THE WIDOW of a man who was murdered at the height of last year’s riots has given to birth to his baby boy.
Khansa Ali, 22, was just four months pregnant when Shahzad Ali, 30, was killed alongside his 31-year-old brother Abdul Musavir and 21-year-old friend Haroon Jahan as they defended their Winson Green community, in Birmingham, on August 10 last year.
Khansa had the baby, who has not yet been named, at Birmingham’s City Hospital last Sunday, The birth is a bittersweet arrival for the family, as Shahzad would have celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday and had hoped his baby would be born on the same date as him.
“My little boy is a piece of Shahzad,“ Khansa said. “He looks just like his dad but also has Musavir’s smile.
“When they died I was so devastated. I had lost my husband and brother-in-law. I felt there was no point in living.
“But now I feel different. I have something to look forward to. Now I really have something to live for, although I still feel incredibly sad that Shahzad isn’t here now.
“If he were still alive, he would have been telling the whole world the news and showing off his little boy.”
Khansa said her beloved husband, who she married in August 2010 in Pakistan in a traditional Muslim wedding, had dreamed of becoming a father and she was devastated that he would never get to meet the son he so desperately wanted.
“He told me that he wanted our first child to be a boy,“ said Khansa.
“When I asked him why not a girl, he said the boy would protect his sisters. He loved children and wanted to be a father so much. He would always muck about with the kids in the street.
“He wanted to make sure our child was given a great education and never wanted for anything.
“I will tell my son what hap pened to his father and how he died a martyr, defending his community. Of course, I’ll wait until he’s old enough to understand.
“We’ve been collecting all the articles, the cards and the letters that people have sent to us and we will to us and we will give them to him one day.
“Not a day goes by when we don’t think of Shahzad and Musavir.”
The family has yet to name the youngster and Khansa explained: “We’ve thought of a few names but we’re still undecided as yet. We’ve got a month, though, to make that decision.”
Both Shahzad’s mum Rukaya Begum and sister Sumera Ali, 25, were at the birth of the baby, who weighed 8lbs.
Sumera said: “Shahzad had hoped that his child would have been born on his birthday and was so excited. It’s going to be very emotional.
“Khansa has been very brave throughout this. It’s been very difficult for everyone.
“I’ve been signed off from work with anxiety because I am still finding it hard to cope. But the birth of Shahzad’s baby means there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“There are so many mixed emotions going on.”
She said the family have been overwhelmed with well-wishers and support from relatives and friends.
“We’ve heard from people all over the world. It’s been amazing. But also our family and friends have been so good and without them we wouldn’t have been able to cope.
“As relatives begin to find out about the birth of Shahzad’s baby, gifts and cards have been flooding in.
“But I know that my new nephew would have had even more love had his father and uncle still been alive.”
A total of eight people have now been charged with the murders of the three men, while five people remain on police bail pending further inquiries.
