The English department at Jahangirnagar University yesterday honoured Julian Francis, a friend of Bangladesh during the Liberation War, as part of the department’s ongoing celebration of English Week 2014.
British-born Francis, who coordinated Oxfam’s refugee relief operations in Kolkata during the war, was handed an honorary crest by the department chairman Dr Sanyat Sattar in a “luminary honouring ceremony” at a classroom in the department.
Francis – who was also awarded “Friends of Liberation War Honour” in 2012 by the government – shared his memories and experiences from the war with the audience.
Convener of the English Week and the department’s Associate Professor Mashrur Shahid Hossain said: “Coincidently we have honoured a personality with such a close connection to our liberation war, on a day when a verdict of a war criminal has come out. We are really proud of being able to give tribute to such a friend of our country.”
Later, several films and documentaries on the Liberation War and Bangladesh were also screened.
On the sixth day of the department’s week-long programmes, education materials were also distributed to around ten street children.
Addressing the programme, Dr Sanyat Sattar said: “It is a wonderful incident that we started contributing to the education of underprivileged children on the campus. The initiative will certainly encourage others to be involved with the essential social works in our society.”