Mazhar Mamoo

Remembering my uncle

This day five years ago, my darling beloved maternal uncle, Deputy Chief Inspector (DCI) Syed Rahman, passed away.

He was a 22-year FDNY veteran, one of the few brave souls who worked both the 9/11 Ground Zero recovery effort and 2020 COVID-19 emergency response, and the first documented New York City public official to become a casualty of the pandemic. He was a New York legend. He was a hero, an American hero. He was my hero.

He was the heartbeat of our family. He was a constant presence throughout my childhood and youth. He could make anybody smile, and had the best sense of humor. Once, he and my cousin pranked me at the barbershop. They asked the barber to stop my haircut midway, and pretended like we were going home. They sold it so well, I couldn’t tell something was off. When I protested, they said this is how it’s supposed to look. Generational trolling. This was Punk’d before Punk’d!

He took me and my parents in once after I lost my job and got evicted. I can never repay his empathy, generosity, and patience, but I damn sure can honor them for the rest of my days. He loved sports. Basketball, boxing, wrestling, you name it. He was an avid cricketer who played in semi-professional leagues in Pakistan and America.