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The birth of Bangladesh
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It
is 30 years since war broke out in Bangladesh, at the time
the province of East Pakistan. At the instigation of Awami
League Nationalists, the separatist movement declared independence
on 26 March 1971. The conflict that ensued was particularly
bloodthirsty and degenerated in December 1971 into an 11-day
war between Pakistan and India. The fighting triggered a mass
exodus of some 10 million people, mainly to India and then
to Pakistan.
The humanitarian response matched the enormous
needs and gave rise to a joint emergency operation combining
the ICRC, the then League of Red Cross Societies and numerous
National Society medical teams. The staff focused mainly on
the protection of prisoners of war, tracing missing people,
food relief and medical assistance for displaced people and
refugees.
Jean-Jacques Kurz was in Bangladesh on his
first mission for the ICRC. He captured these images at the
time and now shares his recollections with Red Cross, Red
Crescent.
Jean-François
Berger
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Bihari camp, Chittagong, 1972.
"Accused of collaborating with the Pakistanis, the Biharis
were in great need of protection, especially at night."
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Mirpur camp, Dacca,
1972.
"In the camps, we supplied bulk food to the refugees,
who cooked it themselves. Most of the time, it was a combination
of corn, soya and powdered milk."
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Mirpur camp, Dacca (modern-day Dhaka),
1972.
"In the initial emergency phase, saris served as tents
for the Biharis."
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ICRC delegation, Purbani Hotel,
Dacca, 1972.
"Bangladesh was one of the first big joint operations,
so that briefings of medical teams seconded by National Societies
- here the German and the British - took place on an almost
daily basis."
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"Arrested": A message
from the Biharis to the delegates, Dacca.
"The Biharis were afraid to talk openly of arrests. Often,
unbeknownst to us, they would slip us warning messages. I
found this piece of paper in the fold of my turned-up sleeve
on returning from the camp. I photographed it with a Nikormat
belonging to the ICRC on the carpet of my hotel room. It was
the beginning of a case for the tracing agency."
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