SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Among the 20 people killed in the terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery situated in the diplomatic center of Bangladesh’s capital city were three students, Americans Tarishi Jain and Abinta Kabir, and their friend, Bangladeshi national Faraaz Hossain. The trio were at the cafe for a post Iftar get-together.
Jain, was a 19-year-old student of U.C. Berkeley’s Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies. She was in Dhaka as part of an internship program at Eastern Bank Limited in Dhaka, where she was doing a project on the growth of e-commerce. She aspired to one day work in the public sector in an effort to make the world a better place, and her and friends had recently launched a clothing firm named Ethical Apparel.
A recent Facebook post of Jain’s read: “We are so excited to launch our new clothing line! Pleeease support us in our mission to help rising entrepreneurs and fight poverty all around the world.”
Ethical Apparel is a nonprofit apparel design and printing service that provides individuals with the opportunity to reach financial self-sustainability, according to its website. Jain’s father worked as a textile merchant in Bangladesh for the last 15 years, seemingly making her entrance into the world a natural and logical choice.
“Terrorists have entered the restaurant. I am very afraid and not sure whether I will be able to come out alive. They are killing everyone here,” Jain’s father said during last weekend’s attack on the cafe.
Tarishi Jain, Abinta Kabir, and Faraaz Hossain (Credit: Facebook)
Sanchita Saxena, executive director of the Institute for South Asia Studies and director of the Center for Bangladesh Studies said, “We are all very devastated to hear the news about Tarishi Jain. She was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart. Our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and the entire Berkeley community”
Kabir, an 18-year-old Bangladeshi-American sophomore at Emory University, boarded a flight to her homeland with the ultimate goal of returning to American with stories to share after a marvelous summer vacation.
Her professors said Kabir was extremely anxious and excited for her trip to Bangladesh, as she incessantly spoke about her affinity for the nation, its people, culture and history. The terrorists who attacked the cafe slashed Kabir’s throat after she was unable to recite from the Quran in Bangla, according to multiple reports.
According to Hossain’s brother, Zaraif, the 19-year-old Faraaz was permitted to leave the cafe by the attackers after reciting verses from the Quran correctly, but instead opted to stay in the cafe by the side of his two friends. “Our mom has raised us to always respect and protect women and he (Faraaz) did so until the end,” Faraaz’s brother said.
The siege of the cafe came to an end after police raided the building, killing six of the seven terrorists and capturing one alive. Soon thereafter, members of the Islamic State began posting pictures of the jihadis, all of whom could be seem posing with wide grins on their faces. However, authorities in Bangladesh and India have dismissed any links between the attackers and ISIS, they instead suspect the involvement of Ansarullah Bangla Team, a radical group which earlier this year killed bloggers and social media activists in Bangladesh.
