k >From: sulayman Nyang <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: OBITUARY ANNOUNCEMENTS. >Date: Tue, 1 May 2001 16:48:21 -0700 > >Dear Colleagues: > I am writing to announce the sudden >death of our good friend and brother Alhaji Bai Abi >Phall. He died suddenly on Monday at Laurel Hospital, >Montgomery County, Maryland. For those of you who do >not know much about this brother, let me give you a >brief account of his life and times: > > > OBITUARY > > Alhaji Bai abi Phall: A Gambian Who > Labored Hard for his Contemporaries > > > Alhaji Bai Abi Phall has returned to his >Creator. Like those before us he too has taken the >path which all of us will eventually take. During his >life he went through the stages of socialization most >young Gambians of the colonial era experienced. The >son of Pa Essa Faal, a private contractor whose >reputation among the colonial Gambians was far and >wide. His father earned the distinction of being the >Gambian contractor who built more wharves than any >other contractor. Throughout the Provinces the name >Essa Faal was known among many villagers and >townspeople. Young Bai Abi shared this commitment to >public service with his father. He joined the Boy >Scouts of the Gambia and excelled in many ways. Later >he became a member of the Zegoza, one of the earliest >Gambian youth groups projecting a modern outlook in >mode of dress and social activism. It was groups like >this that pioneered much of the changes that many >Gambian youths now take for granted. What later came >to be known in the provinces as Kompinos were in many >ways modelled after these urban-based youth groups. > Mr. Phall attended the Methodist Boys High >School in Banjul. After finishing his education he >joined that small but growing caravan of aspiring >Gambians who went to the United Kingdom for higher >education. He studied the medical and health sciences >and worked in England for many years as a physician's >assistant. He emigrated to the United States of >America in 1969 and worked at the Washington Hospital >Center in Washington, D.C. Bai abi Phall was one of >the first Gambians who emigrated to the United States. >After almost five years in the United States of >America he decided to answer the call of duty and >returned to the Gambia. He was one the first team of >teachers to open the Gambia School of Public Health in >Banjul. During his tenure at this institution he >gained fame and recognition among Gambians not only >for his dedicated services to the community but his >radio broadcasts on health and medical issues in the >country. > Alhaji Bai Abi Phall spent many years in the >Gambian Civil Service. During his years of service he >became known to almost all his contemporaries. He was >definitely a man who gave much of himself to others. >He gave medicine to the sick, school lunch money to >the youth and fish money to relatives,friends and >neighbors. In classical Wolof terminology he would >have been described as Samba yek nyep. This is to say, >he was someone who cares for most if not all who came >his way. > Alhaji Bai Abi Phall whose last name is >spelt differently from his cosuins(the Faals) in >Banjul and elsewhere in the Gambia, took this decision >to assert his independence and to capture phonetically >the sound of his name which many of his American and >British friends confuse with the English verb fall. He >is survived by his wife Hania and five daughters. May >his soul rest in peace. We express our condolences to >the family and to the in-laws, Habib Ghanim, Ghanim >Diab of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, Kathleen and Fatwa, >Amira Diab Jagne and all others in Gambia, Lebanon, >United States of America and elsewhere. > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices >http://auctions.yahoo.com/ > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------