By Felix Sesay, USA.
I was coming off of an eight-hour night shift at Fairfax Hospital on January 25, 2015 when a Liberian brother, who has been very supportive of our Ebola fundraising effort at Virginia Hospital Center, pulled me aside and stated: My brother, another tragedy for your country. My wife, a Sierra Leonean, was among a crowd of mourners who laid to rest a young professor, Dr. Florence Margai (pictured) in Woodbridge yesterday.
I sympathized with my Liberian brother and described the loss of life a waste for Sierra Leone, and told him I had no recollection meeting a Margai in my adult life. I went on to give my Liberian brother a brief political history on the role the Margais played in our gaining independence from the British.
But for some reason, the name Florence, stuck in my mind and I asked my Liberian brother to give me more information on the deceased professor. He said, Oh, they said she was related to the Minahs. My worst fears were confirmed when he went on to state the professor’s maiden name was Lansana. I knew her at Fourah Bay College! I screamed.
Not knowing where to contact Florence’s family members in Virginia, a Sierra Leonean lady by the name of Kadie Turay, who lives in Burke, Virginia, gave me the cell phone number of the grieving senior sister Alberta, who courageously spoke with me at length. I was also able to reach Dr. Margai’s younger sister, June Lansana, via Facebook and expressed my condolences.
The last time I saw Florence was in 1996 in Alexandria, Virginia around the Land Mark area. We spoke briefly but did not exchange phone numbers, unfortunately. In fact, she was the one who recognized me. The picture of the last meeting we had still took front row in the pew of my mind. I kept replaying images of a young and beautiful student at FBC campus, poised for academic excellence. For those who knew Florence’s academic standing, her journey to earn a PhD in Geography was a foregone conclusion. Florence was very unassuming with a sense of intellect that runs deep. We have lost a woman with immense knowledge!
According to Professor Margai’s obituary, she joined the faculty at Binghamton University where she taught courses in her area of specialization. These included Advance Statistics and Special Analysis, Health Geographies, and Environmental Health Disparities.
The orbituary also stated: "During her time at Binghamton, she rose to the rank of full professor, served as co-chair and chair of Department of Geography, Associate Dean of the Graduate School from 2011 until 2013, and was the current Associate Dean for research and graduate studies in Binghamton University’s Harpur college and interim Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies (IGGS), once held by the late, distinguished Africanist scholar Ali Mazrui.” Professor Florence Margai was also a distinguished member of the Association of American Geographers"
May her soul rest in perfect peace.
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