We recognize sorrow by a few sunglasses worn under a showery sky. A few hidden tears, under a roof of tight umbrellas. Tuesday 1is October 2024, at the beginning of the afternoon, nearly 400 people gathered to pay a final tribute to Simon Almeida. Since his death was violent, everything must lead to peace. Even the color of his white coffin. Nobody talks about the stabbing which took the life of this young 21-year-old from Issoldun, during a brawl in the Cher, Sunday September 22.
A crowd came to attend the funeral and lay wreaths of flowers.
© (Photo NR, Manuela Thonnel)
Many flowers have joined those already placed for several days in front of the Brazza for Simon.
© (Photo NR, Manuela Thonnel)
“That they commit to no longer tolerating violence”
The Almeida family wanted a traditional religious ceremony. All the rows of the church, the side aisles, are full. As she did during the white march the previous Saturday, Isabelle, Simon’s mother took the floor to say a few words of faith. “Simon, my angel, my son. You will have had a short but happy life […]she told him. We love you. »
Simon Almeida was killed at age 21. He arrived in Issoudun in 2020.
© (Photo NR, Manuela Thonnel)
During the white march, nearly a thousand people had already sympathized with the pain of the Almeida family, even in front of the business they have been running for four years in the city center, Brazza. “About the white march, preaches Father Raymond Lièvre, It is good to show our solidarity with the family and to demonstrate our desire that this does not happen again, but it seems to me that the white march is not enough. It seems to me that our approach only really takes on its full meaning if each of the participants truly commits in their lives and their behavior to being peacemakers. May they commit to no longer tolerating violence, to no longer tolerating anything which, directly or indirectly, in word, deed or attitude, leads or risks leading to violence. »
“A pacifist at heart”
In the chorus, Simon is described as “a pacifist at heart”. During the walk, all those close to him painted the portrait of a joyful, funny and caring young man. A football enthusiast and party lover who legitimately couldn’t leave the church on a funeral march, but rather on a « Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme ! A man after midnight » (ABBA, 1979). The ultimate smile that he will offer to his loved ones, beyond memories.
