African Human Rights Coalition extends deep condolences to the families, friends, organizations, countries and communities of all those who lost their lives in the tragic Ethiopian Airline ET 302 which crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa to Nairobi this week.
The humanitarian and aid communities have been particularly hard hit by this tragedy. The lives of those so tragically taken must be remembered not only for what they did, their selfless commitments to causes, their work, their contributions to society, but also for their lives as parents, daughters, sons, siblings, family members and friends. While mourning their loss, we echo the sentiment of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Chief Filippo Grandi, noting that this is a time for us to come together to honor and celebrate the lives of the generous and devoted people who dedicated their lives to extremely difficult aid and humanitarian work in their regions. At a time like this we are provided an opportunity to draw from their example.
The UNHCR staff so tragically taken include: Nadia Adam Abaker Ali, Sudanese national aged 40, joined UNHCR in Nyala, Sudan in 2010. As Assistant Protection Officer, she had been working there to help Sudanese people who fled from Darfur. Before joining UNHCR, Nadia was working as a health specialist in Nyala and Khartoum. She leaves behind a husband and daughter aged six.
Jessica Hyba, Canadian national aged 43, had been working as Senior External Relations Officer with UNHCR in Mogadishu. She had taken this latest assignment in February this year. Jessica joined UNHCR in Iraq in 2013 and had also worked at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva. Prior to UNHCR, Jessica had a long and distinguished service with Care Canada, Care International and UNICEF. She leaves behind close family including two daughters, aged 9 and 12.
Jackson Musoni, Rwandan national aged 31, had been working since late 2017 as Associate Field Coordinator in Sudan’s East Darfur. He had joined UNHCR in 2014, working in Butare, Rwanda. From 2011 to 2014 Jackson had been working for the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The close family he leaves behind include three children aged eight, five and four.
