Though a Bangladeshi family lost their business in the uproar over the death of George Floyd, they support demonstrators and helped medics treat them.
On Friday morning, as dawn broke through the smoke hanging over Minneapolis, the Gandhi Mahal Restaurant was severely damaged by fire. Hafsa Islam, whose father owns the Bangladeshi-Indian restaurant with members of his family, woke at 6 a.m. to hear the news.
“At first, I was angry,” said Ms. Islam,18. “This is my family’s main source of income.”
But then she overheard her father, Ruhel Islam, speaking to a friend on the phone. “Let my building burn,” he said. “Justice needs to be served.”
On Friday afternoon, after the fire stopped smoldering and the family came together, he repeated his support for the protests that had closed his restaurant. “We can rebuild a building, but we cannot rebuild a human,” said Mr. Islam,42. “The community is still here, and we can work together to rebuild.”
For days, the Islam family has watched the protests over the arrest and killing of George Floyd, the African-American man who died on Monday after a white police officer pinned him to the ground, a knee pressed against Mr. Floyd’s neck. The officer has been fired, and on Friday was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, the authorities said.
The restaurant is just a few doors away from the Third Precinct headquarters of the Minneapolis Police Department, which was set ablaze by protesters on Thursday night.
