Shaheen Jassat, 31, of Zimbabwe, Africa, died February 1999, in his native country.
Shaheen was well known in his country and was considered a celebrity. He became an actor and had a repeat role on a TV-series called ("Heat of the Night"). He played Sub Inspector Singh.
He came to Madison as an exchange student in January 1991 and stayed until December.
When Shaheen came to Madison he soon became one of the best friends I ever had. I soon learned that he was not only smart but funny, too. It was always fun hanging around with him. One remarkable incident happened in the summer break when his host parents took me to a short trip to Tennessee. One night we switched through the TV channels and stopped at a (college) Baseball game. I was very into Baseball and because they were already at the bottom of the 9th inning I asked him if he minded to watch "the last 5 minutes" of the game. He didn't like Baseball very much (being from Zimbabwe meant Cricket) but he consented. While the game lasted I tried to explain the rules of the game to him as good as I could, having only learned the rules during my stay myself. As it turned out, the game went into extra innings and we watched for about 2 and a half hours until one of the players finally decided to end the game in the 14th inning. About 2 years later I received a letter from Shaheen in which he told me he had started to play Baseball and he said it all started with those "5 minutes!" Being his friend wasn't always as funny as it might seem. On one occasion I learned that a girl wouldn't go out with him only because the color of his skin was darker than hers. Through Shaheen I learned for the first time directly what it meant to be discriminated against. Even though we lost contact I felt certain that we would meet again one day, in Germany, Zimbabwe or even in Madison. As it turned out I was wrong. I will always reserve a place in my heart for one of the greatest friends I ever had.
I remember Shaheen, has the greatest sincere smile, I ever met. Been from Panama, latin american city capture his attention, want him to know about our culture, food and beaches.
I know for sure that Shaheen is one of our guardian angel.
Shaheen Jassat, 31, of Zimbabwe, Africa, died February 1999, in his native country.
Lars Diessel
When Shaheen came to Madison he soon became one of the best friends I ever had. I soon learned that he was not only smart but funny, too. It was always fun hanging around with him. One remarkable incident happened in the summer break when his host parents took me to a short trip to Tennessee. One night we switched through the TV channels and stopped at a (college) Baseball game. I was very into Baseball and because they were already at the bottom of the 9th inning I asked him if he minded to watch "the last 5 minutes" of the game. He didn't like Baseball very much (being from Zimbabwe meant Cricket) but he consented. While the game lasted I tried to explain the rules of the game to him as good as I could, having only learned the rules during my stay myself. As it turned out, the game went into extra innings and we watched for about 2 and a half hours until one of the players finally decided to end the game in the 14th inning. About 2 years later I received a letter from Shaheen in which he told me he had started to play Baseball and he said it all started with those "5 minutes!"Being his friend wasn't always as funny as it might seem. On one occasion I learned that a girl wouldn't go out with him only because the color of his skin was darker than hers. Through Shaheen I learned for the first time directly what it meant to be discriminated against.
Even though we lost contact I felt certain that we would meet again one day, in Germany, Zimbabwe or even in Madison. As it turned out I was wrong. I will always reserve a place in my heart for one of the greatest friends I ever had.
Damayanti Cedeno
I remember Shaheen, has the greatest sincere smile, I ever met. Been from Panama, latin american city capture his attention, want him to know about our culture, food and beaches.
I know for sure that Shaheen is one of our guardian angel.
Good Bless us all.