CRISIS IN THE MED FIREMAN ON HIS MISSION TO SAVE Babies of the
People on the boats are the real heroes
12 Sunday Mail They are the most tragic victims of a devastating humanitarian crisis – tiny, helpless children adrift on the sea.
The refugee infants, some with parents, some without , endure horrifying conditions on boats where life is at its most fragile and some will not see out the journey.
Fireman Jim Snedden made it his mission to save them on a three- week volunteer stint in the Mediterranean with the charity MOAS. In the middle of the chaos and conf usion when the charity’s ship finds one of the flimsy refugee boats, Jim, 46, helped to carry the children gently to safety.
Jim, of Dunblane, is also a trained rescue swimmer – responsible for saving refugees who have fallen in the water from the overcrowded boats.
But he believes it is the men, women and children he went to help who are the real heroes.
The Scot t ish Fi re and Rescue trainer said: “We talk about heroes and bravery and all of these things.
“To be honest, I’ve seen a lot of people doing brave things but for me there’s nothing in the world that would get me on one of these boats.
“It was one of the bravest group of people I’ve ever met. I am going to go back and try to assist more people if I can.
“I’ve spoken to my family about it a lot and they are proud I was there.”
In the three weeks Jim was on the MOAS ship, about 2000 people were helped.
He said: “One day we started at 4.30am and didn’t f inish until late that night.
“I remember getting on to a wooden boat with a 23-year -old kid at the back. He was just a boy. And there were almost 500 people on the boat.
“All of a sudden kids are being handed to me. And I’ve got more than 400 sets of eyes on me.
“I am a first- aider and I did CPR on the boy. But he was dead when I got to him. He had been underneath the deck. He suffocated from the fumes.”
Jim admits he had little time
to adjust before being faced with the harsh real it y of the plight of the immigrants fleeing trouble spots across Africa and the Middle East via Libya.
He said: “I didn’t tell my family I was going until a few days before. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to pan out.
“My 17-year-old daughter Stephanie said to me, ‘ If anyone can make a difference, Dad, you can’. It nearly broke my heart. I had my flight and ticket about an hour later.”
Jim went on his mission with MOAS in July. His role was to be one of the first people on the scene to help calm the terrified passengers as lifejackets are handed out.
In one rescue, he had to use his swimming skills to save two men who risked drowning in the panic. He said: “We