GRATEFUL NEIGHBOUR
Boy recovers lost wallet
A Windsor woman was moved to tears by the kindness of her Syrian neighbour and his young son after the pair returned her lost wallet on the same day the father became a Canadian citizen.
“I was very impressed with this family,” said Suzan Deitering, just days after one of the worst moments of her life.
“It was horrible,” Deitering said of the day last week when she lost her wallet — with a small amount of cash but all her identification and bank cards — on her way to a dental appointment.
“My stomach went up into my throat because the thought of not having access to any money, not having the little change that I had,” said the 62-year-old Deitering, who lives on a disability pension. “Everything was in that wallet.”
Deitering was rushing to catch a bus to take her to her dentist when she reached into her pocket for some change and inadvertently dropped her wallet onto the sidewalk. Halfway to the office, she noticed the wallet was missing.
Abdullah Almathhoul, 12, was riding his bicycle on an errand for his mother when he spotted something yellow on the ground. He picked it up and brought it home to his dad.
The family was celebrating dad Abdalslam’s newly bestowed Canadian citizenship following a ceremony that day.
Abdalslam, his wife Muna and five of his six children — Hebatullah, 14, Abdullah, Abdul Rahman, 10, Rahmeh, 11 and Abdulaziz, 5 — arrived in Canada almost four years ago via Turkey, after fleeing their homeland of Syria.
The family also has a three-yearold son Abdulkhalig, who was born in Canada. Muna and the children hope to obtain their Canadian citizenship next year.
But in the midst of the celebration, Abdullah presented the wallet to Abdalslam.
“I cannot open it because it’s not mine,” Abdullah said. “I have to give it to my dad to open it.
“When he opened it and he checked everything, there was money. It didn’t belong to me. I have to give it back to the owner.”
So the pair immediately walked to Deitering’s nearby apartment building to return it but she was still at her appointment. So they left a message with the manager.
Hours later, Deitering arrived at the Almathhoul home.
“Miss Suzan came and we give her the wallet,” said Abdullah, a Grade 7 pupil at Queen Victoria elementary school. “Without my dad and my mom, that won’t happen because they taught me to do everything right. I think I have a nice family.”
On Saturday, Deitering was welcomed back into the Almathhoul home.
She said through tears that Abdullah refused to take any kind of reward for his good deed.
“She come in my home and she very happy,” Abdalslam said. “She (wanted) to give my son some money but I talk with her that it’s not good for me and not good for my son. I need to help you, not take the money.
“Because I talk with you yesterday, I am your brother. If you need anything, I can help you.”
Asking Deitering to please stop crying, Abdullah told her, “It makes me feel happy because I made somebody’s day.
“I don’t expect nothing,” he said, adding, “Just be kind to one another.”