Acts of Civilian Bravery recognised risking one’s own life to save others

COLOMBO: Bravery and acts of courage on behalf of those in distress is most sublime. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahzad A Chaudhry said. Speaking at the National Civilian Bravery Awards 2007 held at the BMICH on Thursday, Chaudhry said that risking one’s own life to save others has to be the most supreme of sacrifices.

“An act of courage and kindness is unaffected by any concerns of caste, creed, race or religion. It reinforces our trust in each other as humans and stands out as a beacon of hope in today’s environment of materialism, exploitation and despondency,” states a Pakistan High Commission press release.

This year’s presentations by the Foundation for Civilian Bravery which dedicates itself to recognising those who save or attempt to save the lives of others included the Lord Budal Na Ward gold medal and three silver medals for civilian bravery and four certificates of merit.

The winners included a student who saved his cousins at the Bolgoda lake, a husband who fought with a crocodile to save his wife’s life, a mother of four children who sacrificed her life to save a youth from a tidal wave, two labourers, a mason and a three-wheeler driver who saved a couple from drowning in a flood, and a little child who saved his mother’s life after she accidentally fell into a well.

A Samanera Thera was presented with the inscription of gold for saving the life of a critically ill patient by donating one of his kidneys. “Today’s awardees are very special people”; Chaudhry said describing them as the real exponents of that most sublime human trait-courage in the face of adversity.

“Their value based sense of courage is underpinned by that supreme human response of sacrifice for another fellow being.

What made their efforts extra special was the willingness to sacrifice their own lives in saving others. On the spectrum of courage, there cannot be a higher peg and that is why we salute their humanism and most sublime sense of consideration, care and comfort of fellow beings.”

Recalling his career as a fighter pilot, Chaudhry said that he has been it all. “It was a most fascinating life of thrill, challenge and many risks. We flew practically everyday on single engine fighter machines.

We saw death happening around us routinely and as soon as one aircraft or a man went down, we had to take our machines back to the air almost immediately. The skill lies in managing the risk.

But they really come into their own when the complicity of a multiple situation beckons all at once. That is when you see the human mind respond at its peak. But, I am afraid it is still not courage. At best, he is still a very efficient, qualified and capable gambler.

Undoubtedly, his margin of error is minimal and the cost of a mistake is invariably death. Yet it is neither bravery, nor courage. Today’s awardees therefore are very special people. They are the real exponents of that most sublime human trait-courage in face of adversity.”