Faraaz honoured as 'righteous' in Italy
Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain, who sacrificed his life by refusing to desert his friends during the July 1, 2016 terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, was recently remembered and honoured by the students of Rummo High School and The Garden of the Righteous Worldwide (GARIWO).
GARIWO is a non-profit organisation based in Italy's Milan that aims to prevent cases of genocide and crimes against humanity.
On March 6, European Day of the Righteous, students of Rummo High School in Benevento in Italy, accepted Faraaz as “the first Righteous” and planted a tree in the “Garden of the Righteous” in the school, says a press release.
The first tree in the memory of Faraaz was planted in the Garden of Righteous in the Italian embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, a few days after his death.
In a message to the students, Faraaz's mother, Simeen Hossain, said, "As a mother, I know and live with the belief that my son Faraaz has made me prouder than I could have ever imagined. He also left behind a legacy of courage, friendship and humanity."
GARIWO representative Enza Nunziato and the students of Rummo replied saying, "The example of Faraaz will be the reference point of our consciousness as humans, who are always able to find a way out, even if the choice could cost us our lives."
Faraaz, who was a student of Economics at Emory University in Atlanta, US, had come to Dhaka for the holidays. During his stay, he had gone to Holey Artisan Bakery with his friends on that dreadful night.
During the attack, Faraaz was given the choice of walking free from the café under siege. But he chose to stay with his friends -- Abinta Kabir, a Bangladesh-born US citizen and also a student at Emory University, and Tarishi Jain, an Indian student from the University of California, Berkeley.
He paid with his life for his choice.
Set up in the Tunisian capital in July 15, 2016, the Garden of Righteous, a commemorative garden with trees and memorial stones, is dedicated to the righteous Arabs and Muslims who risked their lives and stood up against the current spate of terrorism in the name of “jihad” that Bangladesh and the world as a whole is facing today.
Later, that month, Faraaz became the only non-Arab Muslim to be inducted into the Garden of the Righteous.
The tree dedicated to Faraaz bears the inscription: "In Dhaka, he chose not to leave his friends and was murdered by the terrorists."