Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Abdul-Raheem Tajudeen

It hasn’t shown up in the U.S. papers yet, but African news agencies are covering the death of Abdul-Raheem Tajudeen in great detail and with much mourning. I had not heard of him, but he was the general secretary of the Global Pan-African movement, a regular newspaper columnist, and the Deputy Director for the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC), promoting the Millennium Development Goals within and all across Africa.

He died in a car accident as he was on his way to the airport early in the morning of May 25 as he was on his way to launch a maternal health campaign in Kigali, Rwanda, according to the UNMC's site.

The BBC noted

it was poignant that he died in the early hours of 25 May, designated Africa Day.
"He insisted it be called Africa Liberation Day, not just Africa Day, because that sounds like celebrating something in the past whereas Africa's liberation is a struggle still to be achieved."

He sounds like a remarkable man. Prayers for him and his family and all who are affected by his death.

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