Obama, Hillary and Kerry mourned her death
Sreekanth A Nair
Anita Ashok Datar, 41, the Indian American who was killed in the Mali attack on November 20, was a social worker who dedicated her life for communities in poor countries.
Most recently Anita was the Senior Director at the Palladium group for Field Programs for HP+, a USAID-funded health policy project focused on improving reproductive health in developing countries.
Anita has been working in global health and international development, for more than a decade. She has worked in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Guatemala, and Guyana, Bangladesh, and India.
Anita Datar was born in Massachusetts to Indian couples. Her father Ashok Datar is from Pune and mother Sunanda from Mumbai.
Anita grew up in New Jersey and went to Mount Olive High School in Flanders, N.J. She earned an MPH and MPA from Columbia University’s Joseph Mailman School of Public Health and School of International and Public Affairs.
Anita worked in Senegal for two years with the Peace Corps from 1997 to 1999. She also took a prominent role in founding of Tulalens, a not-for-profit organization that provides quality healthcare to poor people in poor countries. She has started her activities in Chennai to empower Indian women.
US President Barack Obama condemned the Mali attack saying that it is “another awful reminder of the scourge of terrorism”.
“Malian security forces and all our own diplomatic security agents rushed in to pull people to safety. French troops and American troops who were in the country for training missions provided support as did United Nations forces. And thanks to the swift actions of all those involved, many people escaped. Lives were saved and the terrorists were prevented from causing any more bloodshed. But I want the American people to know that we are still working to account for Americans that may have been at the hotel and to ensure the safety of all of our citizens in Mali. Like the heinous attacks, we saw in Paris and the attacks we see all too often elsewhere, this is another awful reminder that the scourge of terrorism threatens so many of our nations. Once again this only stiffens our resolve to meet these challenges,” Obama said while speaking at Asean Business and Investment Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for the 2016 presidential elections and a senator from New York mourned the death of Datar. “I knew Anita as the loving mother of a wonderful seven- year old boy and the former partner of David Garten, one of my senior policy advisors in the Senate,” Clinton said in a statement.
“My prayers are with the Datar and Garten families, especially Anita and David’s son. My heart breaks thinking of the burden he will now bear on his small shoulders and the courage he will have to show in the days ahead,” she added.
“We mourn American Anita Datar and all those lost in Mali Attacks. We extend condolences to family & friends and stand with the Malian people,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a tweet yesterday.
“We are devastated that Anita is gone – it’s unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism. She was one of the kindest and most generous people we know. She loved her family and her work tremendously,” Datar’s family said in a statement released through the US State Department.
“Everything she did in her life she did to help others – as a mother, public health expert, daughter, sister and friend. And while we are angry and saddened that she has been killed, we know that she would want to promote education and healthcare to prevent violence and poverty at home and abroad, not intolerance,” they added.
Mourning Anita’s death, the Palladium Group said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened to confirm the tragic loss of our friend and colleague Anita Datar, who was killed during the attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali on November 20, 2015.”
“She will be remembered as a dedicated humanitarian and a trusted and beloved colleague. On behalf of everyone at Palladium, we extend our condolences to her family and friends. Our thoughts are with her loved ones,” the statement said.
Datar, a single parent is survived by her son Rohan Datar.
The Mali attack was carried out by al-Murabitoun, a terror outfit affiliated to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The terrorists stormed Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako and killed at least 27 people and taking 170 people as hostage. The rescue mission conducted by Malian and international troops freed the guests and staff, killing the two gunmen.