1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:06,280 S1: From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:14,680 S1: This is the morning edition. I'm Samantha Seelinger Morris. On 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,000 S1: the evening of the shooting at Bondi. Prime Minister Anthony 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,720 S1: Albanese said an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,360 S1: on every Australian, and that was indeed proven when the 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,040 S1: entire community sprang into action. Those who ran towards the disaster, 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,880 S1: not away from it. There are tales of heroism, like 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,639 S1: the couple who first tried to stop the gunman and 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,120 S1: paid with their lives. The man who single handedly wrestled 10 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:42,960 S1: the rifle out of the shooter's hands, and those who 11 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:49,000 S1: shielded their loved ones and strangers from bullets. Today, chief 12 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,760 S1: reporter Jordan Baker on the acts of bravery and kindness 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:01:01,720 S1: at Bondi. So, Jordan, welcome back. 14 00:01:02,140 --> 00:01:02,940 S2: Thanks, Sam. 15 00:01:03,540 --> 00:01:06,140 S1: It's been four days since we last spoke to you. 16 00:01:06,180 --> 00:01:08,060 S1: That was the evening of the shooting. And you were 17 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:11,700 S1: actually down at Bondi not long after the shooting started. 18 00:01:12,140 --> 00:01:14,780 S1: Of course, we've been flooded with footage of the tragedy 19 00:01:14,819 --> 00:01:19,260 S1: since then, but we also witnessed so much bravery, love 20 00:01:19,260 --> 00:01:23,140 S1: and support from members of the public during and in 21 00:01:23,140 --> 00:01:24,699 S1: the aftermath. Right. 22 00:01:25,180 --> 00:01:28,860 S3: It's been extraordinary. You know, there were people who were 23 00:01:28,860 --> 00:01:31,979 S3: doing CPR. There were people who just these are just 24 00:01:31,980 --> 00:01:35,140 S3: average people like you and me who ran towards danger. 25 00:01:36,260 --> 00:01:37,380 S4: I got you, I got you. 26 00:01:37,500 --> 00:01:38,340 S5: Are you high? 27 00:01:38,580 --> 00:01:39,660 S4: Yeah. We can hide, baby. 28 00:01:42,220 --> 00:01:45,259 S3: Which I think is an extraordinary instinct. You could be 29 00:01:45,260 --> 00:01:48,660 S3: forgiven for running away from it, for I think I would. So, 30 00:01:48,700 --> 00:01:50,860 S3: you know, we had people who were on scooters, were 31 00:01:50,900 --> 00:01:53,980 S3: kind of driving up the road, warning each other. 32 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:56,500 S6: Normally we'd turn off, but we went down the whole 33 00:01:56,500 --> 00:01:59,140 S6: promenade and I just screamed at the top of my 34 00:01:59,140 --> 00:02:02,990 S6: lungs like, run! He has a gun! Run! He has gone. 35 00:02:09,830 --> 00:02:13,790 S3: We had people taking in complete strangers into their house. 36 00:02:14,030 --> 00:02:15,710 S3: You know, a lot of people sort of jumping into 37 00:02:15,710 --> 00:02:19,350 S3: whatever flat they could find. And of course, then in 38 00:02:19,350 --> 00:02:21,670 S3: the days afterward, obviously, there was a call for the 39 00:02:21,830 --> 00:02:26,070 S3: blood bank. You know, it's been absolutely inundated with people 40 00:02:26,070 --> 00:02:28,510 S3: wanting to give blood, people wanting to do anything they 41 00:02:28,510 --> 00:02:29,710 S3: possibly can. 42 00:02:29,950 --> 00:02:33,390 S7: Behind me, there is certainly a sea of people here 43 00:02:33,389 --> 00:02:37,270 S7: at Town Hall in Sydney. Lifeblood has been inundated with 44 00:02:37,270 --> 00:02:41,829 S7: a line right out the door and certainly dozens more inside. 45 00:02:42,510 --> 00:02:46,070 S3: The GoFundMe page for Ahmed Al Ahmed, who may lose 46 00:02:46,070 --> 00:02:48,149 S3: his arm, was the last we heard. 47 00:02:48,550 --> 00:02:51,910 S8: Ahmed Al Ahmed, the hero who wrestled a gun from 48 00:02:51,910 --> 00:02:52,910 S8: one of the killers. 49 00:02:53,389 --> 00:02:55,270 S3: You know, last time I checked, it was sort of 50 00:02:55,310 --> 00:03:00,510 S3: heading towards $2 million from all over the world. I 51 00:03:00,510 --> 00:03:05,890 S3: think people are Extraordinary. In these crises, people dig to 52 00:03:05,930 --> 00:03:09,250 S3: depths that they didn't know they had. The community rallies 53 00:03:09,250 --> 00:03:12,250 S3: in a way that we always know it can, I suppose, 54 00:03:12,250 --> 00:03:16,370 S3: but it's beautiful to see when it does. And that. Yeah, 55 00:03:16,410 --> 00:03:18,770 S3: as we said before, it's a reminder that there is 56 00:03:18,810 --> 00:03:22,410 S3: far more good in this world and that when the 57 00:03:22,410 --> 00:03:24,090 S3: chips are down, we do come together. 58 00:03:24,530 --> 00:03:26,890 S1: I totally I'm with you, as I imagine so many 59 00:03:26,889 --> 00:03:29,810 S1: listeners are. It really sort of it just helps buoy 60 00:03:29,810 --> 00:03:32,250 S1: you up even that little bit. And of course, I've 61 00:03:32,250 --> 00:03:35,770 S1: got to ask you about Boris and Sofia Gherman, this 62 00:03:35,770 --> 00:03:38,770 S1: is the couple in their 60s who saw the two 63 00:03:38,810 --> 00:03:43,290 S1: gunmen before they began their massacre. Boris and Sofia saw 64 00:03:43,290 --> 00:03:45,450 S1: the men as they were getting out of their car 65 00:03:45,450 --> 00:03:48,610 S1: on the way to the Hanukkah celebration. They tried to 66 00:03:48,650 --> 00:03:51,130 S1: stop these men and they paid for their lives. They 67 00:03:51,170 --> 00:03:54,530 S1: were the first victims of this massacre. So tell us 68 00:03:54,530 --> 00:03:56,170 S1: a bit about this incredible couple. 69 00:03:56,370 --> 00:03:59,650 S3: So it's these stories are sort of emerging over the 70 00:03:59,650 --> 00:04:04,460 S3: last few days. And this this story is just it's 71 00:04:04,860 --> 00:04:07,780 S3: incredible what these people did, you know, and I think 72 00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:09,660 S3: a lot of us look at that and think, would 73 00:04:09,660 --> 00:04:12,460 S3: I be that brave? And I don't know if I would. 74 00:04:12,500 --> 00:04:15,620 S3: So this couple, you know, they're Russian Jewish couple just 75 00:04:15,620 --> 00:04:19,020 S3: walking along Campbell Parade on a Sunday afternoon. It was hot. 76 00:04:19,260 --> 00:04:21,420 S3: Everyone was out. You know, it was one of those 77 00:04:21,420 --> 00:04:27,340 S3: classic Sydney afternoons. They're walking along and a little silver 78 00:04:27,339 --> 00:04:32,340 S3: Hyundai hatchback is parked just on the on the curb side. 79 00:04:32,660 --> 00:04:39,220 S3: And they see the Islamic State flag. And their reaction 80 00:04:40,060 --> 00:04:45,540 S3: was to fight straight away, which is just incredible. They 81 00:04:45,540 --> 00:04:48,180 S3: realized what they saw. They realized that they were seeing 82 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:51,380 S3: these people come out of this car and they were armed. 83 00:04:51,380 --> 00:04:58,140 S3: So there's 69 year old man who was unarmed, tackled 84 00:04:58,180 --> 00:05:02,260 S3: one of these men onto the road and took his 85 00:05:02,260 --> 00:05:07,640 S3: rifle off him and aimed at the man, which is 86 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,479 S3: just an extraordinary thing to do. He looked like he 87 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,160 S3: almost had the upper hand for a little while. The 88 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,039 S3: footage jumps in and out, and what we then find 89 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,719 S3: out is that both members of that couple died. So 90 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:27,920 S3: in their extraordinarily courageous attempts to stop this from happening, 91 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:33,200 S3: they both lost their own lives. Um, but what a 92 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:39,239 S3: what a what an incredible example of of just sort of, um, 93 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:44,720 S3: almost incomprehensible courage. These, these this couple was, you know, 94 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:50,080 S3: 61 and 69. They were a good 40 years older 95 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,560 S3: than one of the gunmen and and a good, you know, ten, 96 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,719 S3: 15 odd years older than the other one. And they 97 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,080 S3: reacted so instinctively. So, you know, I think they will 98 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,640 S3: be forever remembered as absolute heroes. 99 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,640 S1: Absolutely. And of course, we've got to speak about Ahmed 100 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,219 S1: Al Ahmed. He, of course, is the man who's been 101 00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:11,620 S1: celebrated across the world after he single handedly wrestled the 102 00:06:11,620 --> 00:06:13,860 S1: Long Rifle off of one of the shooters. You know, 103 00:06:13,900 --> 00:06:17,460 S1: footage of his absolutely unimaginable feat of bravery. It's been 104 00:06:17,460 --> 00:06:21,140 S1: viewed tens of millions of times. So tell me about him. 105 00:06:21,140 --> 00:06:23,940 S1: And also what we know now about how many people 106 00:06:23,980 --> 00:06:25,260 S1: he might have saved. 107 00:06:25,860 --> 00:06:28,740 S3: So this guy was going for coffee. He was visiting Bondi. 108 00:06:28,740 --> 00:06:33,419 S3: He lives elsewhere in Sydney as a tobacconist. He migrated 109 00:06:33,420 --> 00:06:38,500 S3: here from Syria decades ago, and he was just walking 110 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:42,460 S3: along the street and he saw this unfold, unlike that 111 00:06:42,460 --> 00:06:46,539 S3: earlier couple. His instinct was to react. He actually said 112 00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:49,140 S3: to his cousin who he was with at the time, look, 113 00:06:49,180 --> 00:06:52,540 S3: I'm probably going to die when I do this. And 114 00:06:52,540 --> 00:06:56,059 S3: he went and he did it anyway. And he snuck 115 00:06:56,060 --> 00:06:58,979 S3: up on the elder gunman who had sort of walked 116 00:06:58,980 --> 00:07:03,179 S3: down towards the sort of grass area who was holding 117 00:07:03,180 --> 00:07:07,110 S3: a very high powered weapon, who Ahmed Al Ahmed had 118 00:07:07,150 --> 00:07:10,550 S3: seen him use. He sort of snuck up behind him 119 00:07:10,550 --> 00:07:14,910 S3: so that the gunmen didn't see him coming and jumped 120 00:07:14,910 --> 00:07:17,830 S3: on him, grabbed the shotgun. 121 00:07:19,470 --> 00:07:19,830 S5: Oh. 122 00:07:20,870 --> 00:07:27,870 S3: And pointed at this elder gunman. And the gunman ended 123 00:07:27,870 --> 00:07:32,150 S3: up sort of scurrying back up to the footbridge. But 124 00:07:32,150 --> 00:07:35,110 S3: people now estimate that he may have saved more than 125 00:07:35,110 --> 00:07:39,430 S3: 30 people with that particular act of bravery and doing 126 00:07:39,430 --> 00:07:44,350 S3: something like that, when you know that the likely outcome 127 00:07:44,350 --> 00:07:49,350 S3: is that you won't survive is just extraordinary. And all 128 00:07:49,350 --> 00:07:53,510 S3: around the world, people have hailed the bravery of this man. 129 00:07:55,150 --> 00:07:59,030 S9: Well, it was a great honor to meet Ahmed Al Ahmed. 130 00:07:59,070 --> 00:08:01,710 S9: He is a true Australian hero. 131 00:08:01,750 --> 00:08:04,950 S8: King Charles has sent a personal message of thanks to 132 00:08:04,990 --> 00:08:07,170 S8: the brave father of two who's. 133 00:08:07,170 --> 00:08:09,730 S10: A brave person, who's right now in the hospital. Great 134 00:08:09,730 --> 00:08:11,610 S10: respect to that man that did that. 135 00:08:11,650 --> 00:08:12,530 S9: I had a stroke. 136 00:08:13,010 --> 00:08:16,810 S11: Thank you. Your courage is inspiring. 137 00:08:16,890 --> 00:08:17,770 S12: Thank you very much. 138 00:08:17,890 --> 00:08:18,650 S11: Very strong. 139 00:08:21,290 --> 00:08:25,450 S3: His local village back in Syria. You know, they're celebrating him. 140 00:08:25,730 --> 00:08:30,730 S3: You know, it's a really extraordinary story of somebody who 141 00:08:30,770 --> 00:08:33,850 S3: liked the couple who tried to disarm the gunman a 142 00:08:33,850 --> 00:08:40,089 S3: few minutes earlier, put their own safety second to that 143 00:08:40,130 --> 00:08:44,250 S3: of those around them, which is something that, again, you know, 144 00:08:45,890 --> 00:08:47,610 S3: I don't know if all of us would do it. 145 00:08:47,650 --> 00:08:51,410 S3: It's it's it's an incredibly, incredibly selfless instinct. 146 00:08:54,450 --> 00:08:56,850 S1: Totally. I mean, I think I'm like many people I 147 00:08:56,850 --> 00:09:00,690 S1: know who on seeing these acts of bravery, my genuine 148 00:09:00,730 --> 00:09:03,290 S1: thoughts are that I wouldn't have that bravery. And of course, 149 00:09:03,330 --> 00:09:06,929 S1: Ahmed Ahmed has two young children. Jordan, you've got kids. 150 00:09:06,929 --> 00:09:09,420 S1: I've got kids and I just don't think that would 151 00:09:09,420 --> 00:09:12,500 S1: be my instinct anyway. So I'm boggled, like most people, 152 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:15,100 S1: I think. And then, of course, there was also an 153 00:09:15,100 --> 00:09:19,059 S1: unarmed man, Reuven Morrison, who lobbed a brick at the shooter. 154 00:09:19,660 --> 00:09:22,579 S1: He's tragically passed away. So tell us a bit about him. 155 00:09:23,020 --> 00:09:27,700 S3: So he was again 62. So not a, you know, 156 00:09:27,860 --> 00:09:31,540 S3: not a young man. And yet again, he put his 157 00:09:31,540 --> 00:09:37,380 S3: own safety second to that of everyone else. He ran 158 00:09:37,380 --> 00:09:42,060 S3: towards the gunman and I believe threw a stone at 159 00:09:42,059 --> 00:09:45,940 S3: the shooter. He was there with his wife to celebrate 160 00:09:45,940 --> 00:09:48,300 S3: the first night of Hanukkah at the festival that these 161 00:09:48,300 --> 00:09:49,620 S3: gunmen were targeting. 162 00:09:50,020 --> 00:09:53,380 S13: He jumped up at the sign of terror. He didn't 163 00:09:53,420 --> 00:09:56,780 S13: lay low. He didn't cower. He jumped to protect, to 164 00:09:56,820 --> 00:09:59,780 S13: save the ones he loved, cost him his life. And 165 00:09:59,780 --> 00:10:04,059 S13: he saved lives. He saved so many lives. I got 166 00:10:04,059 --> 00:10:05,260 S13: a message from a friend of mine. 167 00:10:05,300 --> 00:10:06,540 S14: A lot of the stories of these. 168 00:10:06,540 --> 00:10:11,320 S3: People, Sam, are extraordinary. And it goes to, I think, 169 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,160 S3: the extraordinary history of the Jewish community in Sydney. What 170 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:20,319 S3: these people have been through to get here is incredible 171 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:25,000 S3: in itself. So, you know, this particular man was born 172 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,679 S3: in Kiev under the sort of iron curtain of the 173 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:32,640 S3: Soviet Union. He fled at 14 years old with nothing. 174 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,440 S3: He found a home in Australia. He and his wife 175 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,959 S3: had what they called a sort of miracle baby. And 176 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,600 S3: from all accounts that, you know, life in the Soviet Union, 177 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,760 S3: in Ukraine at that period was very, very, very difficult. 178 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,200 S3: You know, so he found and built a home here 179 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:54,360 S3: amongst a community that was loving. He was enjoying, you know, 180 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,480 S3: a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Bondi. And, you know, he 181 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,959 S3: he dug into himself to find that bravery which is 182 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:06,480 S3: just extraordinary. And he too will be remembered as a hero. 183 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:10,300 S1: Absolutely. And we know that his daughter, Shayna Gutnick. She 184 00:11:10,300 --> 00:11:13,740 S1: has spoken to one of our colleagues, Sharon Grosh, and 185 00:11:13,740 --> 00:11:17,420 S1: she told Sharon that she has friends who told her 186 00:11:17,420 --> 00:11:19,699 S1: that they were hiding their own babies underneath them on 187 00:11:19,700 --> 00:11:22,620 S1: the ground, who said that her dad had saved them. 188 00:11:22,660 --> 00:11:24,980 S1: At least that's their perspective because he took minutes off 189 00:11:24,980 --> 00:11:29,220 S1: the shooting. So it really is just extraordinary. And something 190 00:11:29,220 --> 00:11:33,900 S1: else that's really quite fascinating, of course, is that Ahmed 191 00:11:33,900 --> 00:11:38,140 S1: Al Ahmed is a muslim man of Syrian origin, and he, 192 00:11:38,179 --> 00:11:41,179 S1: of course, has stood up in this most extraordinary ways 193 00:11:41,179 --> 00:11:43,220 S1: to defend those in the Jewish community. So what does 194 00:11:43,220 --> 00:11:46,580 S1: it mean to members of the Jewish community to have 195 00:11:47,100 --> 00:11:50,140 S1: this man, this Muslim man, stand up to these gunmen? 196 00:11:50,420 --> 00:11:57,100 S3: I think what that shows is the broader story that 197 00:11:57,100 --> 00:12:00,820 S3: can be easy to forget in times like this, that 198 00:12:01,260 --> 00:12:06,500 S3: no two people define a community. And so the fact 199 00:12:06,500 --> 00:12:10,309 S3: that these gunmen appear to be sort of ISIS related 200 00:12:10,309 --> 00:12:15,550 S3: terrorists doesn't necessarily mean that everyone in their community shares 201 00:12:15,550 --> 00:12:18,990 S3: their views. And in fact, you know, there is so 202 00:12:18,990 --> 00:12:22,990 S3: much more good than bad in our world and in 203 00:12:22,990 --> 00:12:27,670 S3: our community. And, you know, for every bad actor, there 204 00:12:27,670 --> 00:12:34,350 S3: are countless brave, generous, kind people who will do what's 205 00:12:34,350 --> 00:12:38,750 S3: right regardless of the context, who embrace their fellow man, 206 00:12:38,750 --> 00:12:43,750 S3: regardless of their religion or background. And I think the 207 00:12:43,790 --> 00:12:47,429 S3: Ahmed Al Ahmed story is a powerful reminder of that. 208 00:12:47,429 --> 00:12:50,709 S3: And I think, you know, he saved, saved many, many 209 00:12:50,710 --> 00:12:54,230 S3: people in his act. But his act, I think, has 210 00:12:54,309 --> 00:13:01,750 S3: also had the wider effect of protecting, I think, community cohesion, 211 00:13:01,790 --> 00:13:05,630 S3: you know, reminding us of the fact that that most 212 00:13:05,630 --> 00:13:07,470 S3: people are most people are good. 213 00:13:08,309 --> 00:13:12,290 S1: That's it. And I think so much illustrating that and 214 00:13:12,290 --> 00:13:15,130 S1: something that absolutely has just, you know, made my heart 215 00:13:15,130 --> 00:13:18,930 S1: swell is the lifeguards who sprang into action on Sunday. 216 00:13:18,970 --> 00:13:21,089 S1: I mean, this is just the best of us, isn't it? 217 00:13:21,130 --> 00:13:23,770 S1: I think many of those who are listening were probably gobsmacked, 218 00:13:23,770 --> 00:13:27,250 S1: as I was to see that incredible photo of the lifeguard, 219 00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:32,050 S1: Jackson Doolin, who sprinted barefoot from Tamarama to deliver medical 220 00:13:32,050 --> 00:13:34,089 S1: supplies to Bondi. So maybe tell us what you know 221 00:13:34,090 --> 00:13:37,250 S1: about him and others like him too, that have sort of, 222 00:13:37,530 --> 00:13:39,730 S1: you know, have now come out that they've got incredible 223 00:13:39,730 --> 00:13:40,890 S1: stories of bravery. 224 00:13:41,130 --> 00:13:43,970 S3: So the lifeguards and lifesavers at Bondi really swung into action. 225 00:13:43,970 --> 00:13:47,809 S3: When I was down there on Sunday night, I watched 226 00:13:47,809 --> 00:13:52,370 S3: them hosing down their surfboards, which had been covered in blood. 227 00:13:52,570 --> 00:13:55,450 S3: They had been using those surfboards as kind of makeshift 228 00:13:55,450 --> 00:13:59,170 S3: stretchers before the ambulances got there. We saw that picture 229 00:13:59,170 --> 00:14:02,370 S3: of one of the lifeguards bolting to get medical supplies 230 00:14:02,370 --> 00:14:06,410 S3: to bring down to the kind of site of the attack. 231 00:14:06,890 --> 00:14:09,130 S3: You know, we've heard stories of lifeguards running in to 232 00:14:09,170 --> 00:14:12,390 S3: save people from drowning as the attack is happening. 233 00:14:12,429 --> 00:14:16,550 S15: Michael Jenkinson and Mario Marfella were on duty and as 234 00:14:16,550 --> 00:14:18,990 S15: bullets are still being fired, they went into the area 235 00:14:18,990 --> 00:14:23,870 S15: where people were on the ground bleeding and started forming, um, 236 00:14:23,910 --> 00:14:28,550 S15: you know, first aid resuscitations. Absolutely incredible. And Rory was 237 00:14:28,550 --> 00:14:31,110 S15: on the shore and performed a rescue in the middle 238 00:14:31,110 --> 00:14:33,150 S15: of it all. While while this was happening. 239 00:14:33,510 --> 00:14:36,430 S3: And there's also one story about some poor woman who was, 240 00:14:36,710 --> 00:14:40,270 S3: you know, went into labour at the time, who was 241 00:14:40,270 --> 00:14:44,430 S3: helped by the lifesavers and also the lifesavers, you know, 242 00:14:45,110 --> 00:14:47,870 S3: took a lot of the children from the children's playground 243 00:14:47,870 --> 00:14:51,350 S3: at the time, which was adjacent to the festival site, 244 00:14:51,350 --> 00:14:54,470 S3: into the surf club. When I was there, they were 245 00:14:54,470 --> 00:14:58,310 S3: escorting a lot of elderly people into the surf club 246 00:14:58,350 --> 00:15:01,630 S3: in particular. It sort of became it had also been 247 00:15:01,630 --> 00:15:04,070 S3: the surf club was a kind of refuge during the shooting. 248 00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:06,750 S3: So a lot of people went there and by all 249 00:15:06,750 --> 00:15:10,710 S3: accounts it was, you know, terrifying. But all these children 250 00:15:10,710 --> 00:15:13,840 S3: were sort of in there had lost their parents and 251 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,440 S3: and so it was in another case too, I heard 252 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,280 S3: of a couple of kids whose mother had been shot, 253 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,480 S3: and the lifesavers came and just grabbed those kids and 254 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,800 S3: took them inside the Surf Lifesaving Club. Their first thought 255 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,360 S3: was for the children. I think that shows a lot 256 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:34,120 S3: about the Bondi community, that that they're there for each other. 257 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,520 S1: So I guess how do you reflect on these stories? 258 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,280 S1: You know that all those people who did run towards 259 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,560 S1: danger and did place themselves in harm's way for for 260 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,280 S1: perfect strangers, for others? I don't know. Does it make 261 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:51,600 S1: you feel any differently about the city that you're from 262 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:52,800 S1: that you've grown up in? 263 00:15:53,520 --> 00:16:00,640 S3: I was incredibly moved by the stories. I was moved 264 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:06,200 S3: by the bravery. I was moved by the sort of 265 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:11,840 S3: loving nature of not only the Jewish community in Bondi, 266 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:17,300 S3: but the whole Bondi community and, you know, I think 267 00:16:17,540 --> 00:16:20,100 S3: like the rest of us, for me and for all 268 00:16:20,100 --> 00:16:22,340 S3: our reporters and I probably speak on behalf of a 269 00:16:22,340 --> 00:16:24,140 S3: lot of the reporters in the Sydney Morning Herald and 270 00:16:24,140 --> 00:16:27,620 S3: The Age newsrooms, we're all probably take a little while 271 00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:30,260 S3: for us to process what we've seen, because none of 272 00:16:30,260 --> 00:16:33,300 S3: us have really seen this. You know, there's a few 273 00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:38,300 S3: people who worked on the Port Arthur massacre, but, you know, 274 00:16:38,380 --> 00:16:40,860 S3: we have a young newsroom and it's you know, we're 275 00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:44,500 S3: sort of also, I think, checking on each other a lot. And, um, 276 00:16:44,660 --> 00:16:46,940 S3: I thank all our reporters for doing such a wonderful 277 00:16:46,940 --> 00:16:49,980 S3: job of doing that. So our reporters are there to 278 00:16:49,980 --> 00:16:55,900 S3: tell the story of these people who have had the 279 00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:59,260 S3: hardest days of their lives, and they have shown incredible bravery, 280 00:16:59,300 --> 00:17:01,700 S3: not only, you know, in the actions that they took 281 00:17:01,700 --> 00:17:05,300 S3: at the time, but in telling us their stories afterwards. 282 00:17:05,300 --> 00:17:07,820 S3: So I want to thank them as well. I want 283 00:17:07,859 --> 00:17:10,900 S3: to thank everyone for their time and for their bravery 284 00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:12,100 S3: and for their generosity. 285 00:17:12,859 --> 00:17:15,990 S1: Well, it's been just great to speak to you about this, uh, 286 00:17:15,990 --> 00:17:19,350 S1: these stories that have emerged. So thank you so much, Jordan, 287 00:17:19,350 --> 00:17:20,190 S1: for your time. 288 00:17:20,310 --> 00:17:21,149 S2: Thanks, Sam. 289 00:17:30,270 --> 00:17:34,270 S1: Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Julia Carcasole. 290 00:17:34,750 --> 00:17:38,270 S1: Our executive producer is Tami Mills. Tom Mackendrick is our 291 00:17:38,270 --> 00:17:41,230 S1: head of audio. To listen to our episodes as soon 292 00:17:41,230 --> 00:17:44,990 S1: as they drop, follow the Morning Edition on Apple, Spotify, 293 00:17:44,990 --> 00:17:48,629 S1: or wherever you listen to podcasts. Our newsrooms are powered 294 00:17:48,630 --> 00:17:52,710 S1: by subscriptions, so to support independent journalism, visit the page 295 00:17:52,710 --> 00:17:58,070 S1: or smh.com.au. Subscribe. And to stay up to date, sign 296 00:17:58,070 --> 00:18:00,590 S1: up to our Morning Edition newsletter to receive a summary 297 00:18:00,590 --> 00:18:04,270 S1: of the day's most important news in your inbox every morning. 298 00:18:04,790 --> 00:18:08,350 S1: Links are in the show. Notes. I'm Samantha Selinger. Morris, 299 00:18:08,550 --> 00:18:09,710 S1: thanks for listening.