bianibazar Sporting Club. As Shelim did not come back, rumour has it that he was left behind illegally, ministry sources said adding that this incident has badly tarnished the image of the ministry as well as the country.
Swiss embassy granted Shelim visa with the condition that Shelim would have to report to the embassy before June 9. As Shelim did not do so, the embassy wrote to the foreign ministry twice to look into the matter seriously. The foreign ministry wrote to the sports ministry but could not elicit any satisfactory response, ministry sources said.
Shelim was neither a member of Bianibazar Sporting Club nor a coordinator of the delegation, they said.
Foreign and sports ministry officials handed this correspondent all the relevant documents that demonstrate that the claims made by the Swiss embassy are true.
The Daily Star went to the deputy minister's office to have his comments over the allegations, but he did not come to office yesterday. This correspondent called him more than 10 times on his two  cell phone numbers, but failed to reach him. Finally, a text message was sent to him, which too was not replied by the deputy minister.
Joy, however, told reporters on Sunday, that he had no involvement with the joint secretary's room vandalism. Some people had broken the joint secretary's computer and were spreading rumours to taint his image, he claimed.
He also alleged that none in the ministry, including a few joint secretaries, helped him. Terming the officials corrupt, he alleged that bribes were paid for the appointment and transfer of officials in the different organisations and departments under the ministry.
Joy, however, told The Daily Star earlier that he had been sidelined in the ministry from the very beginning. He said most of the files were not sent to him and the state minister and the secretary signed them keeping him in the dark.

South African prosecutors seek Pistorius murder charge

Addressing South Africa's supreme court, state prosecutors have argued for overturning Oscar Pistorius' conviction. The former athlete was released last month after serving under a year in prison for culpable homicide.

At the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, South African state prosecutors on Tuesday argued in favor of overturning Paralympics sprinter Oscar Pistorius' conviction of culpable homicide to murder.

Last year, a disgraced Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter in South Africa's judicial system.

After spending nearly a year in prison on a five-year sentence, Pistorius was released and placed under house arrest on October 19 under a South African law that dictates non-dangerous prisoners should only serve one-sixth of their sentence.

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  THE RISE AND FALL OF OSCAR PISTORIUS

  The trial

  On Tuesday in South Africa, a court in Pretoria sentenced former Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius to five years imprisonment for 'culpable homicide,' for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He has also been banned by the International Paralympic Committee for the same period. The tragedy and ensuing court case has blotted a unique, and at times controversial, athletic career.

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The 28-year-old athlete said he believed there was an intruder in his house when he fired four bullets in the bathroom, killing his then-partner Reeva Steenkamp.

The state prosecutors said Pistorius' sentence was "shockingly light, inappropriate," and added that "not enough emphasis was placed on the horrendous manner" in which Pistorious' former girlfriend died, according to Reuters news agency.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel began the case stating Pistorius intended on killing whoever was behind the door.

Five supreme court justices will hear arguments by the state and defense, after which they will decide on a date to announce their decision. Legal experts are unsure of the outcome due to several unexpected turns in the case.

"The possibilities are to dismiss the appeal, uphold the appeal or refer it back to the trial court - which I think is very unlikely - for resentencing or retrial," Martin Hood, a South African criminal lawyer, told AFP news agency.

Prior to the killing of Steenkamp in 2013, Pistorius was hailed as a role-model for disabled athletes after winning several gold medals at the Olympic level.

ls/kms (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)

Odommo fun school for street kids

Ananta Yusuf

Arif Arian had a dream that sets him apart from most other youths. He wanted to build a school where street children would learn while having fun.
Then instead of asking money from a sponsor, Arif turned to his facebook friends. He wrote on his facebook page: What if we opened a school for street children?
Amazingly he got so much of heart warming responses from friends and their friends who wanted to volunteer for the cause that it took almost no time for him to kickstart his dream project: Mojar School.
January 10, 2013. That was when Arif and his buddies’ open air school in Suhrawardy Udyan had its first class with just 13 street children.
While sharing his experience with The Daily Star Arif says, "At first we planned to have fun interaction with children and teach them depending on how much they are interested to learn."

On the first day of their pilot project of Mojar School they found that the children are thirsty to learn. And children's keen interest helps Mojar School to grow and expand all over the city. 
The Mojar School, one of the many projects of a registered organisation Odommo Bangladesh Foundation, is a non-profit organisation. Every day, in four different schools two hundred children study, eat and interact on a regular basis.
Now the organisation is dreaming to build a shelter home for one thousand street children. He adds, "People thought we were crazy. It became necessary for us to do it prove that we can do it. Some were doubtful whether we will continue with this mission. But we are here to stay."
In the last couple of years, their single school has expanded to four where 200 under privileged children study. They have also created a 600-volunteers network. With the support and help of these volunteers, they are touching the lives of 2000 children outside these schools. And this number is growing.
Each volunteer donates Tk 50 or more to run the schools and feed the children. In return, they have been enriched with many great experiences.
Wasifa Zannat, a coordinator of Mojar School, says, "The idea of teaching street children sitting amid dusty roads was not appealing. But when you interact closely, you will see that they are not dirty beggars. It is fun to work with them."
Now they believe their work will help the country to build an enlightened generation.