Bangladesh Liberation War
In 1971, Mary Frances Dunham (MFD) was among a large number of Americans who gathered from all over the country in support of the Bangladesh Liberation War. In Washington, DC they led a successful grassroots lobby to educate Congress on the atrocities of the war and the need to stop US military support to West Pakistan. Most of MFD’s archives of this time have been donated to the Bangladesh Liberation War Museum in Dhaka.
In the fall of 2013 MFD was was recognized by the Bangladesh government for her contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Because MFD could not attend the ceremony honoring Bangladesh’s foreign friends herself, she prepared this statement for the event.
In October, 1971 MFD wrote this letter to the editor at the New York Times criticizing US government policy in support of West Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
MFD wrote this letter to the New Yorker in Oct. 2013 about Pankaj Mishra’s reviews of two books that had recently been published about Bangladesh’s liberation movement.
This is one of a number of letters MFD wrote to journals in the USA and abroad to emphasize the significance of the support in the USA for the Bangladesh Liberation war.
MFD made this video statement to stand in her place at the the ceremony honoring the foreign friends of Bangladesh, Oct. 2013.
This is a video interview with Katherine about the work her parents did to support the Bangladesh Liberation war from the USA in 1971.
In this excerpt, Jaffe pays tribute to MFD’s role in the grass routes movement in the USA to support the Bangladesh Liberation War
Salute to Mary Frances for her passion and understanding of our fight for emancipation! May your birthday inspire us to fight for others right and humanity! As a freedom fighter it’s an honor and inspiration for me to have been connected to her! Thanks to Ambassador Riva Ganguly, a friend with indian Foreign Service who connected us! #joi71 #joiManush
I remember many things about our days in Bangladesh. Dinners on the lawn of the Dhaka house stand out. Dan’s ditties were a constant source of delight. One stands out. It began with…”Keep your left hand out of the dal..” Francis will no doubt remember more. Shirley