- Video shows Qais Stoman, the 4-year-old that was taken from his family by a car crossing the street in North Omaha and the 7 siblings in their home.
- Deen Gul Shareen Gul, the father of young Qais, shares how the community has supported them through grieving the loss of their child.
- Shareen Gul served in the military in Afghanistan for over 18 years. Once the Afghan government collapsed, with the help of an American supervisor he moved his entire family to the U.S. in hope for a peaceful life.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
He brought his family from Afghanistan to America for a better life. Now an Omaha father is mourning the death of his son, hit and killed by a car crossing the street in their own neighborhood.
I'm your North Omaha neighborhood reporter, Melissa Wright and I just spoke to the father about how the family is doing and the support he's received from his new neighbors.
Deen Gul Shareen Gul, the father of 4-year-old Qais Shoman, spoke with me with the help of Mohammad Sahil the founder of the Neberaska Afghan Community Center.
"He was a really nice child…he was ready to go to school. He was attending the daycare with his mom..his mom working at the daycare,” said Shareen Gul
The family of 10 moved to Omaha just over a year ago.
"I worked with the U.S military in Afghasntan… in different capacities as a solider for almost 18 years,” said Shareen Gul.
In 2021 the Afghan government collapsed. With the help of a military supervisor the family relocated for their safety.
"I wanted to have a good life here, not only for myself but also for my family. So my kids could go to school get educations and have a peaceful life but unfortunately it started with something really horrible,” said Shareen Gul.
Shareen Gul says Qais was a kid that loved his family and loved toys.
"He was always a really big fan was going outside the park with me. But he was always trying to play with toys and trucks. Whenever I was off, he wanted go to the back and play with kids,” said Shareen Gul.
Shareen Gul says after finding out Qais was hit by a car everything changed but the community stepped up.
"When we found he was not going to make it through. We got community leaders, community friends, basically we got so much support from the Afghan community. We got support from non-afghan community members," said Shareen Gul.
Shareen Gul says the support given by the community has helped their grieving process.
They came here, they came for the funeral. But we got so much support that sometimes when we saw that we forget about everything,”
Shareen Gul says he his not giving up on a happy life here in America but he does hope the government can also give support.
"If there is any support from the government… because we come here in search of a good life but unfortunately this incident that took place for my little one and this will be something that will stay in my heart forever,"
The family is working to make ends meet, with only one income. They say, hope is still alive. The Nebraska Afghan Community Center is working with the family to support them. For community members looking to also support they can reach out the organization to donate.
