Still from video of men saving the family.
PARAMARIBO--Four delivery men are being hailed as heroes after saving a mother and her two children from drowning last week. Political party VHP first presented them with a certificate of appreciation and some money. And over the weekend a foundation announced that it will also be giving them a monetary award for their heroics.
Amrish Mathoera, Giovanni Blankendaal, Lorenzo Dickson and Narin Dawtal were travelling over Wayamboweg in District Saramacca in their company’s delivery truck on Wednesday February 15, when the passenger vehicle in front suddenly swerved and made a nose dive into the canal alongside the road. The three wasted no time as the car started to go under; they dove in fully clothed, smashed the back window and pulled out the mother and her three children.
Video footage someone shot of the rescue operation, that has since gone viral on social media, shows the three men chest deep in the murky water, smashing the car window; the youngest child, a baby, is first lifted carefully out of the vehicle and passed from one man to the next to shore, while they remain cautious not to get the toddler wet. They then pull out another child, a boy of about seven years old.
Then, just seconds after they also lift the mom out, the car dramatically goes under; Blankendaal can be seen quickly reaching in at the last moment to pull out what looks like the boy’s school bag. The vehicle is then totally submerged.
Luckily none of the family members had been injured when the car crashed into the canal. The mother – 40-year-old S.B. – explained later that she had lost control over the steering wheel, which caused the crash. The men who saved her and her children became instant heroes, lauded and praised by all walks in the country.
On Friday, February 19, VHP Chairman Chandrika Santokhi presented them with the party’s reward, calling them role models of bravery for the entire community. “You guys had the bravery to take quick action when it was needed. This is the type of actions that show who we are: a community that is there for each other when it is needed,” the politician said.
But the praise did not stop there. On Saturday the Bennie Liefdadigheidsstichting (Bennie Charity 12-12-12) announced that it would be presenting the men with checks worth between SR $1,000 and SR $5,000 each. Charity chairman Ben Oliveira said it was important to honour the men, because “these days we – and especially the youth – need to know what heroism is and that it is still alive. The youth seem to think that it’s better to look tough; whereas back in the day young people would help an old lady cross the street, they make fun of those that do those kinds of things today. We want to send out a signal that says that we think it’s important that we help one another,” he said.
