The British-Sikh Community is being hailed all over the nation for their effortless help, they provided following the terror explosion at the Manchester Arena on Monday night.
AJ Singh a taxi driver, who drove several injured people to the hospital on the night of the explosion is being hailed as a hero in the United Kingdom.
The 24-year-old was born in Manchester, his family migrated from Punjab. Singh drove more than 15 wounded people to the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal Foundation Trust free of charge following the suicide bombing at Manchester Arena during an concert, which left at least 22 dead and 59 injured.
Singh drove straight into the city center at 11 PM to see how he could help. "It was devastation. People were running scared, there was blood and nails stuck into people," he recalls. There were no enough ambulances.
First Sikh Guru “Guru Nanak” said that “we have to help people when in need and that is what we are doing,” he said.
“I am no hero. This is what anyone would do." he said.
Singh has been delivering food and water to family and friends of the victims in hospital ever since.
"I did not charge people on Monday night. After the second journey I put up a sign on my car saying 'Free Taxis'. People did not have money or a phone. I am a Sikh. This is my duty," he says.
One of the most harrowing thing Singh experienced while driving was a man whose girlfriend passed away.
"The paramedics told him she was unlikely to make it. She went in an ambulance and he came with me. I could see his whole life had gone before him. He did not want to talk about it. We just sat there crying and hugging each other," he said.
The Sikh community opened up the five gurudwaras in the city to offer food, shelter and water to those caught in the attacks.
Several people took shelter in the Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib Gurdwara, which is very close to the Arena.
The President of the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Educational & Cultural Center, Prakash Singh said: "The priest came out and saw people running frantically in distress so he quickly rang up community members telling them to come to the Gurudwara and help."
Some just wanted water or a cup of tea, others had langar of rice, dal and chapati.
Prakash said that they rang up Sikh taxi drivers across the city who came and took the people to their homes or hotels for free of charge.
Temples are always open for anyone who needs help, adds Singh, whose father moved to the UK from Lahore before Partition.
35-year-old Rizwana Arshad is the accounts manager at Street Cars Manchester. She said all the taxis in her firm offered free lifts all night.
The taxi firm employs about 600 drivers of a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds including Pakistani, Indian, Somalian, African, Polish, English and Arabic.
"Mancunians are all welcoming individuals, whatever ethnic group they are from. It was a horrific terrorist attack and this was people coming together as a community," she said.
AMandeep
