Jain, an Indian, was a student at UC Berkeley; Bangladeshi Kabir was enrolled at Emory.
By Dileep Thekkethil
When the three students took their seats at the Holey Artisan Bakery café situated in the diplomatic center of Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka on Friday, they never thought their dreams and ambitions will meet a tragic end within its four walls.
Among the 20 people killed by the terrorists were two American university students, Tarishi Jain and Abinta Kabir, and their Bangladeshi friend Faraaz Hossain, all waiting for Miraaj al-Haque for a post Iftar get-together. Haque, who came a bit late, was horrified by the news that his friends have been kept hostages inside the cafe.
Haque and many others, including friends and family members of the hostages, waited outside the militarized cafe to see their loved ones coming out scot-free. But to their horror, the hostage situation would soon turn into one of Bangladeshi biggest terrorist attacks.
Jain, a 19-year-old Indian, was a student of Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at University of California, Berkley. She came to 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.
Jain, who was fond of pop culture and watching TV shows – she was a fan of Big Bang Theory and Friends – was a dream chaser who aspired to do service to make the world a better place.
Her recent Facebook post reads: “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.” She and her friends had recently launched a firm called Ethical Apparel.
The description on the website of the firm says it is a nonprofit apparel design and printing service that provides opportunities for individuals to reach financial self-sustainability. Her father being a textile merchant in Bangladesh for the past 10-15 years, it must have been natural for her to have an affinity to the textile industry.
But the elder Jain will no longer see his daughter chasing her dreams and what will haunt him in the years to come will be the last message Tarishi wrote: “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.”
Sanchita Saxena, executive director of the Institute for South Asia Studies and director of the Center for Bangladesh Studies, was quoted as saying: “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”
Abinta Kabir, an 18-year-old Bangladeshi-American sophomore at the Emory University, boarded the flight to her native land, hoping to return after the vacation and to collect her scores for the summer course that ended June 22.
According to her professors, Abinta was so excited to travel to Bangladesh and she used to talk a lot about her love for that country, its people, culture, and history. But, when terrorists slashed her throat for not being able to recite verses from Quran in Bangla, they not only killed an aspiring student, but also a Muslim, who, if spared would have stood for what the Holy Book teaches – love and kindness.
Faraaz Hossain, a 19-year-old Bangladeshi student who was with his two friends, Tarishi and Abinta, didn’t fail his conscience even when the terrorists went on a killing spree. According to his brother Zaraif Hossain, Faraaz was allowed to leave the café after he recited verses from Quran, but he stayed back to be with his female friends, who would have been in a state of shock.
Zaraif Hossain’s words about what the boys were taught by their mother regarding respecting and caring gives a glimpse of how a majority of Muslims imbibe teachings of Quran and practice it in daily affairs. He said: “Our mom has raised us to always respect and protect women and he (Faraaz) did so until the end.”
The militants’ siege of the café ended when the police stormed the building, killing six of seven terrorists and capturing one alive. Soon after the end of the siege, ISIS posted the pictures of the jihadist terrorists, all posing with a wide grin. But authorities in Bangladesh and India are dismissing any links of the terrorists to the notorious Middle Eastern terror network. They suspect the involvement of Ansarullah Bangla Team, a radical group that earlier killed bloggers and social media activists in Bangladesh.
It is shocking that some of the terrorists that perpetuated the mass murder attended elite schools and universities in Bangladesh and were radicalized at a very young age. Even though the authorities deny any link between the terrorists and ISIS, it is evident that at least a few radical groups in Bangladesh have been inspired by ISIS propaganda.
Not admitting this, and failing to devise counter mechanism would mean radicalization of the youth will continue in Bangladesh and at least a few educated youth like the terrorists who attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery café, will build their own network in the country unabated until they deliver another shocker to the world.