In 2010, a mother who was accompanied by her 4 children ate in the kebab restaurant Le Bosphore, in Mulhouse and they left without paying. It was in a bad patch at the time. 10 years following what happened, the same woman wanted to reimburse her expenses. She then sent a 50 euro note to the manager, followed by a heartbreaking letter. Guney Cokkaya, the restaurant’s new manager, 23 years old, mightn’t believe it seeing the letter and the note.
“Forgive me, I sincerely regret”
On July 26, 2020, a man showed up at Guney Cokkaya’s establishment, avenue de Colmar, and dropped off a letter and a 50 euro note. The man in question was under the orders of a woman who wished to preserve her anonymity.
“As there were quite a few customers, I didn’t have time to read this letter right away. I thought maybe it was someone who wanted provide meals to others,” admitted the manager.
A little later, Guney Cokkaya had some free time and opened the letter. By reading the mail, he quickly understood that the 50 euros came from a mother who had been forced to leave the restaurant without paying, 10 years earlier. She was with her 4 children.
#Mulhouse : left without paying, she reimburses the restorer ten years later – https://t.co/4vO9GqwXHx pic.twitter.com/vDgDGPmjyy
— Journal L’Alsace (@lalsace) July 29, 2020
“Hello Mr. Boss of the Bosphorus. I give you this letter with 50 € to return your money. In 2010, I had eaten with my four children. I had just come out of a divorce, the situation was desperate and I left without paying. I recently remembered this story. I hope you will forgive me for this. May Allah grant you success in your life […] Forgive me, I sincerely regret,” the lady wrote in her letter.
The owner of the restaurant mightn’t believe it
During the passage of the lady with her children in 2010, Guney Cokkaya was not yet in charge of the restaurant. He was only 13 at the time. It was his father who ran the establishment. He is from Turkey and arrived in Mulhouse in 1992, acquired the restaurant in 2000.
The son of the former manager therefore spoke to his father regarding what had happened with the lady, but he did not remember the situation.
“He doesn’t remember. But it must be said that, like everyone in the restaurant business, we see all the colors! We therefore do not know if this mother had “run away” with her children without saying anything or if she had explained that she might not afford to pay, ”confessed Guney Cokkaya.
The twenty-something is convinced that if the mother confided in her problem, her father and all the staff would have agreed to give her food for free.
“They didn’t owe him run following ! Guney argued.
Internet users, moved by the story
You should know that Guney Cokkaya regularly gives a helping hand to poor customers or associations. The young man does it discreetly. He therefore wanted the story not to be publicized.
However, he spoke regarding it to one of his friends, Mourad Benzakri, the initiator of the Mulhouse solidarity collective Pour plus tard, which, among other actions, distributes meals to people on the street.
“And Mourad asked me if he might share the story on social networks, to make people aware of having their hearts on their hands,” said the manager.
The latter accepted. Thus, the story was immediately shared on Facebook, but also on other social networks. On Twitter, for example, she managed to collect more than 23,000 likes on July 29, 2020, at the start of the followingnoon.
“I can’t believe how big it got! », Was astonished the manager Bosphore.
He then hopes that this gesture, that is to say the gesture of this mother, and the explanation that the lady gave for the situation influence people. He also hopes it would inspire people to stick together. If there’s one lesson he learned from this story, it’s:
“You shouldn’t judge people too fast ! »
