Birdie Africa
After Birdie came out of the house, he was helped by police stakeout officer James Berghaier. The child was afraid that Berghaier would shoot him. Berghaier says, "The part I have a hard time with is what he went through. And then afterward I found out there were these other kids in there. In essence I was a brick wall away. I would have stayed [in 6223] and tried to get through the back of that wall. I think all of us would have made that decision, not just me. I had a real hard time with the kids dying. The adults chose to do that, they wanted to go to war. . . . The bottom line is, we didn't do the job we should have done, and five kids have died and that is bad. I felt horrible."
The bomb wreaked terrible physical and emotional pain on Birdie's life. As one of the only two to survive in the MOVE home, which includes the death of his mother, he had to deal with the loss of almost his entire household. He moved in with his father, Andino Ward. Many charities donated to the destroyed homes, but no one wanted to give anything to Africa originally. Finally, three charities gave him $2,500. His father feels as if his son was treated like a criminal because of MOVE's actions.
After years of adjusting to his new life, Birdie Africa, now referred to as Michael Ward, accomplished many great things. He graduated from high school, served in the Army, started a family, and had a career of a long-haul trucker and barber. He died in Sept. of 2013 by an accidental drowning on a Carnival Cruise.
The bomb wreaked terrible physical and emotional pain on Birdie's life. As one of the only two to survive in the MOVE home, which includes the death of his mother, he had to deal with the loss of almost his entire household. He moved in with his father, Andino Ward. Many charities donated to the destroyed homes, but no one wanted to give anything to Africa originally. Finally, three charities gave him $2,500. His father feels as if his son was treated like a criminal because of MOVE's actions.
After years of adjusting to his new life, Birdie Africa, now referred to as Michael Ward, accomplished many great things. He graduated from high school, served in the Army, started a family, and had a career of a long-haul trucker and barber. He died in Sept. of 2013 by an accidental drowning on a Carnival Cruise.