TRIBUTES

Dr. Abdul Momen

Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN

Today I am really shocked and saddened at the death of our great visionary and a spirit of hope and conscience, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He was truely a friend of Bangladesh and Bangladeshis. I first met him in 1971 while he was visiting Bangladesh refugee camps in India and ever since he was a friend, a guide and a hope to me. In my crusade against trafficking of women and children into slave like servitude or against violation of human rights and extra-judicial killings, he was my hope and a constant support. He never wavered on humanitarian issues. I am deeply greateful to him. Without doubt, he was a tireless champion of the poor, the disenfranchised, the distressed and the powerless. May Allah bless his soul.

I hope that his legacy and his dream; his dream of universal healthcare, a decent living wage or equal opportunity for all irrespective of race, color or creed, and his hope of a better world without war and misunderstanding, without poverty and hunger will remain ever fresh in our minds. He was a spirit and a hope. Let his legacy live forever. He was very dear to me and I volunteered for his campaigns throughout my life.

I pray for his departed soul and wish the Almighty to give strength and courage to his wife Vicki and the family to endure such great loss--Ameen.