Numerous Bible verses speak of forgiveness, but Lystra Simmons says she cannot forgive the murderer who stole her grandson Noah Simmons’ life.
At Noah’s funeral yesterday, Simmons vividly recalled the heartbreak she suffered last Tuesday when gunshots jolted her to run to her kitchen window, only to see her grandson stretched out on the ground.
As Simmons spoke, tears were plentiful among the many youths and young footballers at Guide’s Funeral Home and Crematorium in San Fernando.
Five days ago, Noah, a utility player for Shiva Boys’ Hindu College and the Marabella Family Crisis Centre’s football teams, was shot dead on his 16th birthday. His alleged offence was talking to his killer’s girlfriend.
“It hurt me to see how my grandson died. If someone had called and tell me my grandson got shot is one thing, but to see what took place, it was not nice for me. I will live with that and I will never forget that,” Simmons told the gathering.
“The Lord says to forgive and forget. I might forget a little bit, but forgive, I don’t think I am able to do that. They had no right to take Noah away from me. The child did not deserve that. On his birthday, the morning he woke up and say ‘Ma good morning’, he went by his cousin... To see that the person who did it was standing right there, it is not nice. I will never forgive that person, sorry to say.”
Caring for Noah for most of his life, she said he was a loving and talkative child who never gave trouble. She said his life was home, school and football.
Noah’s pregnant mother Aneiasha Blackburn also told fellow mourners she will require counselling. Blackburn, who sat in front of her son’s casket throughout the funeral, said Noah’s passion for football ran deep, as he wanted to become the next Lionel Messi. She recalled that last Tuesday she wished him a happy birthday by telephone, but soon after got an ominous feeling.
“Half six on Tuesday I talked to him and say ‘Happy birthday son, I love you and hope that you live to see many more’. About an hour after I got this tingling feeling. Then, I get a call, ‘Noah dead’.
“I didn’t believe it. Then they send a picture of him like a piece of paper on the ground. It’s really sad. Noah was a happy child. Wherever he is right now, I know he is skinning his teeth. I am trying to stay strong for Noah and my unborn child as well. God is the boss,” Blackburn said.
Noah was buried in his football uniform at the Marabella Public Cemetery. His teammates and youths from the troubled train line community of Union Park East attended the funeral in commemorative T-shirts.
Police said around 8 am Tuesday, Simmons was sitting at the front of his cousin’s home when the suspect came up to him. It is believed that old talk turned into an argument and the suspect shot him in the right side of his chest and walked off. As the suspect walked away, he fired a few more shots in the air. Up to yesterday, his killer had not been caught.