There is much that we don’t know about the attack upon the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s upscale diplomatic neighbourhood Gulshan on the night of 1 st July 2016. However, we do know that seven militants attacked and killed 22 people including 2 policemen and 17 foreign nationals. We also know that sharp weapons were used to brutally kill hostages or to mutilate bodies after death and that about 50 other people were also injured in the incident. In the middle of such despair, we heard some tales of heartening heroism as well:
Faraaz Hossain refused to leave his friends
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The terrorists who carried out the attacks last Friday were clear about targeting foreigners and non Muslims. The attackers had separated the hostages into two groups: Bangladeshis and Muslims and non-Bangladeshis and non-Muslims. While the former group was treated politely and given food and water, the latter group was not. Muslim hostages were also offered the chance to leave. Faraaz Hossain was also told that he could leave because he was both a Bangladeshi and a Muslim. He refused however since his friends were still being held captive by the terrorists. He was there with his friends Abinta Kabir, an American and Tarishi Jain, an Indian student at Berkeley and he chose not to leave without them. Faraaz was overheard refusing to leave without his friends by a youth who was later freed.
Ishrat Akhond stood up for her principles
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The terrorists had found another way to separate the ‘believers’ from the ‘nonbelievers’. Women in hijab were permitted to leave; those who could recite verses from the Quran were also permitted to leave. The Human Resources Director of one of Bangladesh’s largest garments manufacturing company, ZXY International FZCO was also in the café that fateful night with two Italian colleagues. Hers is another story of exemplary courage in the face of untold horror.
She was not wearing hijab and on principle, she refused to recite the verses as she was ordered to do by the terrorists. She stood by her principles and was hacked to death for this ‘disobedience’. She was known for her principles, having successfully campaigned to do away with child labour in her industry.
Perhaps these heroes of the Dhaka incident felt that what they did was the right thing to do as Bangladeshi hosts to friends who were visiting their country; perhaps this was a display of simple, true nobility in the face of the harsh reality of terror.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
