Vigil for beaten teen brings hope after tragedy: father
For most of the Hamiltonians who gathered at a candlelight vigil for beaten teen Noah Rabbani Sunday night, the event was a chance to show solidarity in the face of violence.
But for Khalid Rabbani, Noah’s father, it meant much more.
The brutal attack — which the family believes is a hate crime — left him feeling “empty inside.”
“But after seeing all this, it boosts up my spirits, puts my belief back in the community,” he said.
“It still is a good community, no matter what happened, and it’s going to remain a good community.”
More than 100 people gathered in the Rymal Road East and Fletcher Road neighbourhood for the vigil.
The event in- cluded a walk through the Glan- brook neighbourhood, a moment of silence, and short speeches by Noah’s friends, family and supporters.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank each and every one of you for your prayers, your well-wishes, your support — we couldn’t have gotten through this week without it,” said Noah’s aunt, Salima Hafeez. “We stand united. If anything, this has brought us together.”
On Nov. 26, Rabbani, 15, was walking from a friend’s to his grandparents’ house near Fletcher and Rymal when two men got out of a car and started beating him with a baseball bat. Rabbani’s backpack, which the attackers stole, contained only a water bottle and books. The attackers didn’t steal his cellphone or wallet, both of which were in his pocket.
Police have not confirmed that the crime was racially motivated. No further details about the crime have been released since the attack.
“Whether it was a hate crime or not, we’re taking it very seriously,” said Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, police services board chair.
“Police are investigating. It was a heinous crime, but I can’t say much more because I can’t get into the details while there’s still an ongoing investigation.”
Rabbani’s family says the teen, who has seven siblings, isn’t well enough to speak to the media after being released from hospital following surgery. An online fundraising effort to help the family with medical expenses not covered by OHIP — including dental surgery, physiotherapy, learning aids, house aids and tutoring — raised just shy of $80,000 in one week.
The family has now closed the fundraiser and isn’t accepting any further donations to deter the public from donating to several fraudulent campaigns raising money in Rabbani’s name.
The family says they are taking things one day at a time.
“Whoever did this — I forgive them,” said Khalid Rabbani. “Because if I don’t forgive them, I’m not going to heal.”