Yilma Wolde-Mariam

We celebrate the life and contributions of our fallen friend, Yilma Wolde-Mariam, who passed away on Saturday, August 26, 2007.  Yilma was a man of pure brilliance.  He was generous with his time, thought, compassion and company.  Without compromise or doubt, he served the rights of the working class and poor, championing for a better world.  Yilma was a voracious reader who graciously shared all that he read and all that he learned.  He treated everyone with respect and understanding and allowed nothing less than joy and laughter in the eyes of those he loved.

For five years, Yilma served on the Organizing Committee of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.  After tiresome 12-hour shifts, he devoted his time and attention to the struggle of the world’s taxi drivers.  He advanced our cause at meetings with city officials, in television, radio and print interviews and in the halls of colleges.  He spent weekends with taxi drivers at airport lots, at hotel lines, at restaurants and, several times a week, at the union office.  He volunteered at health fairs and legal aid clinics.

Yilma was a champion of the oppressed and the exploited, a relentless critic of globalization, institutionalized racism and the poisons of imperialism. He never flinched from the ugliness of oppression; was never swayed by the hardships of struggle; never discounted the beauty of resistance. Yilma was deeply ideological, but used science and fact to win the other side, never dogma or jargon. He would read Shakespeare one day and the mechanics of aerospace the next. He saw the poetry of science and the science of poetry.

Our friend Yilma brought us laughter and enlightenment whenever he called, visited, or corresponded. In an organization of workers from over 120 countries, Yilma Wolde-Mariam took the time and interest to study the culture, politics, economy, science, and religion of every corner of the globe. Son of Ethiopia, Father of Mikhail, Citizen of the world. Yilma Wolde-Mariam embodied internationalism. His spirit embraced life. Knowledge, debate, reflection brought him joy.

Our friend Yilma was a most gifted intellectual; a most gifted word-smith. Yilma Wolde-Mariam could outdebate anybody. But he never lost his humility, his patience, his joy to learn. For seven years, Yilma served our union, gave us his friendship and brought us hope and courage in our day to day life and moment to moment struggle. At just 50, Yilma Wolde-Mariam left us much too young.