I feel so privileged to have known and taught Baraka at Emmanuel College. From the moment I met her at her admissions interview, I was struck by her enthusiasm, determination and spirit. Her other lecturers also often commented on how much they enjoyed teaching Baraka. She was always engaged and curious about the world, and she also had a sense of humour, a love of life, and an appreciation of beauty and peace. She was a brilliant student and a voracious reader. Our supervisions would often run over time because we would be having such spirited discussions about issues ranging from environmentalism and the limits to economic growth, Middle Eastern politics, the construction of identity, the origins of the modern state. She was such a positive force in the world, and she touched the lives of everyone she met at Emmanuel and in Cambridge. She will be sorely missed, and very fondly remembered.