A decade after he began campaigning for tighter arms controls following the tragic death of his little boy in a Turkish gun attack, David Grimason can finally celebrate.
Last month, a landmark Arms Trade Treaty was ratified at the United Nations after attracting the support of 50 nations across the globe. It looks set to become law before the end of the year. The news comes as David has experienced the joy of becoming a father again and just weeks before his son’s milestone first birthday.
Here he speaks exclusively to The Sunday Post about his loss, his lengthy campaign battle and the overwhelming love he feels following his new baby’s arrival.
Alistair was killed as he slept in his pram at a Turkish caf. A row had broken out at a nearby table and one of the men, Daimi Akyuz, produced a gun and fired six shots, killing salesman Ali Bektas and seriously wounding two others. Even now for David, 11 years on, it was if it all happened yesterday. The call came at 11pm and by 7am the next day, David and his mum were on a flight back to Turkey.
He remembers: “She was going through chemotherapy at the time so shouldn’t have been travelling, but she refused to let me go on my own. We had to get three different flights and it took 14 hours. We didn’t speak the whole way. The whole journey, I knew in my heart what had happened but I just couldn’t believe it.”
One minute David Grimason was kissing his son goodbye, the next he was facing up to the devastating reality that he had been shot.
After leaving Alistair, two, and his mum Ozlem in Turkey and flying back to Scotland in July 2003, David received the chilling phone call bringing news the toddler might be dead.
Alistair had been struck by a stray bullet, as he slept in his pushchair, in crossfire when two men argued in a caf in the seaside resort of Foca. It killed the toddler almost instantly, something David only discovered on arrival back in Turkey.
The grief overwhelmed him and a decade-long struggle to cope with the loss and try and make sure something positive came out of the tragedy followed. At times, it seemed like there would be no light at the end of this darkest of tunnels.
Holding back the tears, he says: “I used to worry about not remembering Alistair. I’d duplicate all photos and all videos of him to make sure I never lost the memories. I was frantic about it.
“The years after losing him were a very lonely time, but now I’ve realised the memories are in my head and aren’t going anywhere. I still remember how he moved and sounded. It took time for me to realise he’ll never be forgotten.
“It’s still difficult. It doesn’t become any less so living without Alistair as the years go on. I’ll always miss him. But a decade on, I’m learning to live with it and I suppose learning to live again.”
Two years ago David found himself at a crossroads in his life after the break-up of his relationship with Ozlem.
“I just started feeling sorry for myself,” the project manager says. “It seemed to be one thing after another. Ozlem and I split up and there was a fire at my work. I decided then it was time for something new and that’s when I moved from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.”
It was a move that was to lead him in a whole new direction, one that was to result in totally unexpected and life-changing happiness. He found a new job as a project manager with a document management firm, a new partner and, last year, became a dad again following the birth of beautiful son, Emil.
And now, as he looks adoringly at Emil, David can hardly believe he’s about to celebrate his baby’s first birthday next month.
“I think this has been the fastest year ever,” he admits. “My mum actually had to remind me Emil’s birthday is coming up. It just doesn’t seem like a whole year since he was born. It’s great to be a dad again. I’m very happy.”
It’s a huge change for the proud dad, who once admitted he was too scared to have any more children.
Understandably, David’s protective about his new baby, so much so that he requested The Sunday Post refrain from showing his face.
“Emil has just become my focus in life. In fact, he is my life. I never try to connect Alistair and Emil or compare them. That wouldn’t be fair. But Emil will always be Alistair’s little brother. I suppose it will be hard to tell him in future who the little boy is in the photos.”
David’s happiness has been boosted further by the success of his tireless campaigning. Shortly after Alistair was killed, David and his family were so overwhelmed with grief that they needed something to focus on.
They decided to campaign against individual armament in Turkey. The campaign secured over 300,000 signatures which were presented to the Turkish parliament in December 2003.
The following year, David took his fight around the world. He became a campaigner with the Control Arms coalition, which included Amnesty International, in its long-standing call for a global Arms Trade Treaty, facilitating tighter gun controls. He became an integral part of driving the movement forward, spearheading the anti-gun message by telling his son’s tragic story over and over again.
“It started off being for Alistair, but then I realised the necessity of doing it for other people and it became more about stopping it from happening to people around the world,” he says.
He speaks with such passion, it’s hard not to admire this man. David has travelled the world, visiting and giving talks in some of the poorest and most gun-riddled parts of the world. He even travelled to Kenya to witness, first hand, the horrors of gun crime.
He also received a personal letter of thanks from Scottish Secretary Michael Moore and lobbied the United Nations in New York.
“Campaigning really helped me through the loss,” he admits. “I got involved straight after Alistair’s death which, looking back, was probably a coping mechanism. It gave me something to focus on, something to hope for and the opportunity to talk about Alistair and what had happened.”
Two years ago, David felt his campaigning years had been ‘lost’ because officials were unable to reach an agreement. But that all changed when the Arms Trade Treaty was finally ratified last month.
The multilateral treaty is aimed at reducing the global illicit arms trade and is due to come into force on Christmas Eve. After a decade of tireless campaigning, it must be a welcome relief and massive personal achievement for him to see his efforts come to fruition.
“It was frustrating when it was delayed, but now we see there were so many loopholes that it was a good thing. Now it’s a lot more solid,” he admits. “I think I really underestimated how long these things can take.”
Keen not to become complacent, he adds: “There’s still work to be done. Now we just need to see how the implementation works out.”
The good news means David can now take a bit of a back seat from campaigning and concentrate on his newfound family life.
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