VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia student who was severely beaten during a trip home to Bangladesh won’t see again despite four surgeries by Canadian doctors attempting to restore her eyesight, the university said Monday.
Rumana Monzur, a 33-year-old graduate student, was home in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in early June when her eyes were gouged and her face disfigured. Her husband is now in custody.
She returned to Vancouver earlier this month hoping experts here could restore at least some of her vision, but the school said in a statement released Monday that Monzur’s injuries “were found to be beyond repair” and the surgeries were unsuccessful.
“I am very grateful for the medical care I have received,” Monzur said in the statement.
“It had been my wish to recover my eyesight so I could see all the people who have been helping me. I want you all to pray for me. My family and I will need some time to adjust to this news.”
Monzur, a Fulbright scholar and mother of a young girl, returned home for a visit when she was attacked June 5. Her eyes were gouged and her nose bitten.
Her husband, Hasan Sayeed Sumon, is in jail in Bangladesh facing charges of attempted murder.
Monzur returned to Vancouver with her father a month after the attack. Her mother and daughter are expected to join her soon.
The university has been raising money to cover Monzur’s medical and living expenses as she completes her studies. The school has so far raised $61,000 towards a goal of $70,000.