Briton Lucy Holt receives Bangladesh citizenship

The government has granted citizenship to Lucy Helen Frances Holt, a British national who has lived in Bangladesh for the past 57 years.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presented Holt with a citizenship award on Saturday.

Her sister, Sheikh Rehana, and daughter, Saima Wazed Hossain, were also present.

The 87-year-old British national has spent 57 years in Bangladesh

She had long hoped to receive ‘dual citizenship’ before her death. Her wish was granted on Saturday.

Holt was born on Dec 16, 1930 at St Helens in the UK. She joined the Oxford Mission in Barisal in 1960 to perform social work and began teaching primary school children.

During the Liberation War of 1971, she taught English at a catholic church in Jessore. The church was closed and the people there were evacuated, but Holt refused to go and instead tended to those wounded in the war.

In 1973, after the war, Holt sent a letter and presents to Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib. She received an answer to her letter from Sheikh Rehana, writing on behalf of her mother.