Remembering Sebri
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Last Friday the world lost a great man, my brother in law, Sebri. Sebri's fighter jet crashed after catching fire. We have been told that the burning plane was headed in the direction of a school and Sebri, true to character, stayed in the plane to divert it into a field. When he ejected from the plane it was too late and the parachute did not open.
At age 37 he leaves 2 small children and a pregnant wife behind.
I need to tell you about Sebri. I need to tell you about what a good man he was. The way he carried himself wasn't typical - everything about him was off the charts. I've been trying to capture the right words here for days, but there are none. When someone passes the good memories are what rise to the surface; but in all honesty, with Sebri, there isn't anything other than good to remember.
Sebri's reputation was enormous, personally and professionally.
Personally, he was the person everyone went to for advice. He was a peacemaker who brokered deals on the playground with his quick wit, common sense and hilarity when fights broke out at school. As a child he was considered to be so level headed, fair and just, he was asked to mediate conflicts among adults on more than one occasion.
Professionally, he was the Ethiopian air force's top pilot instructor. Fluent in five languages, he was sent around the world to negotiate deals on behalf of his country. He exuded leadership with his easy, but firm and steadfast, demeanor.
He radiated kindness and coolness at the same time. He was the type of person you strive to be like and want to be around. He overflowed with compassion and there are a million stories of his kindness: a debt unexpectedly paid, a shoulder to lean on, a calm presence in crisis, a person who showed up . . . he was a man who didn't hesitate or overthink when there was an opportunity to do good or be generous.
He was sitting in my Addis Ababa living room last Monday. We were making plans for his first trip to the U.S. I was going to meet him in Chicago and then we would head to Detroit. I was so excited for you all to meet him.
This page is for his wife and children. His wife, Nejat, is a wife that you would expect a man of Sebri's stature to choose. She is strong, independent, kind, and generous, but she is in Ethiopia pregnant with two small children to raise during this time of mourning.
Please be generous and give what you can, even a small gift will go so far.
News reports are still emerging, but include:
https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/air-force-plane-crash-kills-two
https://newbusinessethiopia.com/crisis/two-die-in-ethiopia-military-jet-crash/
https://fighterjetsworld.com/latest-news/aircraft-crash/ethiopian-air-force-su-27ubk-crashed-upon-takeoff-killing-instructor-trainee/18856/
For Ethiopians new to crowd-sourcing & fundraising the family requested that I post the following: ስሜ አልሰን እባላልሁ እኔ የወንድሙ አባዲር ባለቤት ነኝ ይህን gofund me site ያቋቋምኩት እኔ ነኝ የተቋቋመበት ምክንያት ብዙ ሰብሪ የሚያውቁት ስዎች የሆነ ነገር ማድረግ እንፈልጋለን ስላሉ ነው ። እኔ ነኝ ያመቻቸሁት ነጃት ጠንካራ ሴትና ብር የማትጠይቅ ስው እንደሆነች ሁሉም ሰው ያውቃል አሁን እሷም ልጆችም ቤተስቧም አልህምዱሊላህ ደህና ናቸው። ስለዚህ ይህን ነገር ለነጃት ቀጥታ እርዳታ ሳይሆን ሰብሪን በጣም ስለምንወደውና ስለምናክብርው ለሱ አንድ ቁም ነገር እንድረግ ብለን ነው። ስለዚህ ቤተሰብን የበለጠ ሐዘን ላይ ባትከቱ በጣም ደስ ይለኛል።
At age 37 he leaves 2 small children and a pregnant wife behind.
I need to tell you about Sebri. I need to tell you about what a good man he was. The way he carried himself wasn't typical - everything about him was off the charts. I've been trying to capture the right words here for days, but there are none. When someone passes the good memories are what rise to the surface; but in all honesty, with Sebri, there isn't anything other than good to remember.
Sebri's reputation was enormous, personally and professionally.
Personally, he was the person everyone went to for advice. He was a peacemaker who brokered deals on the playground with his quick wit, common sense and hilarity when fights broke out at school. As a child he was considered to be so level headed, fair and just, he was asked to mediate conflicts among adults on more than one occasion.
Professionally, he was the Ethiopian air force's top pilot instructor. Fluent in five languages, he was sent around the world to negotiate deals on behalf of his country. He exuded leadership with his easy, but firm and steadfast, demeanor.
He radiated kindness and coolness at the same time. He was the type of person you strive to be like and want to be around. He overflowed with compassion and there are a million stories of his kindness: a debt unexpectedly paid, a shoulder to lean on, a calm presence in crisis, a person who showed up . . . he was a man who didn't hesitate or overthink when there was an opportunity to do good or be generous.
He was sitting in my Addis Ababa living room last Monday. We were making plans for his first trip to the U.S. I was going to meet him in Chicago and then we would head to Detroit. I was so excited for you all to meet him.
This page is for his wife and children. His wife, Nejat, is a wife that you would expect a man of Sebri's stature to choose. She is strong, independent, kind, and generous, but she is in Ethiopia pregnant with two small children to raise during this time of mourning.
Please be generous and give what you can, even a small gift will go so far.
News reports are still emerging, but include:
https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/air-force-plane-crash-kills-two
https://newbusinessethiopia.com/crisis/two-die-in-ethiopia-military-jet-crash/
https://fighterjetsworld.com/latest-news/aircraft-crash/ethiopian-air-force-su-27ubk-crashed-upon-takeoff-killing-instructor-trainee/18856/
For Ethiopians new to crowd-sourcing & fundraising the family requested that I post the following: ስሜ አልሰን እባላልሁ እኔ የወንድሙ አባዲር ባለቤት ነኝ ይህን gofund me site ያቋቋምኩት እኔ ነኝ የተቋቋመበት ምክንያት ብዙ ሰብሪ የሚያውቁት ስዎች የሆነ ነገር ማድረግ እንፈልጋለን ስላሉ ነው ። እኔ ነኝ ያመቻቸሁት ነጃት ጠንካራ ሴትና ብር የማትጠይቅ ስው እንደሆነች ሁሉም ሰው ያውቃል አሁን እሷም ልጆችም ቤተስቧም አልህምዱሊላህ ደህና ናቸው። ስለዚህ ይህን ነገር ለነጃት ቀጥታ እርዳታ ሳይሆን ሰብሪን በጣም ስለምንወደውና ስለምናክብርው ለሱ አንድ ቁም ነገር እንድረግ ብለን ነው። ስለዚህ ቤተሰብን የበለጠ ሐዘን ላይ ባትከቱ በጣም ደስ ይለኛል።
Organizer
Allison Kranz
Organizer
Chicago, IL
