Sean Devereux (25 November 1964 – 2 January 1993) was a British

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

missionary and aid worker assassinated in

Kismayo Kismayo (, , ; ) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The city is situated southwest of the capital Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jub ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

in 1993 while working for

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

. He has since become an important role model for the aid-working vocation, particularly among Christians.

Life

Sean Devereux was the only son of Dermot Devereux, a

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

cabin steward from

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and his wife Maureen, a nurse from Cork. He grew up in

Yateley Yateley () is a town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council area, and is approximately 33 mi (53 km) southwest of Central London. It includes the settlements of Frogmo ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

with his two sisters, Theresa and Tania. He was educated at Salesian College, Farnborough and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, obtaining his honours degree in

Sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, and

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

, and then training as a teacher at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. He became a popular master of

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

at the Salesian School, Chertsey,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, teaching for two academic years before departing to take up a teaching position in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He was an active member of the Salesian Cooperators and the Salesian Past Pupils’ Association. He arrived in

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

in February 1989 and began teaching work with the Salesian community at St. Francis School in Tappita District, briefly finding himself imprisoned after pleading for the release of a student drafted into the army as a child-soldier. In his second year, escalating violence during the Liberian Civil War had forced the school to close and Devereux joined the UN refugee agency, where on one occasion he was beaten by soldiers after confronting one of them for attempting to steal food meant for refugees. He single-handedly organized the feeding of 750,000 people in Monrovia. By getting two teams to compete he managed to raise the amount of food moved from 150 to 800 tons a day. Ultimately he was ordered out of the country in September 1992 and Devereux duly left for a brief stint in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

Assassination

Devereux then began working with

, where he was assigned to organise relief for the starving, particularly children, in

, the stronghold of one of many warlords. After only four months in the country, he was fatally shot in the back of the head by a lone hired gunman while walking near the UNICEF compound on Saturday, 2 January 1993. His assassination came on the eve of the visit to

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Gha ...

. He was 28 years old. Dr. Boutrus-Boutrus Ghali said:

In adverse, and often dangerous circumstances Sean showed complete dedication to his work. His colleagues admired his energy, his courage, and his compassion. Sean was an exemplary staff member and gave his life serving others, in the true spirit of the United Nations. Sean was a real soldier of Peace."

Legacy

The Devereux family established the "Sean Devereux Children's Fund" (SDCF) to support the education of children in Liberia. The Devereux building at Salesian School, Chertsey, which contains the Geography and English departments, is named after him. 'Sean Devereux Park' in

is named in his honour and a plaque commemorates him. A BBC Everyman Documentary was produced about Sean Devereux. It is called 'Mr Sean' and was created in May 1993. This was followed by a BAFTA-nominated movie about Sean called 'The Dying of the Light'.

References

External links

Sean Devereux Children's Fund

El Fondo Sean Devereux para ayudar a niños y jóvenes pobres en Liberia (The Sean Devereux Fund to help poor children and youth in Liberia)

Breve biografía de Sean Devereux (Short Biography of Sean Devereux)

Biografía de Sean Devereux, LOS FRUTOS DEL SISTEMA PREVENTIVO de Don Pascual Chávez Villanueva (Only spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devereux, Sean Roman Catholic missionaries in Somalia Roman Catholic missionaries in Liberia English Roman Catholic missionaries UNICEF people 1964 births 1993 deaths People educated at Salesian College, Farnborough Alumni of the University of Birmingham British expatriates in Somalia British expatriates in Liberia Deaths by firearm in Somalia People murdered in Somalia British people murdered abroad British officials of the United Nations

Life

Assassination

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links