The attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Saturday claimed the lives of twenty foreigners, at the hands of nine terrorists.
The victims, from India, Italy and Japan, were dining at the restaurant the night they were brutally murdered by the militants. Here are the people – beyond the statistics – who were slain in the attack.
Tarishi Jain
The 19-year-old was a student at University of California, Berkeley. She was an Indian who grew up in Bangladesh, as her father ran a garment-business in the country for the last 15-20 years. She did her schooling from the American School in Dhaka.
Tarishi was due to fly to India to visit her relatives along with her family. She was in Bangladesh for an internship. She was at the bakery with two of her other friends who were also killed in the attack.
Faraaz Hossain
The 20-year-old was the grandson of Latifur Rahman, chairman of Transcom Group. He was completing his undergraduate studies at the Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and came to Dhaka on 18 May to spend his summer holidays.
Faraaz and Tarishi used to play badminton together.
Faraaz was given the option to leave the bakery. He was accompanied by two of his friends who were dressed in western attire and from India and the US. When the attackers refused to let them go with him, Faraaz refused to leave their side and was subsequently killed.
Abinta Kabir
The 19-year-old US citizen was a student of Oxford College of Emory University in the US. She came to Dhaka on 27 June for to visit her family and friends for the summer holidays.
Her sister wrote a heartfelt message for her on social media.
Ishrat Akhond
The 45-year-old worked as a human resources director at ZXY Apparel Buying Solutions.
Her friend wrote a heartfelt eulogy for her where he said that she was not spared like the other Muslims because she was not wearing a hijab and did not recite the Quran.
Nadia Benedetti
The 52-year-old Italian national was in Bangladesh for work. Her friends and family remember her as thoughtful and jovial, with a love of karaoke.
Her niece, Giulia, wrote a tribute on her Facebook page, translated from Italian by Mary Zimnik, a professor at Emory University.
“We will not see each other again; we will not talk, will not comment on fashion; we’re never going to sing together again. She had lived in Italy, Kenya, Bangladesh and never gave up, even in the most difficult moments. I ask you friends, relatives, DO NOT FORGET; do not lose her memory; do not forget what happened...”
Claudio Cappelli
Cappelli, 45, was from the province of Monza in Italy. He had worked in Bangladesh for more than five years with his textile company.
“He was excited about his work; he had a positive experience in Bangladesh, saying it was a country where you could work very well... I cannot understand how this happened,” said Gianalberto Scarpa Basteri, Honorary Consul General of Bangladesh in Veneto, translated by Zimnik.
Claudia Maria D’Antona
D’Antona, 56, was the managing director of an Italian textile company operating in Bangladesh. She had lived in Dhaka for more than two decades.
That Friday, D’Antona was at the bakery with her husband, Gian Boschetti, who was the only Italian survivor of the attack. Boschetti had stepped out into the restaurant garden to attend a call when the siege began.
His sister-in-law later said he “wandered all night” from hospital to hospital, in hopes of finding his wife.
Claudia graduated with a law degree from the University of Turin. She had also been a paramedic and first responder in the 1980-81 earthquake in Irpinia, Italy, writes Zimnik.
Simona Monti
The 33-year-old was in Bangladesh on vacation. She was five months pregnant, with a boy she was planning to name Michelangelo.
Monti was about to return home soon for her medical check-up.
Her brother, a Roman Catholic priest, said he hoped “this experience of martyrdom for my family and the blood of my sister Simona can help contribute to building a more just and brotherly world.”
Cristian Rossi
47-year-old Cristian Rossi was a father of three-year-old twins. He was in Bangladesh for work and was supposed to return home on Thursday, but extended his trip to sign some business contracts.
Maria Riboli
The 34-year-old from the Bergamo area of northern Italy was a mother to a three-year-old, Linda. She was traveling in Bangladesh for her textile business. Reports say she had been in Bangladesh for a few months.
A business associate said she frequently dined at the restaurant, where she had a favourite table with a view of the garden.
Her friend Zayana Rahman, who lives in Dhaka, wrote on her Facebook page:
“Maria Riboli, my dear lulu,
You used to always tickle me from behind.
But now you have left us all behind.
And to hear you giggling is the wishful thinking,
for which i’d give the dimes in dozens & all the worlds shilling.”
Adele Puglisi
54-year-old Puglisi was a quality control manager from Catania, Sicily. She was due to head back to Italy. She was a lover of travel and the sea, according to an Italian publication Giornale Di Sicilia.
Puglisi was also friends with Rahman, who posted condolences on another victim, Riboli’s, Facebook page, and chances are Riboli and Puglisi knew each other too. For Puglisi, Rahman wrote on her Facebook page:
“The last time I saw you, I told you, your new hairstyle made you look like Rock Star!
You are now ‘The Breath Of Fresh Air’ for someplace else.
Someplace better, with mankind of a better race.
& while to us you are now a Twinkling Star.
Where ever it is you may be?!
I bet, you are still Rocking it like a Super Star!”
Marco Tondat
39-year-old Marco Tondat was a father to a six-year-old back home. He had been in Bangladesh for a year on business, and was about to return home when the attack happened.
Vincenzo D’Allestro
46-year-old Swiss-born D’Allestro lived in Accera, in southern Italy. He was married to a native of Glossop, in England, Maria Gaudio. They married in 1993.
Makoto Okamura
The 32-year-old lived with his fiancee in Taito Ward, Tokyo before arriving in Dhaka. He had planned to marry next year.
Makoto’s father, Komakichi Okamura said “Everybody loved him. He is a good man” and that his son’s death “is unbearable as a parent... I cannot find the words now.”
He recalled his son’s last words to him: “He said, ‘I am leaving now, ’ and I said to him to be careful. That was the last conversation I had with him on the telephone.”
Hideki Hashimoto
The 65-year-old worked for Oriental Consultants Global, based in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, which is part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project in Bangladesh, to build three bridges for the widening of the national highway from Dhaka to Chittagong.
Nobuhiro Kurosaki
The 48-year-old also worked for Oriental Consultants Global, and was in Dhaka for the same project as Hashimoto.
Hiroshi Tanaka
AT 80, Tanaka was the oldest victim of the attack. He also worked for Oriental Consultants Global.
Hiroshi was a a veteran research engineer for the Japan National Railways sent to Dhaka to do a traffic congestion survey. He had a consulting business for railway projects in Japan and abroad.
Koyo Ogasawara
The 56-year-old worked for Katahira & Engineers International, a transportation consultancy. Koyo was an environmental impact assessment expert. He was supposed to return home on Tuesday.
Yuko Sakai
The 42-year-old worked at ALMEC Corp, a transportation consultancy based in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. He was Makoto’s colleague.
Rui Shimodaira
The 27-year-old also worked at ALMEC Corp. They were all at the restaurant for a dinner with colleagues.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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