Gandhi Mahal set on fire during protests against the murder of George Floyd
New Delhi:
Gandhi Mahal, a Bangladeshi immigrant-run restaurant serving Indian cuisine in the American city of Minneapolis, faced the largest of an angry crowd who protested violently against the racist murder of an African American man by a white policeman.
The restaurant was burned down during Friday’s protests, just days after the death of George Floyd when a white policeman knelt on his neck for more than five minutes. “I can’t breathe,” said George Floyd as the police asked him to “get up” before he passed out and had to be taken to hospital. He died soon after.
Even though Gandhi Mahal burned, the owners were not angry. In a now viral Facebook post, the owner’s daughter Hafsa wrote: “Gandhi Mahal may have felt the flames last night, but our passionate drive to protect and support our community will never die!” She followed him with #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd and #BLM which stands for Black Lives Matter – a movement that fights against violence and systematic racism against blacks.
Hafsa also said that his father, Ruhel, even if he was upset by their restaurant, was in solidarity with the demonstrators. “Let my building burn, justice must be done, put these officers in prison,” she quotes her father.
Hafsa says their neighbors have helped protect the restaurant and is confident they will recover. But what won thousands of people online was what the owners stood for, even at the cost of their restaurant.
“Don’t worry about us, we will rebuild and we will recover,” she wrote. A GoFundMe page created to rebuild the restaurant raised hundreds of thousands of rupees. Many tweeted applauding the restaurant.
“Let my building burn, justice must be done, put these officers in prison.” The owner of the restaurant Gandhi Mahal in Minneapolis shows us what the ally looks like. The respect. pic.twitter.com/0B33r1Knt3
– Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) May 29, 2020
“Let my building burn, justice must be done, put these officers in prison.” The owner of the restaurant Gandhi Mahal in Minneapolis shows us what the ally looks like. The respect. pic.twitter.com/0B33r1Knt3
– Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) May 29, 2020
Anger and widespread protests have engulfed many cities in the United States as Derek Chauvin, who was seen in an explosive video pressing his knee against the neck of a handcuffed George Floyd, was fired but was not stopped.
Three of his colleagues who stood there while the torture continued were also dismissed. Chauvin was arrested on Friday and charged with third degree murder.
Hundreds of stores have been damaged and a police station has been burned to date during the protests.
