A smile snuffed out

An air of profound sadness hung over the hospital room as Saddam Ahmed tried to stay calm and composed while the life-support machine keeping his brother alive was switched off on Tuesday night.

Mr Ahmed wanted to be a pillar of strength for his brother Osama Al Shzliaoy’s close friends and girlfriend after they had said their heart-breaking goodbyes.

“Someone had to be strong – everyone was emotional. His father and my other brother are on their way so there was no one else. I had to be strong for everyone,” Mr Ahmed told The Times.

After three days in intensive care, the decision was taken to pull the 27-year-old Sudanese off life support after he was declared brain dead. He had sustained severe head injuries when he was pushed to the ground in Paceville at around 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Police believe Mr Shzliaoy was manhandled by two men suspected to be Romanian, after witnesses heard them speak the language.

“It was painful to see someone like that when you know there is no meaning left in life for him and you can’t do anything,” Mr Ahmed said.

His girlfriend Ruth Nicolson – also a good friend of Mr Shzliaoy – was one of the five people present when the Sudanese man died.

“It was very sad but very peaceful. We said a prayer for Osama and swore we would not rest until the people who did this to him were caught. They took our Sunshine away,” Ms Nicolson said.

Nicknamed “Sunshine” for his cheerful character and good humour, Mr Shzliaoy was “a man who would give you his last 50c if you were dying for a drink”.

Describing him as “diplomatic”, Ms Nicolson said the girls would turn to him after having fought with their boyfriends for “his pearls of wisdom”.

Handy in doing odd jobs around the house, Mr Shzliaoy was always ready to help out. The young man was studying to become a dentist in Libya and came to Malta over a year ago to improve his English. After a stint working at Sliema’s Preluna Hotel, he found a job at an interior design company but wanted to take up his studies again.

The autopsy is expected to take place this morning but it is still not clear whether Mr Shzliaoy, who was Muslim, will be buried in Malta or in Sudan.

His friends are still appealing for anyone with information about the fatal incident to contact the police, even anonymously. They have created a Facebook page to create awareness and will be putting up posters in Sliema and Gżira asking for information. Mr Shzliaoy’s former colleagues at Preluna Hotel, where he worked in the maintenance section in 2010, described him as a gentle and kind person. They recounted the story he had told them of how he reached Malta, fleeing Sudan to pursue his dream of becoming a medical man.

He and three other friends escaped on camels early in 2009. As they were fleeing, the army spotted them and gave chase. The three friends decided to separate but the soldiers fired shots and killed both his friends. Despite this traumatic experience, Mr Shzliaoy always had a smile on his face and would go out of his way to see other people smiling, his former colleague Elisa Cuschieri said.

She said she never remembered seeing Osama in a bad mood. He had a bubbly character and would sometimes joke about how he was studying medicine but was working in maintenance at a hotel.

“He was humble, respectful, a joker and a real gentleman. We missed him when he left to carry on with his studies. “He certainly did not deserve this. He was not a person who was after picking a fight. On the contrary, he would see how he was going to make your day better and put a smile on your face,” she said.

The hotel’s owner, Joe Preca, said he knew Mr Shzliaoy as a joyous employee who had a permanent smile on his face.