Carlos Manuel Bastos de Barros, 1964 - 2011
Carlos Manuel Bastos de Barros, a national of São Tomé and Principe, was a UN Volunteer for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
He died on 4 April 2011 aboard a UN plane which had been on a flight from the north-eastern city of Kisangani. The plane crashed as it tried to land amid heavy rain and high winds, at N’Djili airport in Kinshasa (DRC).
He had been serving in the Mission for seven years. In his last capacity, he was working as an Inspector for the Contingent Owned Equipment Section in Bukavu.
Charismatic and energetic, Carlos had touched many lives as described by those who knew him.
“He was very friendly to everybody, regardless of their social category or age, and was always available to render services to others,” said a close friend and fellow UN Volunteer Electoral Advisor for MONUSCO. “He used to say, ‘A great man is he who is useful to people.’ He liked his job. He worked a lot, and could not stop until he was through,” he added.
His passion for helping others was exemplified in his 17 years of work in the field of humanitarian affairs. He first came in close contact with the UN system in 1984 through a project of the World Food Programme in São Tomé and Principe where he handled logistics and helped distributing food.
Since 1994, Carlos had served in different functions within the UN Volunteers. Starting as Field Officer with ONUMOZ in April 1994, he had worked as UNV Observer for elections in Mozambique from September 1994 to February 1995, as UNV District Electoral Officer in East Timor from May to September 2001 and February to May 2002, and as Electoral Observer for municipal elections in Niger from May to August 2004.
He was fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. He attended the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and got a formal medical training at the Institute of Health Sciences in Maptuto, Mozambique.
Carlos is survived by his mother, four daughters and two sons.
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The above tribute was first published on iSeek (the UN's Intranet) using information provided by field missions, the Departments of Peacekeeping and Field Support and OHRM, as well as comments shared by colleagues in conversations, email messages, and media accounts.