Red Cross Blogs

Community spirit hits home

By Alix Miller
May 6, 2009 at 11:42 am

The other day my Mum was attacked right outside her house in broad daylight. She had just arrived home from work and was wheeling her bike into her drive, which is on a sleepy road in west London.

As she got her house keys out of her bag, she felt a hard thwack to the back of her neck. “I was terrified…I thought I was being mugged,” she told me later. Momentarily stunned, she looked around, but couldn’t see anyone behind her. However, she did notice a pink water balloon lying in the middle of the road, which she picked up. At that moment a taxi stopped and a girl leaned out and asked her if she was ok – she had seen some boys running off. A motorcyclist also pulled up to ask the same thing and two neighbours standing nearby started telling him what they had seen.

Next, two policemen on bikes rode by. The two neighbours flagged them down and relayed what they had seen and off pedalled one of the policemen in pursuit of the boys they had described. Apparently there had been three young culprits responsible for throwing the balloon.

The other policeman came over to check my Mum wasn’t seriously hurt (she wasn’t) and to take a statement. Within five minutes, his colleague returned to say that they had caught the boys.

Ok, so hardly earth-shattering stuff, so why am I telling you this? Well, because on the face of it, boys hurling things at old ladies (Mum, I hope you’re not reading this!), could be seen as another example of ‘the breakdown of community’.

But instead, my mum came away with quite the reverse sentiment. She was heartened to know that community spirit still prevails in our buzzing melting pot of a metropolis, even if it’s not always apparent. When she was in need, complete strangers came to her aid.

As my Mum’s experience shows, when disaster (or a water balloon) strikes, it often reveals something rather beautiful about human beings; despite our busy, often disconnected lives, we are inextricably bound and part of a whole. When everyone pulls together it strengthens that whole.

Community spirit is something we see a lot at the Red Cross at home and abroad. Take the British couple we came across recently who witnessed a motorbike crash while out for a walk in a remote area. Their quick-thinking first aid skills saved the injured rider during the crucial first minutes while an ambulance was being called.

Or Liberia where communities, together with British Red Cross support, are pulling together after 14 years of civil war to build wells and latrines to improve health and sanitation.

You too can come over all community spirited by supporting us during Red Cross Appeal Week all this week.

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Comments (4) »

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Tags: disaster, First aid, Liberia, Red Cross Appeal Week

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 11:42 am and is filed under Emergencies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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