Still smiling after brutal stabbing
Jan 13 2009 By Steve Dyson and Mark Cowan
I’m so proud of the way she kept things going with the help of my daughter, her mother and her sister.
“I felt we have to be vigilant, but we also have to prove to these people – there is no name for them, not even scum – that they can’t defeat us.
“The support we were getting from customers and relatives also gave me a morale boost to get better.
“I was allowed home a couple of days before Christmas. I wanted to spend it with all my family. It was important to have that time with them.
“I have to take a lot of bed rest. I have to be here for my family, I have to be strong to support them.
“My daughters have their own room but we can hear them talking about it. We have to reassure them that this is a safe place.
“My children are aged two, eight and 13. For them to lose a father is the most terrible thing. I know it has scared them.
“Thankfully we have got a lot of support around us. There is a lot of pressure on my wife at the moment because I can’t do anything.
“It has been difficult to keep the shop open, but this is our business. In the current circumstances we couldn’t afford to close and our customers rely on us.
“It’s been very hard, it’s put a lot of pressure on my wife. She has to do all of the cash and carry and banking, she has to work all day in the shop and also help look after the family. But she has been very strong, we can’t thank her enough.
“But we have to prove that nothing like this will make us hardworking people cut our livelihood.”
Customers were quick to come forward at the time of the attack.
The opinion of Pamela Walker, aged 41, whose mother-in-law lives on the same road, was typical of so many.
Reported at the time, Ms Walker said: “They are such a lovely family – everyone around here thinks that.
“Everyone knows them and they are just the nicest family.”
Habib smiles again at the thought of his family and the support flowing from neighbours and friends.
The wider business community in Birmingham has also sent it’s ‘get well’ wishes, with the Broad Street consortium getting together to plan a big day out for Habib and his family, with free cinema, Sea Life tickets, lunch and dinner on the city’s ‘golden mile’.
Even the Birmingham Mail’s visit was with the purpose of presenting his wife with a huge bunch of flowers and the children with a box full of chocolates.
“The amount of support we have had is amazing,” says Habib. “The house has been full of flowers and cards. It gave me a big boost.”
What’s more amazing about the friendship they enjoy in the area is that Habib and his family have only been on Richmond Road for the last two years, before which they spend more than nine years in business in Dublin.
“We’ve only back in our home city for two years but this has been a newsagent for more than 40 years. Customers rely on it and as a result you make a lot of friends.
“We have a lot of local support, people want to come in and have a friendly chat so you get to know a lot of people, you get to know them by their first names and as friends.” Zubina, 33, clearly doting over her positive, gentle husband, adds: “The girls have been fantastic and always asking if we need any help in the shop or in the home.
“They are grateful they still have a father, that he’s still here and keep saying that it’s teamwork that will help get us through.
“We thank God for how kind he’s been to us, and for the support of everybody.”
The way Habib, his wife and children have pulled together with the help of those around them is a beacon for how family and community life should be in Birmingham.
Most importantly, in the face of such an indiscriminate attack, and despite his children’s recent nightmares, the hard-working newsagent is still smiling at his luck in living life again.
“The priorities in my life have changed. You appreciate how precious life is. It feels like I’ve been given a second chance with my family and now every day for me is an extra day.”
