A POWERFUL PAIR

Twins Yaqoob and Yusuf survived a shocking family tragedy – by supporting each other

- KIM ABRAHAMS

THEY ’RE twins so that means they’re there for each other no matter what – and the struggles and challenges these two have endured have only served to strengthen the bond that binds them together.

Yusuf and Yaqoob Arrison made news headlines a few years ago after they survived a tragic family shooting.

As Yusuf lay unconscious with a bullet in his head, Yaqoob was in the bed next to his, playing dead to stop their suicidal mother from killing him.

He was later able to escape the house, carrying his sibling to safety on his back.

Now just two years down the line the 17-year-olds are in the news again – this time, it’s because of the amazing support Yaqoob offered his brother to help him succeed in his final matric exams.

As a result of the shooting, Yusuf was left with impaired vision and has difficulty reading.

But Yaqoob was determined this handicap wasn’t going to prevent his brother from getting the marks he needed to go to university. So he spent hours each day, patiently reading to Yusuf and helping him study.

His brotherly devotion paid off. When the results were announced in January, both boys discovered they’d achieved university passes.

And that’s not all – at the annual national matric award ceremony, the plucky twins from Bernadino Heights in Cape Town were honoured with special awards for the resilience they’d displayed in the face of hardship.

“It was really unexpected,” Yusuf tells us as he chats to us at their home. “It felt really nice to be recognised for our efforts. It meant a lot.”

There were many who didn’t expect him and his brother to succeed, he says – so proving everyone wrong makes the award even sweeter.

THE brothers’ lives changed forever one tragic Saturday morning in January 2017.