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 BAMAKO, Mali (AP) - Wind-blown red dust coated onlookers at a Muslim cemetery in Mali's capital Sunday as a group of men filled the graves of Mariam Fatoumata Soumare and her four children killed when fire engulfed their crowded New York City home.
Following tradition, the men massed in the front of the bowing crowd, while women prayed in the back. Young boys covered their faces to protect their eyes from the gritty air as the men used shovels and their hands to scoop up the dry soil.
"All deaths are certainly painful, but that which brings us together today prompts even more reflection, and submission to God," said Boubacar Soumare, a cousin of the father who spoke at the funeral on behalf of the family.
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