Biborton English

Today, at afternoon, I was coming to Dhaka from Trishal after finishing the office. I was waiting at the Raghamara bazar, which is a small local land mark on the high way like all the other villages in Bangladesh. I was waiting for a Bus towards Dhaka. The buses were coming from Mymensingh. All the buses were packed and they did not stop at my signals. After waiting for nearly half an hour, I decided to go up to Bhaluka by a local pick up van called tempo intending to get on a bus from there.

As per wish, I later got on tempo coming from Trishal. As usually it was packed and there was no space to sit freely. Any way, I was just practicing to have patience. Few minutes later, suddenly, the tempo decided not to go to its destination rather shift the rest of the passengers to another tempo. It was waiting by the side of the high way in the middle of a dirty market filled with dense dust. I was again practicing to have patience and trying hard to take breath normally.  Another passenger who was carrying a basket of Pan on the roof of the tempo denied giving the extra money for the basket. That was the point where the story began.

All the passengers on the new tempo were giving blame to the tempo boy and tempo company. Their main complain was that the bus companies and other profitable companies are doing monopoly business. They do not think about the consumers and the poor. They are depriving the poor. Up to this I was sometimes listening to them, sometimes I was going down on my own thoughts.
Suddenly, that gossip which was about bus drivers and companies, turned into another story. They are now talking about doctors! I carefully pooled my scurf over my head intending to cover my face hoping that they do not realize that I am a doctor. Doctors are now their topic of gossip. Somebody was telling that nowadays doctors are not doctors at all. They are all butchers. They take extra money from poor patients. They give extra medicine to the patients for more than five days even they can cure the patients within three days. Another person supported him. Yes you are right. Doctors today, give more tests that are not needed. They know that, this test will cost thousands of money, but they do not care about poor people. They think poor people as their victim. Another person was saying that, yes doctors today, make business with medicine. They prescribe more and more medicine though they are not needed. Today’s doctors do not join govt. or private clinics. After passing they make a pharmacy, stay there, write prescription, write test, and get commission from the diagnostic centres. They make delay with the patients. They try medicine one after another, they can cure the patients but they do not do that because if they cure them they will not get money from the patients. Some was saying that, the patients go to the big doctors as they are ill fated, but the so called big doctors take huge visit from them which they can not afford. After doing the entire tests and giving the visit to the doctors the poor people do not have money to buy the medicine. But the patients have nothing to do. They are all the victims. Even they were scolding the doctors. They were saying that doctors say that it is there service, but the people think that it is the doctors business with the patients today.
I was deeply shocked. I was trying to listen to every word they were uttering. Every moment I was afraid of being recognized as a physician. I was feeling shy. I was thinking what I am doing all day then? Is it not enough to give whole of my time counseling with the patients, to give free primary treatment to our study participants and their family members? Giving education about health and sanitation? Calling the patients as mother, father, uncle, sister or aunt?
The story did not stop there. They continued till to Bhaluka. I guess, they would not have stopped even if they would have reached Dhaka this way.

  
Dhaka, January,2010