Slain scholar’s body arrives in T&T on Friday A memorial service was held yesterday in Nairobi for Trinidadian scholar Ravindra Ramrattan, who was killed in a terrorist attack at a Kenyan shopping mall over the weekend. His father, Bisnath Ramrattan, yesterday told the Express that the memorial service, held at a Buddist temple in Nairobi, Kenya, was organised by his son’s friends. Ramrattan’s body is expected to arrive in Trinidad on Friday. Ravindra Ramrattan, who turned 30 earlier this month, was killed when Al Qaeda-linked militants attacked an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi. He was one of scores of people who were killed. Over 170 were wounded. Four years ago, Ramrattan, who was awarded the President’s Medal gold in 2002, went to Kenya. He opted to go to that country rather than to continue his studies in England or Canada. He was employed as a research economist at Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya and also as a consultant with the World Bank. Ramrattan described his son as a high achiever who was always trying to move up the corporate ladder. It was on Saturday that the Ramrattans were told that the eldest or their three children was missing. On Sunday, they found out through their son’s peers that he had died. Ramrattan yesterday said that while an autopsy had been done on his son’s body, he and his wife, Parbatee Ramrattan, were yet to be notified of the cause of their son’s death. Bisnath Ramrattan said that the tentative date for his son’s body being brought back to his Cunupia home is Friday. Ramrattan said that David Ferrand, the director at Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya, had been liaising with the Trinidad and Tobago consulate in Uganda on having Ramrattan’s body returned to this country. His body is expected to journey to London before it arrives in this country. A funeral service by Hindu rites will then be done. For the nights leading up to the funeral there has been a constant flow of family members and friends at the Ramratttan’s home. Bisnath Ramrattan yesterday said, “We are devastated to say the least. It is a shared grief with relatives, friends and the entire country.” But Ramrattan said he appreciated the support he had gotten both locally, including from pupils past and present from his son’s alma mater Presentation College, Chaguanas, the parents of past President’s Medal winners and national scholarship winners and also internationally from his son’s friends and co-workers in Nairobi. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had also extended condolences to the family. (Source: Trinidad Express)
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 11:51:08 +0000
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