Everyday Heroes - Negros Chronicle

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everyday heroes

Their last words
by James "KOJAK" Hughs
U.S. ARMY, CAPT. (RET.)
I have been very fortunate in my life. I have traveled around the world; I have had the unique pleasure of seeing many of the world’s great tourist attractions. I also lived and worked with a wide variety of people from many diverse cultures. You can not help but notice our many differences. Not just in the color of our skin or texture of our hair but in everything about us. Our clothes are different; Our homes are different. Even our food is different. But no matter how many differences we have; we are also very much the same. The same things touch our hearts.
The following are true stories that came out of the resent earthquake tragedy in Sichuan China. They could just as easily have been stories about us here in the Philippines.
The frail little 10-yea- old girl had survived 60 torturous hours under the crushing rubble of her collapsed primary school. When rescued, she whispered, “I am so hungry, I want to eat dirt.” Ten minutes later she died.
Li’s father could hear his son’s faint cries. “Daddy, I am right here, please save me!” They managed to save 30 of Li’s middle school classmates, but when they finally reach little Li, he had stopped breathing.
Xi and his wife were both trapped in the collapse of their dormitory. He told her “You must be strong. You have to think about our daughter and how to steer her on the right path. Should she stray all will be lost.” Those were his last words. With those words in her mind, his wife amputated both her own legs so rescuers could pull her from the rubble.
The text message on the cell phone was “My dear baby, if you get to live you must remember I love you.” They found her body in a kneeling position shielding her 3- month-old baby. The baby survived but the mother did not.
American, African, Chinese or Filipino, when you look at the differences in people, do not forget to look at how much we are the same. Love and respect each other. We need to remember, we are all one family in the eyes of God.