Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Interviewee: Salima Hashmi (Daughter)

During the 1971 Bangladesh War of Liberation, many foreign nationals around the globe made exceptional contributions in support of the independence movement. In 2012, the Government of Bangladesh began conferring special honours on these Friends of Bangladesh as an expression of gratitude for their great contribution. Awards were presented in three categories – Bangladesh Swadhinota Shammanona (Bangladesh Freedom Honour), Bangladesh Muktijuddho Shammanona (Bangladesh Liberation War Honour) and Muktijuddho Moitri Shammanona (Friends of Liberation War Honour). A National Committee comprised of Ministers, civil servants, and civil society representatives was formed to draw up a list of these illustrious Friends of Bangladesh. A total of 335 individuals were awarded over seven phases from 2011 to 2013. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Producer: Catherine Masud Producer/Director/Interviewer: Catherine Masud, Dina Hossain Additional Interviewer (Phase 3): Shameem Akhter Associate Producers: Sadia Doha, Elizabeth Rumi Di Costa, Aftab Hossain Assistant Producer: Abir Ferdous Mukhar Cinematography: Bayjid Kamal, Firoz Chowdhury, Abdullah Al Naser, Kamrul Hasan Editing: Abdullah Al Naser Assistant Editors: Afzal Siddique, Sadaaf Islam Post Production Supervisor: Aftab Hossain Sound Recording: Masrur Rahman, Afzal Siddique, Anadi Biswas Post Production Intern: Syeda Tasnuva Mishu Website Layout Designer: Piyas Roy Website Development: Tawhidur Rahman & Swapnoloke team Translation: Syeda Tasnuva Mishu, Amrita Hassan Accounts & Admin: Tayab Masud Production Coordinator: Shahidul Islam Production Assistants: Bilal Hossain, Shah Alam Dewan.