OBITUARIES : Salwa Rifai, 44; Ex-Jordan Official
Salwa Rifai, former director of the office of information for the Kingdom of Jordan and an activist in the Southern California Arab community, died Saturday of injuries she suffered in a car accident last weekend. She was 44.
Rifai, a resident of Woodland Hills, had been in critical condition at Westlake Community Hospital since the June 11 accident on the Ventura Freeway, said Dr. Sabri El Farra, a physician and family friend.
In 1984, Rifai, who had lived in Los Angeles for the last eight years and was in the process of securing U.S. citizenship, went back to Jordan for about a year to serve as the head of that government’s office of information.
Upon her return, she organized the participation of Middle Eastern folkloric groups in the 1984 Olympic cultural festival and in this year’s Rose Parade, El Farra said.
She is survived by a daughter, Dima, 22, and son, Raed, 21.
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