Source: Daily Sun

The Independence Day celebrations brought a taste of home to the members of Indonesian community in Bangladesh on Thursday. Marking the 72nd Independence Day of the East Asian Republic, the Embassy of Indonesia in Dhaka arranged elaborate programmes on the chancery premises. The celebrations included Indonesian fair, competitions for children, serving foods, and cultural programme. The presence of the members of the Indonesian community and the smells of delicious dishes turned the chancery festive for a few hours.

A feeling of total joy swept over the audience as Rina P Soemarno, ambassador of Indonesia to Bangladesh, inaugurated the fair cutting the ceremonial ribbon amid a thunderous applause. The fair won the hearts of visitors by showcasing traditional costumes of Indonesia besides aesthetic garments of Bangladesh. Children of the embassy staffers and Indonesian community put life into the festival through participating in different competitions at the event.

The participants of the celebrations grasped the opportunity to sample the taste of different mouth-watering dishes of Indonesian cuisine. The chancery of the mission seemed a part of Indonesia as Indonesians living and working in Bangladesh get together there for a couple of hours. They had some quality time with their family and friends at the chancery as the national holiday brought such an opportunity for them. With sounds of laughing and speaking Indonesian, the attendants for some time felt home abroad and expressed their gratitude to the embassy for arranging the event. Amid much festivity and fanfare, Indonesian around the world celebrated the Independence Day, locally known as Hari Kemerdekaan, yesterday.

Marking Indonesian’s declaration of independence from the Netherlands in 1945, with national and patriotic fervour, Independence Day is celebrated on August 17. On the occasion, people decorate their house and the streets with red and white ornaments which represent the colors of Indonesian flag.

Indonesia had been a Dutch colony for over 300 years and a group of revolutionaries declared independence on August 17, 1945. It took Indonesians four years of diplomacy and armed struggle before their independence was formally granted by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Despite the granting of independence in 1945, the Netherlands accepted the date of 17 August 1945 as the date of Indonesia’s independence in 2005.
Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands and the fourth most populous country in the world.