“This memorial is a symbol of respect to all language heroes. I feel proud to be able to pay respect to those martyrs,” she said.
“I wish I could speak Bangla, but alas!" the Italian said expressing her love for the language after paying tribute at the Shaheed Minar on Tuesday.
Franca Lina, who prefers to be called ‘Lina’, and her spouse ‘Zoa’ are here in Bangladesh for two months on invitation from an Italian priest who has been living here for quite some time and working on a youth development project.
During her stay, Lina has visited the International Trade Fair in Dhaka and been overwhelmed with the enthusiasm of the people. But, she is more enthusiastic with Amar Ekushey Book Fair.
“We, the Italians, love festivity. But this is something completely different. The day is to show respect to the language martyrs. And I am proud to be part of it,” she told bdnews24.com.
Lina said the priest who invited them to Dhaka has been learning Bangla. “Antolenna’s Bangla is not that good, but he can express what he wants to say in Bangla. With the language he is trying to absorb the creed and culture of the Bengali society,” ‘Lina’ said about the priest.
Antolenna said: “I come to the Shaheed Minar every year. It’s a different feeling. This year I brought them with me.”
“I read the history of Language Movement and Independence War. I know how significant this day is for the people of this country.”
“Bangladesh’s language movement is not comparable with other similar movements. They sacrifice blood for a language. That is one of the reasons the day is universally accepted.”
Swiss national 'Yana' came to Bangladesh with her husband Md Kamal Sheikh a month ago.
She said she heard about the proud history of Language Movement and Independence War from her husband who is from Kapashia in Gazipur but now lives in Geneva.
She said Bengalis in Geneva also observed the day with due respect and solemnity and she attended the programme with her husband.
“But this is completely a different experience. I hope this tradition will continue for ages.”
She said she loves the song “Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano Ekushey February…”