Harman Singh, 22, a Sikh Student in New Zealand has been hailed as a hero for breaking religious protocol as he removed his turban to help save the life of a five-year-old boy.
Singh was at home when he heard car wheels screeching, and then a commotion, and ran outside to investigate. “I saw a child down on the ground and a lady was holding him. His head was bleeding, so I unveiled my turban and put it under his head,” Singh told the New Zealand Herald.
I wasn’t thinking about the turban, I was thinking about the accident and I just thought, ‘He needs something on his head because he’s bleeding.’ That’s my job – to help. I think anyone else would have done the same as me.
– Harman Singh
Watch the news video of Harman Singh here.
Members of the Sikh community in New Zealand have praised Singh for his action. They have called it a “significant act of humanity” by breaking strict religious protocol to help a stranger.
The accident occurred in Manuroa Road in South of Auckland around just 9am on May 16.
Singh acknowledged the rare step he took to help, but said that protocols of his faith did not restrict certain actions in an emergency, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.
Singh and other members of the public stayed with the boy until emergency services arrived. They told him he was going to be okay.
The little boy, he was talking to us before his mum came. He wasn’t crying. But when his mum arrived – when he saw her – he started to cry, because she was crying.
– Harman Singh
Gagan Dhillon, who knew Singh, said he was on his way to work when he saw the accident and stopped to help.
“There was enough help as there was, but being a Sikh myself, I know what type of respect the turban has. People just don’t take it off – people die over it.
I saw him [Mr Singh] with no head covering and thought, ‘That’s strange’. But then I saw one hand was underneath the boy’s head supporting it and his siropao [turban] was stopping the bleeding. he didn’t care that his head was uncovered in public. He just wanted to help this little boy.
– Gagan Dhillon
How it Happened
The 5-year-old was walking to school with his older sister when he was hit. He was thought to have suffered life-threatening head injuries, but last night was in a stable condition in the Starship hospital.
It is understood the boy ran across the road at a pedestrian refuge. There is often a school patrol in the area, but it had finished supervising road crossings for the morning.
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