With all the conflict that has taken place in the middle east, Iraqi citizen Aka Abdularahman decided it’d be a good idea to invest in a vehicle he could drive around in without fear of being shot. It’s a sad reality, but that decision has resulted in a lot of lives being saved.
The Kurdish Preshmerga fighter reportedly paid $10,000 for an early 1990’s bulletproof BMW after ISIS militants began advancing around the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. At first, he and his friends just enjoyed driving around in an armored car. He told CNN:
“My friends were very happy when I bought the armored car. We started driving in it to the front line near Kirkuk, not worried about ISIS drive-by shootings or roadside bombs.”
On October 21, however, dozens of ISIS militants conducted a coordinated series of attacks on the oil-rich city. 64 citizens died and 86 ISIS terrorists were killed. In addition, more than 100 civilians and security personnel were wounded and stranded, as city officials were scared of going near the area due to nearby snipers. It’s at this point that Ako decided he needed to do something. He hopped into his dependable automobile and began transporting the hurt civilians to safety. He explained:
“I told myself, this is the right time to help people, this is the right moment to do it. I am a fighter and I have a bulletproof car, shame on me if I can’t help. In my car, I carried Sunni, Shiite, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians. I felt like I am truly Iraq and this is who everyone should be.”
Though snipers continued to fire at his bulletproof BMW, Preshmerga never stopped driving. On that day, he rescued 70 city residents and carried a number of fallen comrades back to safety so they could be properly buried.
“My car received more than 50 bullets, [there are] marks all over it,” he recalled. “ISIS kept shooting, hoping to penetrate my car to kill me and kill the wounded people inside it
For his heroism, Kirkuk Gov. Dr. Najmaldin Karim personally thanked the Peshmerga fighter in a meeting. In addition, he also received 500,000 Iraqi dinars ($385) for his actions. He told CNN that the did not expect any sort of compensation for helping those civilians. In fact, he thinks it’s somewhat insulting that he received money for doing something “every Iraqi should do.”
So he might continue to help others out during this terse time in the Middle East, Ako decided to keep his vehicle despite receiving an offer from the German auto manufacturer to trade his bullet-riddled car in. Reportedly, the firm wants to display his old car at his headquarters. Because the fight in Iraq isn’t over, however, the activist will keep the original. He says,
“I am not a hero, I am only an ordinary Iraqi who wants to defeat his country from criminals and killers.”
If that doesn’t inspire you to “do good” in this world, what will? Please comment below and share this news!
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