Allisan Kaplan Sommer gives us the story of a hero in Beslan:
In an act of unlimited devotion and dedication, to the bitter end, an elderly teacher insisted on remaining with his students. He protected them, bandaged their wounds, and with his death, saved their lives.
Children who escaped from the school told of how they owed their lived to elderly Yanis (Ivan) Kanidis, age 74 – a man of Greek origin who worked as a gym teacher at the school. He was among the hundreds of teachers, students and parents taken hostage last week when Chechen rebels invaded the large school.
On Thursday, in what was an unusual humanitarian move in the midst of the horror, the terrorists agreed to allow a group of women and babies to leave the building. The commander of the terrorist squad, saw Kanidis — a sickly elderly man — and offered to allow him to walk free as well.
But Kanidis refused. “I will stay with my students till the end,†the teacher insisted.
Kanidis was killed absorbing a grenade explosion and saving the lives of several children in the school.
Kanidis is an example of the very definition of selfless heroism, and an inspiration to us all in this war.
Yanis Kanidis will be in my prayers tonight. There is a line in a certain Book about ‘Greater love hath no man”.
Is there any finer fate for a real man than to lay down his life for a child?
MarkL
Canberra