Bangladeshi Peacekeepers Across the World

The International Day for UN Peacekeepers was observed on May 29 to honor those who have died while serving as peacekeepers and those who continue to serve

Bangladesh has the biggest participation in United Nations peacekeeping operation (UNPKO) providing more than 10,000 soldiers in 45 UN missions out of 65 across the world. Bangladesh soldiers have also earned much reputation for successfully carrying out their duties, thus helping to establish peace through building close relationships with the common people of the troubled countries.
Bangladesh armed forces and police have been taking up peacekeeping jobs for a number of years now. One of the reasons is that such jobs are very rewarding and one can save enough money form a couple of years’ stint compared to what one can save otherwise including retirement benefits. Bangladeshi peace keepers have sent over 75 billion taka (USD 917 million) to their families, according to Abdul Momen, Bangladesh representative at the UN.
Bangladesh relies on remittances sent by Bangladeshis working abroad to ehlp pay for its surging imports. In 2010-2011, the expatriate Bangladeshis sent home USD 11.6 billion representing over 10 percent of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product.
It is often the hope of getting UN pasting is one of the key reasons why mid-ranking officers n Bangladesh’s powerful armed forces have lost the appetite for staging coups in the recent years. Bangladeshis soldiers have also built up a positive image of the country across the world by UNPKO, which is another reason the army personnel feel encouraged to serve on overseas missions.
The country has been hit by around 20 aborted and successful coups since its independence in 1971, most of them occurring in the decades of the 70s and 80s when Bangladeshi solders were not yet introduced to peacekeeping jobs. “Bangladeshi peacekeepers have earned a reputations for being excellent negotiators between warring factions, rebuilding schools, constructing bridges, reconstructing war-torn nations, diffusing land-mines with expertise and restoring a sense of normalcy to countries in violent conflict,” said a brigadier general of Bangladesh army under the conditions of anonymity.
Several senior Bangladeshi military officers hve been appointed as the Commander of UN peacekeeping missions,. In return the people of these nations have shown their appreciations and gratitude, naming streets after Bangladesh or ever recognizing Bengali as a second language (Sierra Leone), he said,. He further said that Bangladesh is the first Muslim country to sent female peacekeepers. The country sent a 110-strong battalion of police women unit to Haiti I 2010.
The first UN peacekeeping operations participated by Bangladesh solders was in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq war. Bangladesh Army stepped in the family of “Blue Helmet” by participating in the UNIMOG (Iran-Iraq) in 1988 with 15 military observers. Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force joined UNPKO in 1993. Bangladesh Police followed the armed forces in 1989.
Since then Bangladeshi soldiers have gone to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Namibia, Cambodia, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Liberia, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Cote d’Ivoire and other violence-torn countries. Apart from the defense contingents, Bangladesh Police forces have also made long-standing contributions to the United Nations peacekeeping mission around the globe.
A total of 2,900 peacekeepers including 103 form Bangladesh, scarified their lives in various UN peace operations.
Since 2003, United Nations (UN) has been observing “International Day for UN Peacekeepers” one May 29 every year. The purpose of this day is two-fold. First one is to honor the memory of UN peacekeepers that lost their lives in the cause of peace. The second on is to pay tribute to all men and women who have served and continue to serve in the UN Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO) for their high level of professionalism, dedications and courage.