Why?

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a sweet young man in his early 20’s who moved with his hearing-impaired mother from Ethiopia and Sudan to America. For six years he has held the job of concierge at the retirement center at which I taught a class. Impressively, he was attending Seattle Central Community College and he loved the challenge of his courses. I've had the pleasure of chatting with him many times about his life and ambitions. His smile was genuine, and his sense of humor lightened many moments for the center’s residents. What further impressed me was his excitement about life’s possibilities. His goal was to attend the University of Washington. He had the grades, obviously the work ethic and even some scholarships. He continued to work to earn further money needed. I was looking forward to congratulating him on graduating with his AA degree this weekend. I knew how proud he was and could only imagine how proud his mother must be.

Instead of enjoying a celebration of his accomplishment, he lies unconscious in extremely critical condition in a Harborview Intensive Care Unit. Walking down a sidewalk after leaving his Beacon Hill apartment the other evening, he was jumped and attacked by 6 men who beat and kicked him to unconsciousness from which he has not recovered. It was a random attack, the purpose robbery. They have taken more than ever could be imagined. I so hope they have not taken everything.