Englishman Aminur Chowdhury was outside a pub in Bradford, West Yorkshire when a raving homeless man began to shout racial epithets at him. Chowdhury started to walk away – but then decided to take an unusual course of action.
“Initially I turned the other cheek – but then I was challenging Ben about what he had said to me,” says Chowdhury. “I stopped and had a chat with him for about 15 minutes.”
The two had a drink, and Chowdhury encouraged the homeless man – Ben Gallon – to change his life.
“I could tell when I stopped to talk to Ben that he was a passionate guy,” says Chowdhury. “He’s not a bad guy.”
Chowdhury offered to help connect Gallon with a job. Gallon was doubtlessly surprised when Chowdhury returned the next day and did just that. Gallon has since secured a place to live.
“There was no justification for me using those words,” says Gallon. “Kudos to him for forgiving me, I regret it. A positive thing has happened out of this situation.”
[about_ian]
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