Sunday, September 06, 2015
Heroes at Mount Kinabalu
Heroes are ordinary people
Mount Kinabalu is a mountain which top rises about 4,096
metres above sea level. It is in the state of Sabah
on the Borneo island of East Malaysia. It is renowned by its topographic prominence and has been
designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Kinabalu Park, wherein Mount Kinabalu is sited, is one of the most important
biological sites in the world, boasting of over 5,000 species of plants, over
300 species of birds, and more than 100 species of mammals and of snails.
Mount Kinabalu is easy to conquer and physically fit
persons could climb up and rest near the top for the night, reach the top and
return to base the next day. The park and the mountain thus easily lures some
415,360 visitors and 43,430 climbers as recorded in 2004.
On 5 June 2015 at 07:15, the area around Mount Kinabalu shook. It was an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale. The quake was very sudden and showers of tumbling blocks of rocks left little room for escape for the people on the mountain slopes. Eighteen people, including hikers and mountain guides, were killed by the earthquake and a massive landslide that followed it. A group of student climbers and accompanying teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School of Singapore were caught in the disaster.
In the chaos of the disaster, amidst cascading rocks and boulders, injured and dead bodies of tourists, climbers and guides and hikers, ordinary people rose to the need and became heroes. These were from the very adventurers who were not injured or were still physically able. The call for helping their fellow companions was spontaneous and self-motivated. Amidst the unfolding danger of death, while the mountain continued shaking and more people getting injured, the sprung-up heroes went about the rescue work the way they just knew how. They ferried the injured by piggy-backing them down any tortuous path of loose rocks and shifted dirt that paved any way forward. Against the cold and difficult ordeal they relentlessly searched for and helped in whatever way they could, ignoring hunger and tiredness. For two days the heroes persisted, succumbing to fatigue or only when only dead bodies were discovered.
Heroes normally come and go, but one particular mountain guide turned hero became very famous. He was Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin whose action was captured by a photographer. The image of him carrying an injured boy on his back to safety was strikingly exceptional. This is the one picture that brings honour to a photographer. Many newspapers and news media carried this picture in their pages.
Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin was not the only hero like that; he happened just to have his action captured for posterity. This image of him, carrying an injured fellow human being about his own size while bringing him to safety has become iconic, a symbol of heroism at the catastrophic earthquake. The boy that was rescued by him was a student at Tanjong Katong Primary School. Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin with two other guides were accordingly honoured in Singapore and featured in their national news media for days. But Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin himself insisted that there were others who were as deserving of the credit as they themselves.
On 5 June 2015 at 07:15, the area around Mount Kinabalu shook. It was an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale. The quake was very sudden and showers of tumbling blocks of rocks left little room for escape for the people on the mountain slopes. Eighteen people, including hikers and mountain guides, were killed by the earthquake and a massive landslide that followed it. A group of student climbers and accompanying teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School of Singapore were caught in the disaster.
In the chaos of the disaster, amidst cascading rocks and boulders, injured and dead bodies of tourists, climbers and guides and hikers, ordinary people rose to the need and became heroes. These were from the very adventurers who were not injured or were still physically able. The call for helping their fellow companions was spontaneous and self-motivated. Amidst the unfolding danger of death, while the mountain continued shaking and more people getting injured, the sprung-up heroes went about the rescue work the way they just knew how. They ferried the injured by piggy-backing them down any tortuous path of loose rocks and shifted dirt that paved any way forward. Against the cold and difficult ordeal they relentlessly searched for and helped in whatever way they could, ignoring hunger and tiredness. For two days the heroes persisted, succumbing to fatigue or only when only dead bodies were discovered.
Heroes normally come and go, but one particular mountain guide turned hero became very famous. He was Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin whose action was captured by a photographer. The image of him carrying an injured boy on his back to safety was strikingly exceptional. This is the one picture that brings honour to a photographer. Many newspapers and news media carried this picture in their pages.
Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin was not the only hero like that; he happened just to have his action captured for posterity. This image of him, carrying an injured fellow human being about his own size while bringing him to safety has become iconic, a symbol of heroism at the catastrophic earthquake. The boy that was rescued by him was a student at Tanjong Katong Primary School. Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin with two other guides were accordingly honoured in Singapore and featured in their national news media for days. But Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin himself insisted that there were others who were as deserving of the credit as they themselves.
# posted by chunmu @ 1:05 AM 
