On 26 October 2006, Sarah Meek, an alumni of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) at the time, perished in a tragic automobile accident in her home country of South Africa. She is memorialized on the MIIS campus with a bench in front of the Kade Building. In order to honor Sarah’s work and promote research in Africa, her family established an annual monetary prize for student research in Africa, known as the Sarah Meek Page Prize.
At about the time I was receiving the email informing me of the details and deadline for the Sarah Meek Page Prize, my colleague at the ISS, Henri Boshoff (aka Bossie), met his maker, as his car crashed on his way home from a memorial service.
What can I tell you about Bossie, a man I only knew for about three months. Well, when I met him in his office the first thing that stood out was the collection of guns hanging from the coat rack (he was ex-military), as well as the war memorabilia lining the walls, including military helmets from the Anglo-Boer war and WWI. As I was sitting with him, however, I happened to look over my shoulder and notice a life-size poster of MLK. Oh, the duality of Man. I wish I had more time to get to know this amazingly complex man.
In the short time I did get to know him, he managed to advise me on my project on several occasions, introduce me to dozens of people in the field, and educate me on the innumerable failings of his beloved Blue Bulls (the Pretoria rugby team).
And so yes, it is a world of accidents. Yet South Africa, or more specifically Africa, seems more prone to accidents than most places. So, today, I am reminded that even thousands of miles away from home I am not immune to loss. I am not immune to the insulting facts of sorrow.
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