Entertainment Desk:

Actress Sabnam Faria is known for speaking her mind, both on and off social media. Despite drawing criticism at times, she remains unfazed, often sharing her opinions openly. During last year’s July student movement, she had voiced her support for the students. Now, months later, the actress has once again shared her reflections on that time—this time expressing her disappointment over the state of the country.

Faria took to Facebook to share a post, writing: “There’s a story, isn’t there? Of an imam and a thief on a cold winter morning? The imam thinks, ‘What a good man, coming out in this cold for Fajr prayer!’ The thief thinks, ‘What a gentleman—has a beard, yet steals!’ What did we learn from this? We learned that people judge others based on their own mindset. But believe me, not everyone sells their ethics for money (or dollars). Money isn’t everything for everyone. People do believe in their individuality. Some even swim against the tide. They take risks!”

She continued, “In June, when the protests were at their peak, right after the internet shutdown, some celebrities were asked to make videos condemning the arson attacks on the metro rail and BTV. I was one of them. At first, I asked for time to think. Honestly, I didn’t have the courage to say no outright at the time. They said, ‘Take your time.’ Since WhatsApp was down, I directly messaged Siam asking whether he received such a call. He replied saying yes, and that he had declined. That gave me the courage to say no as well. I never felt the need to share this story before. I didn’t want any credit for saying no—because that was simply the right thing to do. I am not involved in politics in any way, and have no intention or plans to be in the future either. Yet when I see people writing made-up tales like ‘they took dollars’, all I can do is laugh.”

The actress further wrote, “I personally know many people who genuinely love the Awami League, yet changed their profile picture to a red mark in July. Maybe the way July was portrayed to the general public back then is different now—but if you were human at that time, not inhumane, you could not have stayed silent against killing. Regardless of your political identity or ideology!”

Faria concluded the post by saying, “With this, I am officially done posting about politics in Bangladesh. I’ve finally realised—we, as a nation, are utterly shameless and brazen. We will never improve. No matter how many protests take place, no matter which government is in power, even if Nobel Peace Prize winners come forward—no one can stop us from corruption and theft. Whether a child, a teenager or an elderly person—once in power, they will abuse it. I no longer have any expectations from my country. Lastly, let me add—if I had received dollars, that would have actually felt nice! Before my Sri Lanka trip, it was extremely difficult to endorse USD 200 with BDT 25,300 on my passport!”