Egyptian national Eslam el-Ashery decided to offer a helping hand to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, even as he was certain that he was putting his life on thin ice.
The 27-year-old from the central governorate of Fayoum was admired by everybody, thanks to his selfless behaviour.
In this interview, el-Ashery tells the Egyptian Mail why he decided to put his life on the line to rescue others.
He spoke to this newspaper on the way to rescue an Egyptian student who was still stranded in the war-torn country.
So far, el-Ashery has helped 20 people get out of Ukraine and into neighbouring countries.
His story started when he received a message from a Saudi man, in which he asked him to help him rescue an Iraqi woman whose house was bombed while she and her four children were inside.
He was 630 kilometres away from the house of the Iraqi woman. However, he immediately left an area on Ukraine’s border with Poland, where he had just fled together with some friends, and headed to the house of the woman.
His friends did not want to let him go. They implored him and pulled him from his backpack to prevent him from going, knowing that he could be risking his life by going back.
“I insisted to go to help the woman and her children,” el-Ashery said.
He jumped into his car, and embarked on his journey, after ensuring that the vehicle had enough fuel for the 9-hour drive.
Soon after he arrived at the scene, another attack occurred. This brought him very close to death.
“I told the Iraqi woman, if something bad happens to me, remember that I was coming to help you,” he recalled.
Eventually, he managed to rescue the woman and her kids, taking them to the Polish border.
After saving the Iraqi woman, el-Ashery’s car motor burned and the car was damaged. Nonetheless, this did not cause him to stop helping others.
His desire to save lives put him through many other events that fit into an adventure film.
A Lebanese friend of his gave him his car to be able to rescue a Saudi man and his Ukrainian wife who was eight months pregnant.
El-Ashery was about to study dentistry in Ukraine after mastering the Ukrainian and Russian languages.
Nevertheless, the war has already dashed his study hopes.
“However, my inner peace always pushes me to keep going,” he said.
He faced many difficulties while trying to help others. His car stopped working many times because of fuel shortages. Other times, he was in extreme danger.
Nevertheless, his contacts and good relations with people almost everywhere in Ukraine helped him through all these difficulties.
El-Ashery then was approached by a Yemeni man who asked him to help save his family which he left behind in Ukraine before the war started.
His rescue of this family went viral.
“The man could not return to his family,” el-Ashery said. “I put myself in his shoes and decided to do anything to help his family.”
But this was the toughest rescue journey. It took el-Ashery six days to drive the family of the Yemeni man safely to the Polish border.
“Death was so close to me on numerous occasions,” el-Ashery said.
He travelled about 500 kilometres to reach the village where this family lived. There were unrelenting airstrikes by Russian planes. It took el-Ashery two days to reach the village.
As el-Ashery tried to reach the village, the family members kept sending him live locations.
“I followed the map, but I missed my way several times,” el-Ashery said.
It was through help from the village residents that el-Ashery finally reached his destination.
On the way back to the Polish border, the children of the Yemeni man were in mortal fear of Russian fighter jets.
El-Ashery had to keep assuring them that everything would be alright.
He played songs and an animation film and told the children that the explosions they heard every now and then were part of the animation film he played for them.
“I was lying, but I had to do this to keep them calm,” el-Ashery said.
Soon after arriving to the Polish border, el-Ashery received a phone call from the Yemeni prime minister who thanked him for his bravery.
Egyptian Immigration Minister Nabila Makram also called him and praised his heroism.
Having become known to everybody, el-Ashery’s phone never stops ringing.
“I rarely sleep,” he said. “I try to answer all calls, regardless of who is calling, because I cannot let anybody down.”
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