Seeking justice for Oumarou's family
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Oumarou -- my friend from Peace Corps days -- was killed in a hit-&-run accident in Niger, West Africa, leaving behind two co-wives and eight children, destitute in the world's poorest country. The perpetrator, a British tourist -- a renowned rock star, it turns out -- fled the country after sentencing, failing to pay damages to the family. This happened in 1975; it was not until 2018 that he was finally confronted on behalf of the family, when I visited England. He recalls the incident well -- has even written about it -- but callously refused any word of condolence or any compensation for the family whose lives he destroyed. This Fund has been established to let this family -- still suffering from the loss of their husband, father, breadwinner many years ago -- feel some justice from the outside world. I want them to know that their story matters.
Amina and Safi -- co-wives of Oumarou -- were my closest friends as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger in 1969-70. Thirty-seven years later, after a long and arduous search, I was finally able to re-connect with them. It was joyous! -- except that I discovered Oumarou had been killed in a hit-and-run accident in 1975. Their lives were forever altered. The family was separated, the children deprived of education, the co-wives forced to each return to the house of their fathers. Still now, more than 40 years later, the impact endures in the diminished lives of this family, and the diminished prospects for the next generation.
The perpetrator of that hit-and-run, a British tourist, was sentenced to jail time and monetary damages for the family. Instead he skipped the country and paid nothing. When I re-connected with Amina and Safi and their children in 2008, the family asked me to find this man and get them justice! A tall order! But the tourist, it turned out, is someone famous, and I was, in fact, able to track him down in 2018 when I visited England. His name is Peter Edward Baker -- Ginger Baker -- renowned rock-star drummer of the band "Cream".
He remembered the incident well. He had, in fact, written about it in his autobiography as if it were some kind of lark, a wild African adventure, leaving a dying man lying in the road and speeding away: "He's got to be brown bread," he quotes himself as saying.
I explained that I was making inquiry on behalf of the family whose lives he'd destroyed, and they sought justice from him -- to be paid the damages he was ordered to pay in 1976, or whatever portion he is able. "A sum small by US or English standards is enormously impactful in such a poor country, and would enable a better living situation, medical care for the aging widows, education for the adult-children's offspring, etc. And an apology -- they would very much like Ginger to express his sorrow for their loss and the role he played in it, and for his irresponsible actions so long ago. It would mean a lot to them. There is a deep wound in their lives...."
The response from Ginger Baker and his daughter was callous and dismissive: "LOL. You'll be lucky" "He has no conscience about this..." ; they attached copies of pages from his autobiography, describing the incident (with some significant factual errors, according to the family).
I expressed disbelief that, when faced with the actual family of the man he had killed, he would not experience some desire to finally make right this wrong, to express regret, to find some way to compensate these people in some fashion for the enormous loss they suffered, emotionally and financially. And the family too, I said, had truly believed that no one could dismiss the death of their father as a "LOL" matter -- that once confronted, of course(!) the person responsible would do whatever he could to make it right.
"NO.
We truly ARE awful!
Sorry"
was the reply.
I'd vowed to do what I could. Though there will clearly be no legal justice for this family, at this point, and no satisfaction from Ginger Baker in any form, I want this family to feel some justice from the outside world -- to feel that their story matters. Please let them hear that message. And please share this story with others.
All funds raised by this Fund will be delivered by me directly to the surviving family of Oumarou Djibril: his widows Amina and Safi, and his surviving children including Mounkaila, Aissa, Hassane and the others. The funds will be used to better their minimal living situation, to get medical care for the aging widows, to educate Oumarou's now-adult children's offspring, and to convey a message that they and their father matter.
Thank you.
Amina and Safi -- co-wives of Oumarou -- were my closest friends as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger in 1969-70. Thirty-seven years later, after a long and arduous search, I was finally able to re-connect with them. It was joyous! -- except that I discovered Oumarou had been killed in a hit-and-run accident in 1975. Their lives were forever altered. The family was separated, the children deprived of education, the co-wives forced to each return to the house of their fathers. Still now, more than 40 years later, the impact endures in the diminished lives of this family, and the diminished prospects for the next generation.
The perpetrator of that hit-and-run, a British tourist, was sentenced to jail time and monetary damages for the family. Instead he skipped the country and paid nothing. When I re-connected with Amina and Safi and their children in 2008, the family asked me to find this man and get them justice! A tall order! But the tourist, it turned out, is someone famous, and I was, in fact, able to track him down in 2018 when I visited England. His name is Peter Edward Baker -- Ginger Baker -- renowned rock-star drummer of the band "Cream".
He remembered the incident well. He had, in fact, written about it in his autobiography as if it were some kind of lark, a wild African adventure, leaving a dying man lying in the road and speeding away: "He's got to be brown bread," he quotes himself as saying.
I explained that I was making inquiry on behalf of the family whose lives he'd destroyed, and they sought justice from him -- to be paid the damages he was ordered to pay in 1976, or whatever portion he is able. "A sum small by US or English standards is enormously impactful in such a poor country, and would enable a better living situation, medical care for the aging widows, education for the adult-children's offspring, etc. And an apology -- they would very much like Ginger to express his sorrow for their loss and the role he played in it, and for his irresponsible actions so long ago. It would mean a lot to them. There is a deep wound in their lives...."
The response from Ginger Baker and his daughter was callous and dismissive: "LOL. You'll be lucky" "He has no conscience about this..." ; they attached copies of pages from his autobiography, describing the incident (with some significant factual errors, according to the family).
I expressed disbelief that, when faced with the actual family of the man he had killed, he would not experience some desire to finally make right this wrong, to express regret, to find some way to compensate these people in some fashion for the enormous loss they suffered, emotionally and financially. And the family too, I said, had truly believed that no one could dismiss the death of their father as a "LOL" matter -- that once confronted, of course(!) the person responsible would do whatever he could to make it right.
"NO.
We truly ARE awful!
Sorry"
was the reply.
I'd vowed to do what I could. Though there will clearly be no legal justice for this family, at this point, and no satisfaction from Ginger Baker in any form, I want this family to feel some justice from the outside world -- to feel that their story matters. Please let them hear that message. And please share this story with others.
All funds raised by this Fund will be delivered by me directly to the surviving family of Oumarou Djibril: his widows Amina and Safi, and his surviving children including Mounkaila, Aissa, Hassane and the others. The funds will be used to better their minimal living situation, to get medical care for the aging widows, to educate Oumarou's now-adult children's offspring, and to convey a message that they and their father matter.
Thank you.
Organizer
Pamela Britton White
Organizer
Pasadena, CA