Noreen Rahman and supporter Paul Lewis reunited
AFC Wimbledon prides itself on being a community club and this was encapsulated on Saturday when we arranged for Noreen Rahman to be reunited with Paul Lewis
Noreen recently wrote a letter to the Surrey Comet praising the behaviour of Dons supporter Paul when he was on a train travelling back from the away game at Morecambe.
Following up from this, we invited Noreen to be a special guest at Saturday’s game versus York – our designated “Season of Action” fixture for Kick It Out – so that she was able to thank Paul in person.
Pictured above is Noreen with her brother Abdul and Paul Lewis with his sons Jamie (top) and Frankie (bottom).
The letter Noreen wrote to the Surrey Comet is reproduced below:
On January 31, I was travelling back to Euston with some AFC Wimbledon fans.
Yes, there was a lot of rowdy behaviour, with a lot of singing and banter. All the behaviour could potentially seem really intimidating, especially for myself as a single Muslim, but it was not.
There was a truly chivalrous AFC Wimbledon gentleman on the train, who went out of his way to make sure I felt comfortable and in no way intimidated. I did not get a chance to say thank-you to that sweet man.
In this day and age when there is so much scare-mongering on both sides of the community, I really wanted to say that he truly restored my faith in humanity. So whoever you are, I hope you read this and I want you to know that I truly appreciated your sweet gesture. Thank you.
Noreen was delighted with the gesture made by the club to reunite her with Paul.
Speaking at Saturday’s game, she said: “I have been to England matches before and the Olympics, but this is the first time I have been to AFC Wimbledon. I have really enjoyed it and the people have been so nice. The club has made a really good effort. Paul wanted people to show respect for me on the train and what he did was really commendable. I came here today to say thank-you to him in person. There is a very pleasing family atmosphere today and it has been good to attend with my brother.
Paul said: “There were about 30 or 40 of us on the train and Noreen was on her own. I did not want her to feel uncomfortable in that situation. It is good to have diversity at this club and to bring different cultures together. It is good that we are promoting issues such as Kick It Out.”