A Tribute to a Sierra Leone Community Leader in The United States
Aroun Rashid Deen, NY – The Sierra Leone community in the northeastern United States has given a final solemn farewell to one of its founding members at a well-attended prayer and remembrance ceremony in Manhattan, New York City over the weekend.
Alhaji Sorie Kamara from Mambolo, in northern Sierra Leone, died at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan on January 9 following a short illness. He was 74. His remains were interred in a New York cemetery.
Alhaji Sorie Kamara
The son of a prosperous farmer and section chief in Mambolo, Alhaji Sorie Kamara was one of the first Sierra Leoneans to settle in the United States.
After completing high school at Albert Academy in Freetown, he worked briefly as an accountant for the Sierra Leone Construction Company in the capital, Freetown, and in Kamakwie town, in the north.
According to Mohamed Archie Kargbo, a longtime friend, the young Sorie Kamara escaped to the United States in 1973 to avoid threats of prosecution by a popular politician whose opponent in the pending general election that year had secured the support of Kamara. “Being the introvert and peaceful-minded individual that he was, Kamara decided to give up his well-paying job and escape. That was his only option,” Mohamed Archie Kargbo says.
On his arrival in the United States, Alhaji Sorie Kamara enrolled at the City University of New York where he studied Finance and Business Management, attaining his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Finance and Public Accounting. He then joined the New York City Transit, the city’s transportation company after his graduation. He worked there for over 30 years as a certified accountant. He rose in the ranks.
Alhaji Sorie Kamara also helped mobilized members of the Sierra Leone community in the northeastern United States, organizing regular functions relating to development within the Sierra Leone community, and in Sierra Leone, while also coordinating opportunities for new emigrants from the homeland to properly settle in the U.S. Those efforts led to the formation of a couple of Sierra Leonean organizations, among them the Sierra Leone National Association, and the Sierra Leone Muslim Jamaat (Baraka-tul Islamia) of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, both of which he was founding member.
The Chief Imam of Baraka-tul Islamia, Alhaji Salieu-Wagon Kamara describes Alhaji Sorie Kamara as a devoted Muslim and a dedicated man with a strong desire for community development. Imam Salieu-Wagon Kamara recalls the many roles the late man played in ensuring that Baraka-tul Islamia got officially registered in the State of New York.
In his hometown of Mambolo, the late Alhaji Kamara contributed immensely in community development including toward the construction of community mosques, school development projects and welfare aid for the elderly. He also helped many of his young relatives, town’s members and friends to emigrate to the United States to pursue higher education.
In a tribute, daughter Masaio Roberts, says she sometimes go to sleep hoping to wake up and find her dad alive again. Speaking to this media, the New York City middle-school teacher describes her late father as her “best friend,” and, who in many ways was also her “twin mate”.
Mrs. Roberts remembers a father who she says was kindhearted, ambitious, fare-minded, and respectful of others regardless of who they are, “sometimes to a fault”, she adds. “My dad molded me to be all those things that matter in life”, she says. “He had a subtle way of letting you listen and follow instructions.”
She describes her father as a man who strongly believed in the pursuit of education, attributing her being a school teacher to a father who she says also imbued in her the sense that there is more to physical beauty than outward appearance. “Dad let me understand that sound education, a sense of confidence and self-respect, respect for and a desire to help others are what matter most in life.
Responding to what she thinks her dad’s weaknesses are, Mrs. Roberts, smiles and says, “he loved my girls more than he loved me. I think they, too, loved him more.”
Another close friend, Alhaji Alpha Tarawallie describes his late friend as a dedicated family man. He calls the late man reliable, peaceful and trustworthy. Alhaji Tarawallie was in Freetown when his friend died. He, however, traveled to New York to honor his late friend at the prayer and remembrance ceremony.
Alhaji Sorie Kamara
Alhaji Sorie Kamara was a man with an alluring taste for style even before he left Sierra Leone. He came to the United States when fashion was all about individual expressions. He too got swept into the groovy fashion revolution at the time, often seen in eye-catching brand name outfits, from head to toe. His ever-pleasant smile often sitting below a slanting classic American felt-hat, also defined his own personal fashion trademark.
Alhaji Sorie Kamara was respected and loved by many at home and abroad. He is survived by his wife and three children, and several nieces and nephews, and many other relatives.
