The sister of a teenage jihadi from Brighton killed fighting in Syria last week has written a tribute to him on her Facebook page.
Aîóshà Deghayes writes that Jaffar Deghayes “died as an honourable man helping fight an oppressive tyrant,” and that his last words were the Islamic testament of faith.
Jaffar Deghayes, from Saltdean, Brighton, left to fight in Syria at the aged of 16, alongside his two elder brothers, Abdullah and Amer. Abdullah, 18, was also killed this year.
Aîóshà Deghayes describes her brother as a quiet boy who was “always more interested in getting his homework done and watching TV”.
“He was so quiet to the point you could forget he’s around, he used to always sit in a little corner and do his thing. Most of the time that was drawing/colouring or playing with a small toy.”
She writes that Jaffar became a troubled teenager before deciding to “change all his bad habits”: “Mashallah he did change, from then on he did not miss a single day at college, he would spend his free time at the gym or with a good friend/his cousin, he also started going to Arabic school (learn how to read and write in Arabic) every Saturday to keep off the streets. I was so proud of him.”
She writes: “He was always strong about what he believed in. If he believed something was wrong then he would work so hard to change it.”
“As a brother he was and still is very special to me. He was so sweet and caring he only called me by my nickname.”
She finishes the piece by writing: “I ask Allah to grant him what he’s always wanted (paradise) and may he reunite me with him and Abdullah. I really cannot wait to see my baby brother again.”
Jaffar’s father Abubaker Deghayes, 46, told the Guardian his son’s actions were “a young man’s attempt, with scarce experience of life, to fight a tyrant [who is] massacring civilians under the watch of the whole world”. He added: “I seek comfort in the fact that his intention, hopefully, was to help oppressed people.”
The boy’s uncle, Omar Deghayes, was a victim of mistaken identity and spent six years in Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba before later being paid compensation by the government.
