As some of you may have already known, the lovable and tremendously gold-hearted skater, futsal player and true friend by the name of Awang Abdul Hafeez (AKA Apit to all his friends), tragically lost his life yesterday (16/02/2008) in a car accident. I first heard the news earlier this afternoon, when informed by my girlfriend, who had been informed by her friends.
It is a shock beyond measure. A crazy, violently sad and deeply felt shock. I had not known seen him in over a month, and had counted on seeing him again once University started again on Tuesday, to catch up and to hang out like what we always used to do before the Uni holidays began. But that chance is gone now, and Apit has left us for a better place. I write this with tears in my eyes and with a deeply troubled soul that one so young and loved by many who knew him, was taken so violently from us. But it is God’s will, that is all I can comfort myself with.
Earlier on as well, around 9 p.m, those of us that could gather on such short notice, went to Babe’s Sports Farm, a futsal place run by Abang Man, to put together a tribute which we intend to hand over to his family in two weeks time. Those of us that could go, wrote messages, created cards or penned eulogies in tribute to him, to ensure that his memory is never forgotten. I myself wrote a eulogy and put it up at the little memorial that had sprung up at BSF in his memory, and I intend to publish it here, to share with you all my memory of him.
A tribute to a true friend
It is hard to describe the sense of sadness and loss that bleeds through the air whenever one of our own moves on. We live in a time whereby it just doesn’t make sense for such a young life to leave us. Parents outliving their children. Grandparents surviving their grandsons and granddaughters. But somehow or other, it is God’s will, and it happens for a reason. A reason that we mere mortals might not understand.
I may not have known him for as long as his many other friends (a little under a year), but he has always shown himself to be a gentleman off the field – a true friend that was always ready with a joke and a smile – and a sportsman on it – a tenacious, determined competitor with a strong sense of fair play and a dedication to the true spirit of sport.
There were nights when we all would be out and about, having fun and enjoying his company as jokes were exchanged and good times were shared. There were the nights out on the futsal fields, as we watched him play his heart and soul out, feeling slightly embarrassed as he beat many of us with the strength of his spirit and his refusal to never slow down or stop, until the final whistle blew.
He will never be forgotten, nor will he ever be replaced in our hearts and souls. All of us that have been affected by his passing, shall carry him with us wherever we go, in whatever we do. He shall be remembered as we go about our lives, for we owe him an immense debt for making our lives that much brighter, happier and enjoyable.You’ll never walk alone, my friend. You will never walk alone.
Note : For those of you who are wondering about the last line, it is in homage to his love of Liverpool FC, and the motto that they carry on the club emblem. A fitting and timeless way to honour him.
Those of you that read this, and know him, please do something to honour his memory and to celebrate his life. You can either go to BSF itself and sign the open card that is there, or create something on your own and pass it to me, and I will make sure that it reaches his family. Spare a thought too, for another person that lost her life in the crash, Aishah bte Ali, for the memorial is also for her.
Goodbye my friend.
