作者： admin

One month has passed since a commercial aircraft operated by Flamingo Air crashed into dense shrubbery just outside the runway of San Andros airport, claiming the lives of all ten people on board. On Friday, heartbroken relatives, friends and community leaders gathered at a solemn memorial service to celebrate the lives cut tragically short, honoring each victim’s unique legacy, dreams and the lasting impact they left on those who loved them.

The memorial, hosted by The Bahamas Christian Council at Bahamas Faith Ministries International, paid tribute to each of the ten victims. The group included five members of the popular local band Da Pond: Giovanni “Geo” McKenzie, Rashad Storr, Mateo Winder, Toniquea Gilot and Tra’vis Johnson. They were joined by veteran Bahamian entertainer Melvin Henfield, known professionally as DJ Fresh. Two Andros Island natives, Quintin Myers and Macaro Rolle, experienced 27-year veteran pilot Franklyn Cambridge, and 16-year-old Nicholas Oliver Jr. also died in the July 10 crash.

The ceremony blended hymns, communal prayers, and raw, emotional reflections as family members shared personal tributes, many delivered through pre-recorded video messages. For Captain Cambridge, who piloted the doomed flight, his parents shared that his lifelong passion for aviation began in childhood, when he constantly requested toy planes as gifts. That childhood passion grew into a nearly three-decade professional career, during which he consistently pursued advanced certifications in aviation techniques, safety policies and operational procedures. His parents shared one of his most cherished personal mantras: “Falling doesn’t make you a failure. Staying down makes you a failure. Don’t ever give up.” They closed their tribute by noting that Cambridge died doing what he loved most in the world.

Archbishop Dr Elton Major and Reverend Dr Michelle Major remembered their son Melvin Henfield, recalling that his natural talent as an entertainer had the power to energize any room and create unforgettable moments for audiences. “While DJ Fresh’s music may have stopped here,” they reflected, “his song plays on in our stories, in our laughter, in every beat that reminds us of it.”

For Quintin Myers, sister Tamara Myers struggled through tears to describe her brother as the constant source of joy and connection that held their entire family together. She shared that Myers had been looking forward to an upcoming summer cruise, had recently purchased a new car and already secured his ticket for the trip—dreams that would never be realized. “He had so many aspirations that I think he never even got to realize,” Ms Myers said, “and I think a lot of people are going to miss that bubbly energy in Quinton. He was the glue for the family. He changed the room and connected all of us in such a special way.”

Giovanni McKenzie’s sister Shandera McKenzie-Nottage honored her brother through an original poem she wrote, titled A Moment of Silence. “A moment of silence for the friend who became family to so many,” the poem reads, “the encourager, the listener, the steady one, the quiet spring that held others together without ever asking who was holding him.”

In remarks to the gathered families, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis offered words of comfort, emphasizing that no family was walking this path of grief alone. “Each has gone on home too soon,” Mr Davis said. “10 seats, 10 families.” He urged attendees to not let the tragic circumstances of the crash overshadow the full lives the victims lived. “Their final journey does not define their lives,” he said. “We honor them for the happiness they brought to others, the work they performed, the friendships they nurtured, and the love that they shared.”

Opposition leader Michael Pintard echoed this sentiment, encouraging those in attendance to preserve the victims’ legacies by leaning into joy in their own daily lives. “And so I encourage all of us, as I encourage myself,” Mr Pintard said, “that we have to suck some joy out of this life every single day because we have no idea when it is our last.”

A 30-year-old father of two, gunned down in a targeted shooting last week on Fire Trail Road East, left behind two young children — an eight-year-old and a six-month-old infant — and a shattered family still reeling from a recent previous loss. According to his older sister Daphnee Sera, jealousy over her brother’s hard-won progress and new vehicle purchases may have pushed an attacker he likely knew to take his life.

The deadly attack unfolded on Wednesday night, when a suspect dressed in a black hoodie approached Abdul Zidor’s vehicle and opened fire as Zidor attempted to escape. Police shared surveillance footage of the incident with Sera, which she says confirms the attack was premeditated and specifically targeted her brother. The footage shows Zidor sitting in his recently bought car with a friend when the gunman ran across the road toward the vehicle and began shooting. Though Zidor ran to get away, the suspect chased him down and killed him, a scene Sera described as horrific to watch.

Sera, 32, explained that the family suspects resentment over Zidor’s work ethic and recent success drove the killing. Just before the attack, Zidor had purchased two vehicles: one he planned to repair and give to the mother of his children, and the second new car he was sitting in when the gunman approached. “He was a hustler,” Sera said. “That’s what they didn’t like.”

Contrary to assumptions that may come with the public killing, Sera described her brother as a man who avoided conflict at all costs, preferring to resolve disagreements immediately rather than let lingering grudges develop. “Everybody who knew him personally knew he do not bother,” she said. “If you have a problem with him, he rather squash it so y’all don’t have no lingering beef.”

Sera was on the island of Eleuthera when the shooting happened, resting at her cousin’s home when Zidor’s girlfriend called with the devastating news. She recalled the frantic call: “She was like, ‘Sister, sister, sister, they kill him for me’. And I was like, ‘What?’ She said they kill Abdul and I scream my cousin’s name.” Grief-stricken and inconsolable, Sera traveled back to New Providence the next morning to be with the rest of the family.

The killing is the second devastating blow the family has endured in just over a year: they are still mourning the murder of a cousin killed in 2023. “Everybody take that hard and everybody trying to cope as best as we can cope because that just hit us suddenly,” Sera said. “I literally just stopped crying.”

Of eight siblings, Daphnee and Abdul were the closest, having grown up together after the pair lost their mother more than 10 years ago. They remained in constant contact as adults, and Zidor often spoke of his commitment to providing for his sister and his two young children. “He was very family-oriented,” Sera said.

The day before the shooting, the siblings joined a video call with another brother, laughing and joking like usual. Sera remembered her brother as a lighthearted, bubbly person who loved making people laugh and teasing his older sister. “Everything like he don’t take nothing serious?” she said. “He loved to get off and get on people’s nerves especially mine.”

One thing Sera said she is particularly proud of is how Zidor turned his life around after a run-in with the law in his 20s. He served a one-year prison sentence for a drug offense, but never had further legal trouble after his release. “From the one time he went to jail,” Daphnee Sera said, “that was it.” He had since dedicated himself to supporting his family and lifting up the people around him, she added.

According to tracking by The Tribune, Zidor’s murder pushes the Bahamas’ national murder count to 48 for the current calendar year. Police have not yet announced an arrest or official motive for the killing as the investigation continues.