Birdie Africa Dies: Michael Moses Ward Dead Aboard Carnival Dream Cruise

As Birdie Africa dies aboard the Carnival Dream, some may wonder what life was like for the man whose real name was Michael Moses Ward.

But who is Birdie Africa you might ask?

Michael Moses Ward, or Birdie Africa as he became known to the world, was one of the two survivors of the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia. On May 13, 1985 the MOVE members had a standoff with police that had lasted all day long. The police responded by dropping a satchel bomb into the MOVE rowhouse. This action caused a fire that destroyed 61 homes and killed 11 people, including five children.

Birdie Africa was the only child that survived. Partially naked because of the flames, Birdie Africa escaped while police poured bullets into the area, a moment that was caught on film and served as a long time example of police brutality. Despite surviving the MOVE bombing, Birdie Africa suffered from burn scars all over his body.

Birdie Africa’s mother was killed and he had his name changed from Olewolffe to Michael Moses Ward when he moved in with his father. Still, Birdie Africa recalls how MOVE treated him and the other children with fear:

“I’m still afraid of them, of MOVE. Some of the things that went on there I can’t get out of my head, bad things, things I haven’t told anybody except my father…. They said it was a family, but a family isn’t something where you are forced to stay when you don’t want to…. We were always planning ways to run away, but we were too little. We didn’t know how to get away. And we were scared.”

Still, Michael Moses Ward didn’t let MOVE define his life. Going to school for the first time as a teenager, Ward played fullback and cornerback for the North Penn High School football team. From 1997 to 2001 he served in the US Army, earning the rank of Sergeant. For the last 12 years he was a long-distance truck driver as well as a part-time barber.

Michael Moses Ward described himself as a Christian who didn’t like organized religion. He had hopes of retiring when he was age 45 and owning his own business.

Ironically, the dreams of Birdie Africa died on a cruise ship called the Carnival Dream, where he was celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary. William Brown III, who was in the commission that investigated the MOVE bombing, describes Birdie Africa’s death as tragic:

“This really is a tragic end to a tragic life. He was a very decent young kid at the time. He described how [the children] tried to come out of the house, and described the automatic-weapon fire, which drove them back inside. I often wondered how he made out in life… it’s a shame for him to die so young.”

Michael Moses Ward was found unconscious in a hot tub and the death of Birdie Africa has been ruled as accidental drowning. Toxicology results are expected within six to eight weeks, although this check is considered only a formality.