Doing the right thing is seldom easy. Spike Lee made an entire movie about it. So have many other people. It seems—as modernity continues to separate, degrade, and silo human from human, and human from humanity—that doing the right thing grows more difficult by the day.
Yet, what the internet tears apart, the internet brings together. The web carries to us inspirational stories from around the globe. On the internet—from time to time—there are stories of individuals taking righteous action. Stories that bring us all closer and, one hopes, motivating us more than ever before to do the right thing. We have listed eight heroes from these stories below as 8 Heroic Rescue Stories Throughout History Like Cedric Herrou.
The most recent incarnation is the story of 37-year-old Cedric Herrou. Mr. Herrou is a Frenchman, and an olive farmer who lives in a secluded valley in France near the border with Italy called Roya. Along with two others, Herrou is currently on trial for illegally aiding and guiding migrants through the area. The trial which began Wednesday will conclude with a verdict from the panel of three judges on February 10th.
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The migrants Herrou and others assisted are mostly hailing from Eritrea and Sudan—refugees of war and persecution. Many of these migrants are children. As Herrou told the NYTimes, “It’s not right. There are children who are not safe. It is enraging to see children, at 2 in the morning, completely dehydrated.
“I am a Frenchman,” Mr. Herrou declared.
Approximately 10% of Frances population is immigrants—according to a global report from economic think-tank OECD. For comparison, the Migration Policy Institute cites approximately 13.3% of the U.S. population is immigrants. According to an Ipsos poll last August, 60% of French people believe immigration is having ill effects on their country. In the face of anti-immigrant sentiment, spurred both by endless combinations of xenophobia, racism, financial concerns, and several terror attacks in the last year—Mr. Herrou did the right thing. Read our 11 most racist countries in Europe article to have an idea about the recent surge in racism in Europe.
Throughout history there have been many others who have acted similarly. We have rounded up ten historic and modern heroes who have saved the lives off others. These folks acted often in the face of incredible risk to their own lives and livelihood—facing jail time, torture, or death and usually in spite of majority public opinion. So here enjoy 8 heroic rescue stories throughout history like Cedric Herrou.
8. Doc Hendley – The Founder and President of the charity, Wine to Water, a nonprofit committed to providing clean drinking water to those in countries like Sudan, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Peru, South Africa, Kenya and elsewhere around the world. Beginning with Sudan in 2004, this bartender and musician raised donations for, travelled to and installed water purification systems for people in need. Hendley and his group have installed systems in over 18 countries and aided more than 300,000 people.
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7. Jorge Munoz Zapata – Second on our list of heroic rescue stories throughout history like Cedric Herrou is the story about an immigrant, Munoz, or The Angel of Queens, who became a citizen in 1987, after arriving to the U.S. He feeds the immigrant and day worker population of Queens, NY. President Obama awarded him the Citizen’s Medal in 2010 for providing meals to thousands. He cooks and hands out the food nightly from a budget based solely from his bus driver salary and donations.
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6. Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler – These three Americans were traveling by train in France when they rushed and halted a potential attacker planning to open fire on the train car. They, along with another English man, brought down the attacker who was later apprehended. Four people were injured in the Thalys train attack but no one was killed and many lives were rescued from potential harm.
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5. Ryan Pitts – serving the US in Afghanistan in 2008, Pitts refused to give up his position after an attack from 100 insurgents. Wounded by a grenade, Pitts crawled throughout the observation post he was defending, maintaining the high ground and ultimately saving lives. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
4. Sir Nicholas Winton – a British stockbroker who saved 669, mainly Jewish, children in Czechoslovakia from the Holocaust during the Czech Kindertransport just before WWII. Sir Winton’s good deeds were not even public knowledge until the 1980s when his wife found documents pertaining to the action. Sir Winton lived to be 106 years old.
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3.Oskar Schindler – a German business owner who saved the lives of 1,200 Jewish people during the Holocaust by offering them jobs in his enamelware and ammunitions factories. He then bribed Nazi officers to keep his employees from being taken to concentration camps. He continued to bribe the Nazis for his employees protection until the end of the war—spending his entire fortune to do so.
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2. Aki Ra – Ra began his interaction with landmines as a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge. He was then trained by the UN to deactivate mines and began deactivating thousands with only a few basic tools—ultimately founding the Cambodia Landmine Museum. In the meantime he also adopted injured and abandoned village children throughout the area. Today 29 children live at Ra’s Cambodia Landmine Relief Center.
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1.Harriet Tubman – One of history’s ultimate rescuers, Harriet Tubman helped people escape slavery. Using the Underground Railroad of safe houses and allies she guided slaves North to freedom. She also participated in many abolishonist and military operations like the Raid at Combahee Ferry. Her work saved and emancipated hundreds of people.
Now that you have read about 8 heroic rescue stories throughout history like Cedric Herrou you should check out countries where things are more inspirational. Perhaps someone living in one of the 13 Least Racist Countries In The World is working to change the world right for the better like the above people did and do, at this very moment.
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