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As a nation mourns, a hero is hailed
DHAKA: Two of the three Bangladeshis who were killed in Friday’s terror attack were from powerful business families, including the grandson of the owner of Bangladesh’s
DHAKA: Two of the three Bangladeshis who were killed in Friday’s terror attack were from powerful business families, including the grandson of the owner of Bangladesh’s leading newspapers, who is being hailed as a hero for refusing to leave his friends though he was set free.
Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain and Abinta Kabir, the two students killed in the carnage, were visiting Bangladesh to spend vacation with family.
Hossain was the grandson of Latifur Rahman, chairman of the Transcom Group and owner of the country’s leading dailies Prothom Alo and Daily Star. Hossain, a student of Emory University in Atlanta, drove to the Holey Artisan Bakery with friends Kabir and Tarishi Jain from India.
Prothom Alo reported Hossain was allowed by the militants to leave the restaurant safely after the attack but he refused to do so leaving his friends behind. He is being praised widely in social media for his sacrifice for friendship.
Kabir’s family owns a popular retail outlet, Lavender Super Store, in Dhaka’s Gulshan area. Her mother owns Elegant Group, a large business house with investments in textile and apparel. “Abinta...was a rising sophomore at Emroy’s Oxford College. Faraaz, a junior from Dhaka, was a graduate of Oxford College and a student at the university’s Goizueta Business School,” Emory University said in a statement.
Ishrat Akhond, the thIrd Bangladeshi victim, was a promoter of art. When asked about Akhond, TV show host Shammy Wadud told HT: “Oh, she was a lovely person, very caring. She was like an elder sister to me. She is like always smiling face.”
Akhond had a good network of friends in the media and the artistic circles. They posted many photos and condolence messages on social media. “I was supposed to meet her yesterday. But I could not as my driver was sick. I told her: ‘Ok, see you next week. This next week will never come, did any of us think that?” Nadia Islam, a close friend of Akhond, wrote on Facebook.
Other victims were construction consultants from Japan, working on a Japanese government-funded infrastructure project, and Italian businesspeople in textiles industry.
Eight technical experts, from three Tokyo-based consulting firms, were eating when the attack began. Two women and five men died. Only one made it out alive.
Of the nine Italians who died, five were in the country on business with the textile industry.
Claudia Maria D’Antona worked in clothing and textiles business.
The others included Simona Monti, who was five months pregnant, and Maria Rivoli, who was travelling for business.
Cristian Rossi was a business manager for Feletto Umberto. Marco Tondat had been in the country for about a year, working in the textiles industry.
(With inputs from agencies)
