All the investigators found was a 380 caliber handgun, $12 in cash, a baseball cap, and a bag of T-shirts in a trash bin. They are till looking for the animals who took Anissi Ndeumajado's life, and critically injured his wife.
Years ago Ndeumajado immigrated to this country from West Africa. He started a small business selling T-shirts under a tent. He worked hard, saved his money, and sent some back home to his family in Mali. He was also finally able to send back home for his wife, who joined him here ten years ago.
Yesterday, in broad daylight, two animals took his life and critically injured his poor wife. Mr. Ndeumajado was in his store with his wife when shortly after 1:30PM, the two punks came inside and tried to rob them. Instead, the men ---who are believed to be between the ages of 16-20---ended up shooting the poor man, killing him on the spot, and critically injuring his wife, who staggered outside the store before collapsing.
Obviously, the shooting left the community and Mr. Ndeumajado's tight circle of friends, devastated. Here was a man who came to this country, worked hard---by all accounts he would work seven days a week in his store---, and tried his damnedest to pursue the A-merry-can dream. It's a shame that these two animals had to take it away from him on a hot July afternoon. And let me say this right now: I am somewhat familiar with the Philadelphia business climate, and I guarantee you that nothing was given to Mr. Ndeumajado that he didn't work hard for. I am sure that there were no handouts, no special privileges, and no hook ups. All the poor man had was a good work ethic and a dream.
"You couldn't meet a more beautiful couple. He came here to make a better life for him and his kids, that was his dream."
Oh yes the A-merry-can "dream." Everyone is trying to chase it, but it can be so elusive. No one told that to Mr. Ndeumajado. He needed to know that right on the other side of that dream was a nightmare. A nightmare in which cold blooded young killers who think they are owed what you worked your whole life for, decide that they will take it from you at the point of a gun. A nightmare where single mothers and grandmothers try to raise men, after some sperm donor made a deposit and kept getting up. A nightmare where our government spends billions of dollars to protect people half way around the world, but can't spend even half of that to protect their own people right here at home. All the jobs are gone to China, the schools are gone to the dogs, and nobody gives a damn.
" He never got robbed in all those years he was working in Kensington...They moved their store up here because they thought it would be safer, I can't believe this happened."
I can, and it will continue to happen until the type of shit that happens to hard working African immigrants, start happening to fresh faced blue eyed A-merry-cans.
So now you know about Anissi Ndeumajado. And unless you live in the Philly area, or you read this blog, you would never have heard about him; and more than likely, unless you come back to this post, you will never hear about him again.
Tonight I am angry. Angry at the people who lie to us everyday. Angry at the people who don't care. And angry at motherfuckers who turn people's dreams into nightmares.
**Story here**
