The student organizers of the protests in Serbia announced that the young man Brahim Dieye, their colleague and the man who also became a symbol of the protests in Serbia, passed away at the age of 27.
The students said goodbye to Brahim on social media.
“Brahim was brought to Serbia by the desire for a better life and education, and after his master’s studies in business management, he had big plans ahead. He spoke five languages and was indescribably intelligent. His always smiling and warm eyes were the mirror of a pure, noble, and sincere soul. Brahim fought with a chronic illness called sickle cell anemia, but not even in the hardest moments did he take the smile off his face, because as he himself liked to say, that illness is a part of him, but it does not define him,” they said.
He had, as they say, an infallible moral compass in his heart.
“Brahim had an infallible moral compass in his heart and a sense of justice, and every kind of injustice in this world deeply affected him. For precisely that reason, he was among the first students who recognized our struggle as important and necessary. Despite all the risks that came with the fact that he was a foreign citizen, Brahim stood side by side with his colleagues on the street from the very first day. We were together in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis, and people all over Serbia welcomed him with delight because wherever he appeared, he brought a smile and faith that change is coming,” they said.
They also emphasize that he experienced great injustice.
“This year, Brahim experienced enormous injustice when he was labeled by the regime on a racial basis and when various lies were written about him; however, that only motivated him even more to continue this struggle shoulder to shoulder with us. So Brahim, thank you for every step on the street with us, thank you for every hug, support, and word. Thank you for your courage and thank you for your solidarity. Thank you for everything,” they emphasized.
In the end, they said they are collecting money for the costs of transport to his homeland.
“We, the students in blockade and Brahim’s colleagues, invite all people of good heart to help us collect money and cover the costs of transporting the body to Brahim’s native Mauritania, as well as the costs of his funeral. We believe that this is the least we can do and that, after everything, this is the least that Brahim and his family deserve,” they concluded.
Namely, Brahim came into the focus of the public at the beginning of the year when, because of his support for the students, Jelena Karleusa attacked him.
“Dear citizens of Serbia, this is a guy with everything, just not from the student protests that are taking place these days across Serbia. Namely, he is not a citizen of Serbia, he does not study in Serbia, and he does not have a residence visa. In this video, as my fans of the Islamic faith explained to me, he is reading a prayer in Arabic from the Qur’an,” she wrote, among other things.
