Tadia Roger Onadja, 1958 - 2010
UN Police (Burkina Faso)
Tadia Roger Onadja, a national of Burkina Faso, worked with the UN Police for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) since 2009.
Originally from the village of Pama, in southeast Burkina Faso, Tadia spent the majority of his police career stationed at the National Police Bureau of Burkina Faso in the capital, Ouagadougou.
In his early career, Tadia also worked in the intelligence services at the Ministry of Security in Ouagadougou.
An international peacekeeping mission had always been a long-term goal for him, both because of his dedication to global security and because he could better support his family while working abroad.
After arriving in Haiti in February 2009, Tadia spent the last year in the Haitian National Police Development Pillar as a basic training officer at the Police Academy.
“He died on the battlefield, sword in hand,” said a colleague who worked with Tadia in Ouagadougou. “Everyone at the station has been mourning his loss since the arrival of this sad news.”
“I never would have thought [he] would leave like this,” said a family member who remembered his strong character and enthusiasm for his work.
A family member said, “His knowledge of his job mixed with his friendliness, compassion, and loyalty to his friends will always be remembered.”
Family members recalled that Tadia had always been committed to helping others, usually going out of his way to do it. This included driving along the often dangerous road to his home village near the Benin border to visit his sick mother on a motorcycle borrowed from a friend.
Following his death, Burkina Faso Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation Minister Alain Bédouma Yoda publicly commended him, saying, “Valued son of Burkina, may you rest in peace. You remain and will always remain in the collective memory of the Burkinabe nation.”
Tadia is survived by his wife, their three children, his mother and his brothers.