With every episode of unremitting terror, there invariably is a story of remarkable courage. Sandra Samuel, nanny to toddler Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents Gavriel and Rivka were killed during the siege of Chabad’s center in Mumbai, is someone who should make the rest of us feel very humble.
Read her story:
Before she and the male employee could hide in the larder, one of the gunmen saw them and opened fire in their direction.
“I don’t know how I managed to react so quickly, but I closed the door in his face. We were saved. He must have thought we escaped through some back door, but there is no such door,” Sandra said.
The two hid in the room until late the next morning, hearing gunfire and explosions. “I was very scared, but I was even more scared for the baby,” Sandra said, adding that she had put two-year-old Moishe to bed earlier in the evening.
“A lot of hours went by. We stayed like that until 11am and then, suddenly, I heard Moishe. He called me: ‘Sandra! Sandra! Sandra!’
“I decided to go upstairs despite the shooting and find him. The guy who was with me didn’t want me to go upstairs, but I was scared that if Moishe kept calling me, somebody will hear him, get to him and harm him.
“When I got upstairs all the terrorists were apparently on the roof. I found Moishe standing next to his parents. Everything was full of blood. I grabbed him, went outside the room and ran outside.”
Moshe, now an orphan, is two years old tomorrow.
Some of you may have seen an interview on CNN with Jonathan Ehrlich, who was staying at the Oberoi Hotel. Ehrlich said that as he made his escape from the hotel, he was acutely aware that, as a Jew, he was even more vulnerable (those who doubt that Islamist terrorists reserve a particular venom for Jews should remind themselves of what happened to Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.) But Ehrlich was also clear that what has manifested in Mumbai is an “evil” ideology which is indiscriminate in targeting anything it hates. “It doesn’t matter if you’re Indian, Thai, Jewish or Christian,” he said. He also made a recommendation which had one Mumbai blogger “swelling with pride.”
I’ve been lucky enough to have visited Mumbai and I fully concur with what Jonathan Ehrlich says about the city’s terrific spirit. Sandra Samuel, a native of Mumbai, represents the best of what human beings are capable of.
Terrible news. Terrible story. Poor baby. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like. And great corageous woman.
This woman is remarkable - she is a hero for all rational people no matter what their religion or nationality. And what a gift she has given to us —for when a child survives such carnage, there is hope.
She is a woman of courage and should be allowed to emigrate with Moshem to Israel. Her courage gives us hope in such a terrible situation.
I hope she can be with the child at least till he is capable of developing bonds with other family members. Being an Indian, I feel proud that she did the right thing by risking her life to save the life of an innocent child.
It is very sad story but hope in the end. I am crying as I am writing. It has been a very tough week of my life after 9/11. What a courageous lady. God bless this child and lady who saved this child under guns. Each saved life will fight this evil.
all the power to this brave women,she is a natural hero,indians and the world should be proud and most of all learn from her.sandra samuel a natural hero and a real human being
Sandra Samuel is nothing less than an angel who saved this child. I have prayed so many times in the last few days for both the Rabbi and his wife. I sincerely hope they are at peace knowing that their beautiful son is alive and being cared for by a friend willing to risk her life for Moishe. We should all have such angels in our lives!
There seems to be some inconsistency with this story.
Other sources(NDTV) says that the terrorist told the nanny to get the child and then told her to leave the building with the child.
NDTV is quite clear that Sandra Samuel performed an act of heroism:
Sandra grabbed the toddler, who turned two on Saturday, as terrorists stormed the ultra-Orthodox centre and escaped with him in her arms.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080074796
I have not seen this account questioned on any other credible source.
What is also painfully clear is that the terrorists who stormed the Chabad center demonstrated the same callousness as they did elsewhere in Mumbai, with the result that a two year old child has been orphaned.
Sandra Samuel’s Story of brave acts of deed have really made all of we Indians proud and I am sure as she has done she will continue to nurture and take care of Baby Moshe in the future years to come.She Risked her life and saved the little boy.
being an indian, i’m very proud another indian has saved a life especially that of a baby. baby moshe plight was giving me sleepless nights - now i feel better knowing that sandra samuel has gone with the baby to israel - may god bless both of them.
All thats fine… Did someone come across more details about Sandra Samuel herself? Where she is from, what she has done in the past etc? I need it for a professional reason. Thanks…
Sandra Samuel is not the only hero in this terrible picture. It seems that there were quite a few of the Indian staff who risked their lives, and even took bullets, for the guests of the hotel.
Is anything being done to at least cover some of the hospital bills of these folks, who went above and beyond any reasonable definition of responsibility to their guests? and to help their families?