Holey Artisan: The haunting will never go

As evening fell quietly, Holey Artisan Bakery in an upscale area of the capital would be buzzing with activity. Locals would come to the two-storey restaurant standing next to Gulshan Lake to taste foreign cuisine. Foreigners in Dhaka would stream in the Western-style ritzy café for dinner.

The dining and gossip would continue until midnight.

All of these are now just memories as the 2016 militant attack on the oasis of serenity in the bustling city changed everything.

Six years after the country's worst terror attack that left 22 dead, Holey Artisan keeps thriving at its new address, with the two-storey building by the lake having been turned into a duplex residence.

The five old bakery staffers still struggle to forget the horrors they had gone through.

"You just reminded me of the night of horror. I will not be able to sleep tonight," chef Delwar Hossain said over the phone.

During a visit to the old location of the eatery on Road 79, Gulshan 2, the entire area was like a deserted place. 

The duplex building was completed in 2019, and the owner has been living with his family there since last year.

The main gate of the residence remains shut round the clock. 

Gatekeeper Nur Alam said the establishment had been abandoned for around four years after the attack.

"No outsiders are allowed to enter," he said.  

During the terror attack on 1 July 2016, nine Italians, seven Japanese, five Bangladeshis including two police officers, and one Indian died. A Bangladesh Army commando raid ended having killed five militants.

Six months later, the bakery with five of the old staff members shifted to the new location.

'Any loud noise frightens me'

Sayedur Rahman, one of the old staffers, told The Business Standard that he still shuddered at the thought of the night. 

"Our business is going well here," he said, "but the terrible night still haunts me. I get panicked when I hear any loud bang. The attackers slaughtered so many people in front of us. I cannot narrate the brutality."

Sayedur was in charge of the cash on the fateful night. He said five young men had appeared at the main gate around 8:45pm. As the gatekeeper barred them from entering the café, they pulled out guns from their backpacks and started shooting.

"They entered the bakery and started firing at foreign nationals. I scampered to the roof, and jumped to the next building to survive," Sayedur said.

Another staff member, Akash, who managed to survive the attack, said he used to visit the café during his leisure time after the attack.

"But I have not gone there for around a year since the place reminds me of my colleagues Shaon and Saiful [who were among those killed]," Akash said.

He said Shaon's mother was still alive and the owner of the café sent money to her every month.

'Won't be able to sleep tonight'

Media reports marking the anniversary of the terror attack remind chef Delwar Hossain of the night, and those memories do not let him sleep at night.

Delwar said he was working in the kitchen on 1 July 2016.

"As the terrorists opened fire, eight of us took shelter in a toilet. Screams and shrieks could be heard from all directions. Panicked and bewildered by the gunfire and repeated blasts, we thought we would get killed anytime.

"It was around 2pm when one of the terrorists knocked on the door of the toilet. We were all scared. They threatened to open the door or to blow it up if we did not open it," Delwar said.

"I opened the door and saw two young men with weapons. We all stood with our hands up as they asked us to do," he added.

The chef said the militants had asked about their identities. "'Are you a Muslim?' they asked me."

He answered, "Yes," and then the attackers left them locked inside the toilet.

"We could not breathe. It seemed we would all die from oxygen shortage. So, we were trying to knock down the wall of the toilet. Then the attackers unlocked the toilet."
Coming out, Delwar discovered bodies lying in a pool of blood. The terrorists started quizzing them. At daybreak, the army commandos launched the raid and the staff were taken to

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Detective Branch office.

"We were released after identity verifications," he added.

Another staff member, Shuhin said he prayed that no one would fall into a situation like that and nowhere in the world should there be such a militant attack.