One of the Canadian victims of a terror attack in the capital of Burkina Faso was a pregnant newlywed who was living in the country while finishing a doctorate at the prestigious University of Cambridge.Tammy Jane Mackay Chen, 34, was one of two Canadians killed in the attack on a restaurant Sunday night in Ouagoudou that authorities in the African nation are treating as a terrorist incident. She was killed along with her husband, Mehsen Fenaiche, who is a Senegalese citizen. The couple were married last month in Ouagoudou. On her Facebook account, Chen identified herself Tammy Chen Fenaiche. Chen’s death was confirmed by her grandmother, Doris Mackay.“She was going to have my first great grandchild, a grandson. She was six months (pregnant),” MacKay told the Star.Eighteen people were killed late Sunday when suspected Islamic extremists opened fire at a popular Turkish restaurant in the country’s capital.“It is with very great sorrow that I can confirm the deaths of two Canadians in yesterday’s attack in Burkina Faso,” Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday.“The heartfelt condolences of our government go out to the loved ones of those targeted and the victims of this tragic attack. Canadian consular officials are working hard to provide assistance to their loved ones.”A native of Montreal, Chen studied education at McGill University and then at Queen’s University. She had once hoped to teach history and geography. She did work as a teacher with the Toronto District School Board, but eventually grew more interested in development work. After a few stints working with the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization, she pursued a doctorate at the University of Cambridge in England, and was set to complete her studies in December, Mackay said.The other Canadian victim has not yet been identified.Local authorities say other foreigners killed include two Kuwaitis an ...
|
