𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sometimes it is hard to resist sinking into despair when there is yet another senseless atrocity that shatters the lives of innocent people. But the last week has shown that even in the bleakest of times there are many acts of heroism that go a long way towards restoring our faith in mankind. When vile father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram went on the rampage at an event marking the start of Hanukkah at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15, including ten-year-old Matilda, those under attack showed astonishing bravery. Video captured the jaw-dropping moment when fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, wrestled a riffle off one of the attackers. He was later shot several times and is recovering in hospital. 

Al Ahmed had only popped out to buy a coffee but undoubtedly saved many lives with his actions.

Meanwhile, Jessica Rozen, pregnant with her third child, noticed a little girl on her own, screaming.

She ran towards her and lay on top of her until the shooting stopped, repeatedly reassuring the child.

As shots rang out and the crowd screamed, Rozen said over and over again “I got you, I got you”, to the little girl, telling her “No one’s going to hurt us, we are going to be ok”.

When the three year old asked: “Can you hide?”, she replied: “Yes we can hide, baby girl”.

Rozen shielded the child from the gunshots with only a row of flimsy plastic chairs for a sense of protection.

The exchange, caught on video, is incredibly moving. Pictures of the aftermath show Rozen’s face covered in blood. She denies being a hero.

Tragically, devoted couple Boris Gurman, 69, and wife Sofia, 61, died side by side as they tried to stop the terror attack.

They lost their lives attempting to tackle Akram senior, with footage showing the couple tussled with the older shooter for more than a minute before he was able to grab a second gun and open fire on them.

A few days later back in the UK, Paul Doyle, 54, was jailed for 21 years for injuring more than 100 people when he drove into crowds of fans celebrating Liverpool’s 20th Premier League title earlier this year.

During the sentencing at Liverpool crown court judge Andrew Menary KC praised former soldier Daniel Barr, 41, who leapt into the automatic Ford Galaxy and forced its gear selector into ‘park’ to end the chaos.

Judge Menary made a £250 High Sheriff’s Award for Bravery for his “exceptional courage and presence of mind” and victims and their relatives shook his hand in court.

On Wednesday, the King hosted six heroes of the Huntingdon train stabbings at Buckingham Palace to thank them for their bravery.

They included driver Andrew Johnson, whose quick, clear thinking led to an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station that allowed police to arrest the suspect.

Train caterer Samir Zitouni, who blocked the suspect from stabbing a girl, leaving him with a gash on his head and neck, also met Charles along with Stephen Crean, Christina Jones, Michael Gawthorpe and Kevin Deeley.

This week, we also launched a new crusade, Honour Our Injured 999 Heroes, on the 42 anniversary of the IRA Harrods bomb that killed police officers Jane Arbuthnot, 23, and Sgt Noel Lane, 28 and Insp Stephen Dodd, 34.

Former PC Pam White was just 24 when she raced to the bomb alert with her colleague and friend Jane and was just yards away when the car bomb exploded.

She was thrown clear but suffered hearing damage and has lived with debilitating, untreatable tinnitus ever since, forced later to quit the job she loved.

Our campaign supports calls for the creation of an Injury in Service Award to recognise the men and women who have suffered while serving on the frontline, protecting us while putting themselves at risk.

Over the course of just one week, that’s 15 heroic individuals whose instincts in the middle of chaos and danger were to protect the people around them even though they were complete strangers.

Many of us wonder what would we do if we were plunged into such horror and we hope we would show an ounce of their courage.

Thankfully, most of us will never have to put that question to the test.

But as the year draws to a close, it is worth remembering that amid all the turmoil and tumult there are ordinary people doing extraordinary things.