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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/17/what-happens-accidental-heroes-when-headlines-fade-ntwnfb>
"The smell of burning flesh and pulverised concrete is seared into the psyche
of Anneke Weemaes-Sutcliffe. On 22 March 2016, the Australian expat was due to
check in for a flight when Islamic State suicide bombers detonated two
nailbombs inside Brussels airport. Miraculously unharmed, she sprinted to the
exit after the second blast exploded metres away from her – but then, risking
her life, decided to turn back.
Screams, wailing alarms and a thick blanket of dust choked the air. The ceiling
had caved in. “It turned from buzzing with life to a war zone. It’s horrific,
absolutely horrific,” Weemaes-Sutcliffe says.
Without hesitation, she crawled over debris and bodies to tend to the wounded,
tying tourniquets to stop mutilated survivors bleeding out, comforting them and
calling their loved ones to let them know what had happened.
In the aftermath of mass violence, the instinctive actions of ordinary people
such as Weemaes-Sutcliffe offer a counterpoint to horror – flashes of courage
that become symbols of hope. Off-duty nurse Lynne Beavis ran towards gunfire
rather than to safety during the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania to help
the wounded; holidaymakers Richard Joyes and Timothy Britten rushed into a
burning nightclub in the wake of the Bali Bombings, rail worker Samir Zitouni
blocked a knife-wielding attacker on a high-speed train in Cambridgeshire,
saving lives and risking his own.
Then there are the bystanders immortalised in the international media by the
everyday objects they wielded to halt violence. French citizen Damien Guerot
became “Bollard Man” after he confronted the Bondi Junction attacker, who
killed six people, in 2024. The Australian government granted him permanent
residency for his bravery. In Melbourne in 2018 it was “Trolley Man” Michael
Rodgers who fended off a knife attacker with a shopping trolley. Rodgers,
homeless at the time, received more than $155,000 in donations before deciding
to turn himself in to police on historical theft and burglary charges.
And then, perhaps most starkly, there is the case of Syrian-born Ahmed
al-Ahmed, who rose to international fame after he was filmed wresting a rifle
from a shooter during Australia’s deadliest terror attack that last month
killed 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi beach.
In the days that followed, a revolving door of politicians stood by his
hospital bedside and praised his heroism. This month he opened a cricket match
to a roaring ovation, and made a whirlwind visit to the United States that
included attending a Jewish gala dinner, media interviews and meeting members
of Congress. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has so far raised more than $2.65m to
support his recovery.
But what happens to these people crowned heroes once the headlines fade?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
