Today, July 30, is International Friendship Day being celebrated worldwide. The main goal of celebrating this day, declared by the United Nations, is to build friendly relations among mankind based on mutual respect, compassion and peace. In 2011, the United Nations officially declared July 30 as International Friendship Day. On this day, friendship-centered programs, greeting messages, remembrances and humanitarian initiatives are organized in different parts of the world.
When there is such a moment to celebrate friendship in the world, then I remember the heartbreaking tragedy that recently happened in Bangladesh at Milestone School and College. Suddenly, an Air Force training plane crashed there. A part of it collapsed in an instant, and the classroom filled with children’s voices was burned to ashes. Numerous children lost their lives, many more were injured. Many of whom are still fighting for their lives in the hospital’s burn unit.
Two children of a father, studying in class four. When they heard this news, fatherhood seemed to become speechless. Their child’s face flashed before their eyes, the face of a corpse, the mother’s screams in pain. And the last words of that student were heartbreaking, “I knew you would come, friend.”
During the accident, a student wanted to rescue his injured friend from the classroom. The fire brigade officer stopped him and said, “It’s worthless, he’s dead.” But the student carried his friend back on his shoulders. The fire brigade officer said in a disappointed voice, “See? He’s dead.” But the student didn’t stop. He said, “No sir, it wasn’t worthless. When I reached him, he was alive. He looked at me and smiled, and said, “I knew you would come, friend.”
This one sentence seems to be the most powerful explanation of Friendship Day. Friendship is not just about sharing laughter and joy, it also touches the border of life and death with the depth of selfless love and commitment.
In Bangladesh too, people of all ages are celebrating the day by sending greetings on social media, spending time with friends or reminiscing. But this story of the milestone tragedy reminds us today that a friend means being there for you, a friend means being selfless, a friend means waiting until the last breath. This day should not only be a celebration, but also a day to understand the meaning of friendship