Mount Olive grad killed in Mali attack

A Mount Olive High School graduate was one of  19 people killed in a terrorist attack Friday morning at a Mali hotel.

Anita Ashok Datar, 41, a public health worker, was killed by heavily armed Islamic extremists at a Radisson hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako on Friday morning, according to the U.S. State Department.

No other U.S. citizens were believed to have died in the attack in the West African country.

A class of 1991 graduate of Mount Olive High School, Datar was a senior manager at Palladium Group, an international development nonprofit organization with offices in Washington, D.C.. She lived in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Datar’s work focused on family planning and HIV issues, which took her to Africa, Asia and South America during the past 15 years.

Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum did not know Datar  but expressed his condolences to the family and the township community.

“I’m saddened to hear of the attacks in Mali, and even more that it affects our local community in a greater way,” Greenbaum said. “My hope is we will one day be able to curb the tide of violence and be able to safely travel the world once again.”

Jodi Bosch, who grew up with Datar and now teaches English and theater at Mount Olive High School, said the class of 1991 is rallying behind her and hoping to do something in her honor.

“Anita was the kindest girl anyone could know,” Bosch said. “She was a friend to everyone. She was smart, beautiful, sweet. I think most of our class of 1991 followed her adult life on Facebook, watching her continue to be a light outside our MOHS community.”

Another Mount Olive ’91 graduate and friend, Tara Elms Henderson, said Datar was an “amazing person.”

“She was super bright, super caring and generous. Friends to everyone. She was certainly something special,” Henderson said. “What happened was senseless. All she was trying to do was help because that’s who she was.”

Angela McCort, a fourth-grade teacher at Mountain View Elementary School who also was a classmate and good friend of Datar, said Datar was a beautiful person, inside and out.

“She was well-liked and respected by everyone. Growing up she had many friends, who are now so devastated to hear that she is gone,” McCort said. “Anita had a smile for everyone and was always kind.”

McCort said Datar was involved in many high school clubs,  including band, student council, National Honor Society and the Foreign Language National Honor Society.

“During our senior year, we would all spend time together, talking about what the future would bring after graduation. Anita would laugh so hard about stories, she would cry and have us all in tears,” McCort said. “We were all sad to see high school end and nervous about what our futures would bring.  To see what Anita has accomplished in her life makes me proud to have been her friend.”

McCort said Datar has a “tremendous” devotion to helping others, regardless of the danger it sometimes put her in.

“Myself and many others are grateful for her friendship and will continue to cherish the many memories we shared,” McCort said. “Right now, for all of her friends and loved ones, it is tremendously difficult to comprehend why Anita has been taken from her son, family and loved ones. She will be missed.”

Gov. Chris Christie issued a statement on his official Twitter account Saturday morning.

“Incredibly sad to hear of loss of NJ's Anita Datar, whose life was taken in the senseless attacks in Mali,” Christie said. “Mary Pat and I send our condolences and prayers to the Datar family and to all the families of the victims in Mali.”

Datar’s family issued a statement through the State Department.

“We are devastated that Anita is gone - It’s unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism,” the statement said.

“Anita was one of the kindest and most generous people we know. She loved her family and her work tremendously. Everything she did in her life she did to help others — as a mother, public health expert, daughter, sister and friend. And while we are angry and saddened that she has been killed, we know that she would want to promote education and healthcare to prevent violence and poverty at home and abroad, not intolerance.”

Born in Massachusetts, Datar graduated from Rutgers, her family said. She worked in Senegal with the Peace Corps for more than two years and earned master’s degrees in public health and public administration from Columbia University.

Datar was also a founding member of Tulalens, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing health care to underserved communities.

But the accomplishment that  she was most proud of, according to the family’s statement, was being the mother of her young boy.

Datar is survived by her son, parents, brother and “many, many friends around the world,” the statement said.

Contributing: The Associated Press 

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com