“My Saddam didn’t die a natural death; if he had, I would have found peace. But I feel no peace,” said the ailing mother of Saddam Qureshi (23) on speaking to Miles2Smiles.
In recent years, there has been a notable increase in mob lynching incidents, leading to the deaths of numerous innocent individuals, predominantly from the Muslim community. Saddam Qureshi was one of the victims of such violence.
Saddam Qureshi (23) along with his two companions was traveling via private truck loaded with buffaloes when he encountered mob lynching. The mob persuaded them for approximately 54 km, assaulted them, killed two of Saddam’s companions on the spot, and gravely injured Saddam. Twenty-three-year-old Saddam eventually succumbed to his injuries a few days after the incident.
Saddam left behind a heartbroken mother, a devastated father, and two grief-stricken sisters. The incident blurred the lives of Saddam’s family, with sadness running all across their bodies.To channelize their sadness and bring respite, Miles2Smile traveled to Lakhnauti,Saharanpur and listened to the heartbreaking story of Saddam’s death. “My young son, my young son was killed,” Saddam’s father said with eyes full of tears.
His two sisters were sitting near their father; they did not utter a word, but their faces spoke of sadness that no words can explain.
After a few hours, Saddam’s sister Sabeena, said, “They killed my brother so brutally, they didn’t even give him water, he died thirsty.”
A video of Saddam Qureshi made the rounds on the internet, where he reportedly narrated the horrific ordeal of his mob lynching. Meanwhile, his family watched the visuals and got cognizance of the heinous crime. Referring to the video, Sabeena said, “The videos showed my brother’s pain; he died innocent.”
Saddam was the sole breadwinner of the family, and his death took away the ease of four people. How could we sit calmly when four innocent souls are battling a battle they don’t deserve? A question circled in our minds.
“Our brother is gone, no one saved him, he left, he was killed,” Rubina, the other sister of Saddam said , bursting into tears.
While talking to Saddam’s family and feeling their pain, we made a promise to ourselves first then to them. A promise to help them in every possible way, to provide respite to them.
We made a promise that gave unbridled hope to Saddam’s family, but making that promise was enough. We decided to make this promise come true.
A promise Earned Smiles and Changed Lives
True to our promise, we traveled various times to Lakhnauti Saharanpur, to understand their problem and provide tangible solutions. To provide them financial assistance, we purchased two healthy buffaloes for them to facilitate a milk supply business.
On our recent visit, we saw the buffaloes and experienced the happiness of their families. They told us how healthy their buffaloes are and how smoothly they run their business, making them financially stable.
In addition to this, Saddam’s mother seemed satisfied this time; a mere promise gave respite to a devastated mother. “Allah had chosen you all and made you a means to help me, to ease my difficulties,” she said with a smile on her face.
