Paul Davies MS (Leader of the Opposition)...Mohammad Asghar, or
Oscar, as we all knew him... ...His experiences were unique, and
his approach to politics was unique to this Parliament. Oscar was,
of course, the first elected representative of this institution
from an ethnic and minority background, and he made sure to use
that platform to widen every possible connection between the ethnic
minority groups in Wales and this institution. He was the first
Assembly Member to invite...Request free
trial
MS (Leader of the Opposition)..., or Oscar, as we all knew
him...
...His experiences were unique, and his approach to politics was
unique to this Parliament. Oscar was, of course, the first elected
representative of this institution from an ethnic and minority
background, and he made sure to use that platform to widen every
possible connection between the ethnic minority groups in Wales and
this institution. He was the first Assembly Member to invite
the Israeli ambassador to
the Senedd to discuss peace, harmony and understanding between the
Muslim and Jewish communities. He worked
relentlessly to speak and listen to, and engage with people, and,
in doing so, he made the Senedd so much more accessible to people.
Groups, organisations, individuals from such a rich variety of
backgrounds and religions have felt that the Senedd was welcoming
to them, and that was because Oscar worked so hard to open the door
and invite them in. Llywydd, I sincerely hope that, in the wake of
Oscar's passing, every one of us will continue to build on that
outreach and continue to open the Senedd doors to all...
MS: The sun was beating
down on a group of us who had gone to visit Israel
and Palestine, and we were standing on the roof of the Austrian
Hospice in Jerusalem, and I was chatting to Oscar and he waved his
arms around, as he often did, and he said, 'Look, Angie—there is
Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and over there the Holy Sepulchre,
and there's the Western Wall and the Mount of Olives. We are all
here. We can live together.'
MS:...As is the case for other
Members of this Parliament, some of my fondest memories of Oscar
were during the Welsh Conservatives' visit to the Holy Land. There
was no greater supporter of Israel and an advocate of
peace in the middle east than Oscar. While we were both from
different faith traditions, Oscar and I prayed together for the
peace of Jerusalem at the Western Wall and we also prayed for one
another's families as we sat, arm in arm and with tears in our
eyes, in St Peter's Church, set amongst the ruins of the biblical
town of Capernaum, on the shores of Lake Galilee....
MS:...But, beyond that
generosity, he had a very strong sense of due gratitude as well.
And I remember, on that trip to Israel that
others have spoken of, that we stopped at a restaurant that was run
by a Druze family, and, on this occasion, it was Oscar, actually,
who was late to the minibus, not Mark, and the reason for that is
that he'd stopped at a stall just outside the restaurant, which was
run by an elderly lady, and it was full of very bedraggled plants
and some honey that the old lady's bees had made. And he was
determined to have that honey, not just to thank his hosts, because
this lady was a member of that family, but to honour the old
woman's craft...
To read the tributes in full, CLICK
HERE
|
