Some lessons from death of Somali man

Abdirahman is a hyphenated name: Abdi-Rahman. The meaning of the name in Arabic and Hebrew is the same: A.b.d. is servant and R.h.m.n. is mercy-kindness. The name may carry a lesson, a value to live by.

The tragic death of Abdirahman after his arrest last month was perhaps avoidable. I have also seen the Ottawa police extend kindness and support to the Somali community. Countless police officers and their spouses have attended the Annual Somali Hope Academy Foundation (SHAF) Gala. The founder/director of SHAF is a Somali-Canadian police officer, Const. Mahamud Elmi.

This year’s sixth annual gala, in April, was attended by approximately 200 people at the EY Centre and raised $21,000 from the mainly Somali and police communities.

One hundred per cent of the proceeds support education in rural Somalia.

The job of community-building is a work in progress. Deescalation policy in all critical situations — whether the person in question is mentally ill or perhaps in a somewhat related situation exhibiting signs of dementia — is another way to extend kindness to local communities, protect lives and grow our impact by learning from each other.

Erica Bregman, Ottawa