Yousef was truly special – the son every parent dreams of ...
HEARTbROkEN FAMILY AND FRIENDS PAY TRIbUTE AT FUNERAL OF TRAGIC TEENAGER
IT WAS a moment of overwhelming grief.
Two schoolgirls gripped each other’s hands in support and sobbed as Muslim prayers drifted through the speakers of the women’s room at Dar Al Hadi Foundation, in Ardwick.
Projected over them was an image of Yousef Makki - a bright, ambitious 17-year-old from Burnage, whose life was tragically cut short.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the charity centre, in the industrial district of the city, for the Manchester Grammar School pupil’s funeral yesterday.
The devastating impact of his death on his loved ones was clear. It was echoed in a moving statement released by his family following the funeral: “His early departure has torn a huge, empty hole inside of everyone’s hearts,” they said.
Yousef, who dreamed of becoming a heart surgeon, passed away in hospital after he was stabbed on Gorse Bank Road, Hale Barns, Trafford, on Saturday, March 2.
In the men’s room of Dar Al Hadi Foundation building, schoolboys in smart blazers and ties knelt on the floor and bowed their heads as prayers were read. Meanwhile, dozens of women upstairs hugged and wiped away tears during the emotional ceremony. Following the service, which lasted around an hour, friends and family members stood outside in quiet contemplation as Yousef’s coffin was carried into the hearse. A burial was then held at Southern Cemetery, on Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton. Just before the ceremony, Robin TetlowShooter, 17, read out an emotional statement in tribute to his friend. His pals stood in a row behind him and bowed their heads as he said: “Yousef was a truly special person. We cannot express the magnitude of our loss.
“He was the son every parent dreams of: loving, caring, kind yet ambitious and determined. We have no doubt he would have lived to fulfil his dream of becoming a heart surgeon. Instead, he was taken away from us as a result of a stab wound to his heart. Yousef’s life will not have been taken in vain if we are able to achieve something positive from the debate that has ensued following his death.”
The teenager’s loved ones said their hearts “will bleed eternally” in their statement.