Date : 12/2015

Country/Region : BANGLADESH

Title : Bangladesh : top award for reuniting families and tracing missing persons

Duration : 00:03:39

Director : unknown

Cameraman : unknown

Editor : unknown

Keyword : PROTECTION; RED CROSS MESSAGE; PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN; RC BANGLADESH; RESTORING FAMILY LINKS; INTERVIEW; TRAINING AND INFORMATION; FILM; VOLUNTARY SERVICE; HENRY DUNANT MEDAL

Person appearing :
SARKAR, Monowara (collaborator, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society)

Confidentiality level : public

Publication restrictions : publication without restrictions

Copyright : ICRC

Production company : ICRC

ICRC producer :
unknown

Production reference : 2017AV.0276

Description : This is the story of Monowara Sarker, a brave humanitarian worker from Bangladesh who devoted her 44 years serving individuals since 1971.
Monowara joined the ICRC in 1971 during the armed conflict. “I started working as a tracing officer”, she recounts. “And at the time I was in a vulnerable situation myself and needed protection. The ICRC gave me both a job and shelter. It saved my life.” From 1971 to 1975, nearly 120,000 Bengalis were repatriated to Bangladesh and over 198,000 people were repatriated to Pakistan. 18,000 tracing requests were handled in total, with 2.8 million Red Cross messages exchanged. Several hundred families were reunited.
On 8 December 2015, Monowara Sarkar becomes the first Bangladeshi to be awarded with the Henry Dunant medal, the highest distinction of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Named after its founder, the medal is awarded every two years. It is meant to reward outstanding service and acts of great devotion by a member of the Movement.
Monowara is one of the pioneer Bangladeshi member for the Restoring Family Link Services in Bangladesh during war and until today. In 1975, when the ICRC closed its operation in Bangladesh, she was preferred to set up the tracing department of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. Throughout the following 40 years, Monowara worked tirelessly on building up the national restoring family links (RFL) network in Bangladesh. And today BDRCS’s and ICRC’s RFL services aim to restore and maintain contact between family members displaced due to migration, natural disasters, detention, armed conflict or other situations of violence.

Original language : English

English title : Bangladesh : top award for reuniting families and tracing missing persons

Colour/B&W : colour

SD/HD : HD

Resolution : 1920 x 1080

Aspect ratio : 16/9

Original material/format : H264

Best material/format available : ProRes 422