Malick resident John Julien is still haunted by the cries of the newborn baby he rescued from a dumpster in July. On Saturday, Julien, of Upper Sixth Avenue, Malick, cousins Ganesh and Shiv Bansraj and Sgt Hayden Manwaring (posthumously) were awarded Humming Bird (Bronze) medals for gallantry at the national awards ceremony, which was held for the first time in south Trinidad at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, San Fernando. Julien, speaking with reporters after receiving his medal, said while he felt like a hero when he rescued the baby from the dumpster, he was not looking for any reward. “The baby is alive and well and I feel great,” he said. “I was not expecting anything because what I done I do it for God, because plenty people just pass and ignore the whole scene and gone they way.” “I hear the thing, I pass and went home and come back because I telling myself it wasn’t (an animal), it had to be some human because of the noise I was hearing.”
When Julien found the baby she still had her umbilical cord attached. The baby was stuffed in a bag and her eyes had been covered with tape. A cotton ball was also placed in her mouth and then taped shut. The baby’s 34-year-old mother was subsequently detained by police. On Saturday (Independence Day) after he collected his award, Julien said the sight of the helpless baby left him in a state of shock and to this date her cries still haunt him. “About three or four days after I was in a mess,” he said. “I couldn’t catch myself because it is something if your body not good you could fall knowing that you see a lil child (like that) it must affect you. “You have to be strong. I does still hear the noise now and again.” He called on the authorities to do more for the youths of the nation and, in particular, the youths in his community who are in need of jobs. “We (could) have a programme where we could culture the young girls, because the girls and them nowadays just making children and they ain’t have no father and the young fellas and them, some of them just drinking and liming,” Julien said.
Cousins Ganesh and Shiv Bansraj, both of Guayamare, said they were overwhelmed with pride after receiving their Humming Bird (Bronze) medals for gallantry. The cousins were given the medals after they risked their lives on August 16 when they dived into the swollen, caiman-infested Guayamare River to save pharmacist Rolly Bhawansingh from drowning. Bhawansingh had crashed into the river and was trapped in his car. The Bansraj cousins pulled Bhawansingh out of car and revived him after he lost consciousness. Ganesh said he did not expect to get an award for doing the right thing. “I never thought something would have happened like this right...Up to now I am still in shock,” he said. “I would never have thought that it would have happened to me in my life. It happen and I am proud of myself. Saving a life is something very good.”
He said when he saw Bhawansingh trapped in the car he did not hesitate to jump into the river. “We born and grow up around there so we know the river, so we did not have a problem going in the river,” he said.“The only thing run through my mind was if the guy die. I went with a brave mind and I get through. I never even thought about death.” Shiv said he felt great getting his medal.
“I went to school and I never get an award, I save a life and I get an award. I feel great and I will do better and go higher again, I want to get gold this time,” he quipped. Manwaring’s wife, Kim, who received the medal on her husband’s behalf, said: “It is really nice that they remember him in this. I am very happy that his name shall live on. He was a great man. It very emotional, it did touch me.” Manwaring was killed in the line of duty earlier this year. He was attempting to arrest three thieves in San Fernando on February 19 when he was shot and killed.