This week, we laid one of our own to rest. A beloved colleague and friend, Ayshea left us far too soon.
In these blogs, we often write about the big issues, the challenges we face, and the ways we seek to understand them. Yet we should never forget that change happens one person at a time. When Ayshea joined us, she was another colleague among many. It did not take long, however, to realise that she brought a unique perspective to everything she encountered, as anyone who has read her blog posts below will recognise.
The pain of an untimely departure is made all the greater by our ability to imagine what might have been. We reflect not only on the work she left behind, but also on the work she would undoubtedly have gone on to accomplish had she been given the time. It feels as though she stopped speaking in the middle of a sentence. For those who knew her, however, that seems almost impossible to imagine.
Every colleague remembers her differently. I remember a conversation we had about vegetarianism and its influence on rising fruit and vegetable prices for low-income families. Her inquisitive mind asked the kinds of questions that made you pause and think again. Her manner was gentle, her attention genuine, and her interest in others so disarming that it allowed you to explore your own thoughts without fear of judgement.
She was an activist without ever needing to speak of activism. She was a fighter without bluster, a thinker without rhetoric. She was a friend without conditions and a colleague without expectations. Above all, she was my friend.
Even now, I find myself expecting to hear her distinctive northern voice somewhere across campus. Some absences are difficult to accept because the presence they leave behind remains so strong.
Rest well, Ayshea. We will not forget you.
Exploring the National Museum of Justice: A Journey Through History and Justice
UK Justice v The Demonic and Others
The Caracas Job: International Law and Geo-Political Smash and Grab
