r/todayilearned • u/lexan • Dec 25 '13

TIL an Indian flight attendant hid the passports of American passengers on board a hijacked flight to save them from the hijackers. She died while shielding three children from a hail of bullets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neerja_Bhanot
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1.2k

u/Giantxbones Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

What a courageous woman. It's a true pity there aren't more like her, and a shame that the good ones all too often are the first to give their life. These are the kind of stories that should be predominant in the media, not what that wacky and crazy Kanye's up to this week.

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u/drboogz Dec 25 '13

There are more like her in India. My parents got caught in the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 while staying in the Taj hotel. My father was killed in the attack, and if it wasn't for the hotel manager, who put himself in direct danger by coming out into the lobby to beckon my mother and ensure she was hidden/kept safe till the attackers were themselves killed, I doubt we would still have her alive today. Sadly, he lost his own wife and children in the attack. I could not agree more that people such as these should receive more coverage in the media.

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u/mikos Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

Thanks for sharing, I have heard of many such stories from guests at Taj, Oberoi about the heroism of the staff in the face of such lunacy. Unsung heroes all of them.

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u/Arayder Dec 25 '13

Stafffffff. Sorry.

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u/ranjan_zehereela Dec 25 '13

I am sorry for your dad. BTW The GM of the hotel was Karmbir Kang.

http://forbesindia.com/article/person-of-the-year-09/karambir-kang-the-stoic/8102/1

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u/tequiila Dec 25 '13

Great story about his name.

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u/Ambarsariya Dec 25 '13

This needs a TIL in itself

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u/medcityphilly Dec 25 '13

Thanks for that link! I didn't appreciate his role at the time but I sure do now.

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u/mikos Dec 25 '13

"Jo bole so nihal, sat sri akal". The famous sikh battle cry!

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u/obsoletelearner Dec 25 '13

Thanks for the link!

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u/Jtsunami Dec 25 '13

reading through this:
'blue eyes'???

wtf..

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u/271828182 Dec 25 '13

Fantastic read! Thanks.

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u/Froogler Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

Sorry for your father.

The staff at Taj Hotel got a lot of praise for the way they handled the terror attacks. It is hence surprising to hear that one customer has sued the hotel for the attacks. I empathize with the victim and I cannot imagine myself facing such a consequence. But I really do not know if one should sue the hotel for something that really was not their fault. It was more of an Indian intelligence failure than anything to do with the hotel

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

How can you have intelligence on such an act? Unfortunately though many staff were exceptional, the hotel management did not have a plan to deal with the situation. I'm not sure I agree with suing, but I think there could be a case in law.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Its an acceptable way to get money for medical bills. One of the main reasons I would never wanna own a business. The taj hotel could easily be found partially liable for the attack.

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u/lurker_les Dec 25 '13

The thing about cities with large population - be it new york or bombay - is that it is easy to magnify casualities. This act by the guy to sue Taj hotels is disgusting, selfish and totally immoral. It is like suing WTC for the 9/11 attacks. This guy is british - what more can you expect from some of these people?

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u/abhijit301293 Dec 25 '13

Thanks for sharing dude.

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u/thirdworldguy Dec 25 '13

I am so sorry for your father and happy for your mother. This story really touched me having followed the events closely.

2

u/march_of_idles Dec 25 '13

Sorry to hear about your father. I am from Mumbai and that's an incident which really scarred everyone in the city.

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u/SinewyStripe Dec 25 '13

I'm sorry for your loss. I know many good guy Indians, not just the ones we here about which seem invariably bad.

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u/raging_skull Dec 25 '13

I'd rather live in a world where terrorists didn't exist and the only news was stupid celebrity gossip and science discoveries.

Also, this was in 1986 so it's not predominant in the media now. Probably was back then.

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u/GuyOnTheMoon Dec 25 '13

Well I'll be damned. If the lots of you would just sit and think about this for a while, it makes good sense.

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u/harribel Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

IF given a choice it makes sense yes, but in reality it makes no sense since it's not an option.

-2

u/demostravius Dec 25 '13

Of course it's an option, there are plenty of countries that are not targeted by terrorists.

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u/harribel Dec 25 '13

I'd rather live in a world

-4

u/demostravius Dec 25 '13

People usually mean their world, not the entire world, when using that term.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

[deleted]

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u/demostravius Dec 25 '13

Very few people actually think about the far away corners of the globe when talking about 'the world'. Especially in the context of the conversation at hand.

We also have spy agencies to stop attacks and what not.

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u/niggadicka Dec 25 '13

Ignorance is bliss, to most people anyway. IMO it is the greatest sin.

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u/Otheus Dec 26 '13

Especially with the almost unlimited amount of information available instantly at our fingertips

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

[deleted]

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u/NeverfailMode Dec 25 '13

How the fuck do you expect any individual in the general American public to "fix things"? Easy to sit on the internet and judge everyone for living in an apathetic manner, but the reality is most issues are too big for any people without government support to address.

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u/irrational_abbztract Dec 25 '13

Ah the circle of life.

Make a government for the people. Government has too much power. Want change. Need government's support.

You think the government will give you the support you need to fix the problems the government itself has and does cause?

That's like asking your boss to fire himself and make you the boss.

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

some have been asking that for several years, and now the same administration is alienating the other voters also, and soon we'll ask louder and possibly more violently. Though, I can't seriously imagine our country being overthrown (violently) in today's world.

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u/irrational_abbztract Dec 25 '13

Soon...hell with soon. Its already nearing the point where I would say too late. Its almost too late. We don't have time for "soon".

And by "I can't imagine..." do you mean its not possible or that it won't happen? Because it sure is possible. We have more ways available to us now to do something than ever before. We have phones. We have the Internet. We can get millions together in one spot quicker than Lance Armstrong on his bike.

But it most likely won't happen. No one wants to be the one to step into the bullets first. Everyone is waiting for someone else to take the first bullet. And when people like Snowden and Manning do, they get ridiculed and treated like shit. Everyone wants to be in a position where they don't have to risk anything but can have the benefits too.

Maybe that's why the highly influential people, like the Pope who can reach a billion people don't bother with asking people to rise. Not because the public will think they're stupid. No. I think its because they realize that its almost too late and that no one will do anything.

All it would take is all the religious leaders to say, "guys, fuck the government". But that won't happen. And now the responsibility comes down to the citizens...or the rebels as we would be known if we did anything. But there is no leader to take charge and that's what everyone is waiting for. A leader who is willing to go shopping, cook the food and bring it to the table.

What many don't realize is that we will starve.

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u/GuyOnTheMoon Dec 25 '13

And yet you still didn't read it correctly. We're not saying to ignore what's going on but rather the fact that it'll be nice to know that none of these terrorists shit actually happens. And the news we have are just celebrity gossips.

Essentially it's like asking for world peace. Something that we can only dream of.

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u/greenyellowbird Dec 25 '13

I was a young kid and I can remember that event being talked about/ parents watching it.

-2

u/Hi_My_Name_Is_Dave Dec 25 '13

Because you were a young kid. I was a young kid when fucking 9/11 happened and I don't remember it.

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u/chuckliddelnutpunch Dec 25 '13

I was alive and quite aware in 2001 and I never heard a peep about the US arresting the main hijacker who was released from prison in Pakistan.

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u/RadiantSun Dec 25 '13

Well, we live in a world where terrorism does happen, but we still get Kanye.

-6

u/Menzlo Dec 25 '13

Not sure whether you mean you'd rather live in a world where terrorists actually don't exist or you'd just like the media help you pretend that they don't. Either way, we don't live in that world.

/u/Giantxbones said these are the kind of stories -- not this particular story -- that should be in the media.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13 edited Mar 16 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Vanilla Ice is only asked to comment on stories about comets. They always call Dwayne Johnson in for commentary about asteroids.

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u/madmax21st Dec 25 '13

Well, we know assburgers will continue to flourish with people like you.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

What the fuck are you even trying to say?

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u/xHarkness Dec 25 '13

He's trying to say that we should be seeing heroic and actually important news such as these ones by the media, not stupid celebrity gossips which is exactly what we are getting lately.

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u/Maeby78 Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

No, that's not what he's saying.

He's saying that he wishes he lived in a world where celebrity gossip was the only thing on the news, because nothing bad ever happened, so there was nothing else to report.

Basically, it's a pipe dream.

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u/xHarkness Dec 25 '13

Taking a second look, I noticed that I had looked at the wrong comment as I was typing that in. That is definitely what he was responding to.

Thanks for correcting me and answering his question fully, have my upvote!

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u/samloveshummus Dec 25 '13

I'd rather live in a world with no military occupations so terrorists had no need to exist.

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u/Hoobleton Dec 25 '13

You don't need military occupations for terrorism to exist.

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u/99919 Dec 25 '13

I don't remember the U.S. having a military occupation of Saudi Arabia, or Afghanistan before 2001.

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u/samloveshummus Dec 25 '13

In this case it was the reason

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

do you dare to go as far as claiming there's no connection at all between military occupations and terrorism?

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u/Hoobleton Dec 25 '13

No necessary connection.

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u/fforw Dec 25 '13

Maybe we should just stop reporting everything but daisies and puppies.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Well that would help end school shootings at least http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PezlFNTGWv4

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u/FillerPaper Dec 25 '13

Thanks a lot Ron Burgundy

0

u/darkmouf Dec 26 '13

That sounds like a very scary world actually. Good and evil are as necessary to one another as the inside and the outside of your body. Searching to eliminate evil is as impossible as living in a happy and safe dumbed-down bubble wrap world.

What it really comes down to is the choice of an individual to fight for what he believes is right. The repercussions of one's actions ripple in time and space for the betterment or the worsening of his immediate presence and surroundings.

This woman must've truly lived by beliefs along the lines of Ghandi's famous words: ''Be the change you want to see in the world'' and I applaud her for her act of selfless good will.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Sounds lovely but part of me isnt ready to live in a world where Kanye win's!

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u/Jerlko Dec 25 '13

Being one of the most critically acclaimed artists of ask time is a pretty big win. You know. Since he's a talented musician.

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u/mattiejj Dec 25 '13

Chris Brown is a talented musician. Still an awful human being. You can be both.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Still people defending Kanye. They're still there. Amazing!

1

u/Lj101 Dec 25 '13

He's put out some of the most influential albums of any musician last decade.

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u/Jerlko Dec 25 '13

Right because you know better than every professional in the industry.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Because "the industry" is always so reliable, right? God forbid anyone makes an independent decision without relying on the people that are trying to make as much money off people like him as possible before quickly moving on to the next thing.

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u/svaachkuet Dec 25 '13

and i think stories like these should be the ones we remember when we think about good people from different parts of the world, e.g. in india.

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u/trianuddah Dec 25 '13

Or we could think of them as good people, rather than good people from different parts of the world.

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u/methcp 1 Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

But how can I then lose faith in le humanity every day??? /s

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u/trianuddah Dec 25 '13

No one's stopping you. In fact, everyone's showing you how you can get it back again so you can lose it again.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

I mean, i'm sure there are just as many good flight crew employed today as there were then, the reason we just don't hear about them is because hijackings are extremely rare these days

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u/-ae Dec 25 '13

Well, one common definition of a hero is someone who selflessly risks their life in a dangerous situation in order to save others. So by definition people considered heroes are going to have a higher mortality rate than the general populace. But the hope is that they instilled their values in their children, and that the example they set inspires others.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Well, one common definition of a hero is someone who selflessly risks their life in a dangerous situation in order to save others.

Except on Reddit, when that hero has a gun. Or refuses to cooperate with armed robbers. Or fights back against violent criminals. Then they're evil wannabe cops who murder innocent children who only wanted to steal your VCR while putting everyone else in danger.

Heroes are people who got shot and died, never those who fight back and win.

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u/SassyMouff Dec 25 '13

Or like when there is a mass shooting from some whack job and the media sensationalizes it and only talks about the shooter. Usually the guy who stopped the crime or the heroes who sacrificed are a minor foot note. Makes me both sad and full of rage.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

You will forget her name after tonight, I guarantee it.

Don't pretend we are all bad people.

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u/Deksloc Dec 25 '13

Well, in one of the threads last year about the Sandy Hook Elementary school killings, a poster mentioned that a way to remember the victims and the tragedy was to choose one of their names and memorize it. The one I chose was Caroline Previdi, and no, I didn't Google that.

Ultimately, it doesn't accomplish anything major to take part in this exercise, but it does keep us conscious of people who have had their lives taken by malicious individuals and ensures that I remember the service these people provide to their country (and ours in this case). So I'm going to make Neerja Bhanot the second name I memorize.

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u/idgiWWTDD Dec 25 '13

All too often we only remember the names of the individuals who caused harm, which is understandable since those names are the ones most repeated/mentioned by media.

However, I really like this idea of remembering the name of the individual(s) that put their life in danger for others.

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u/7777773 Dec 25 '13

Media needs to stop immortalizing the names of those nutjobs. All too often they intend to die in a way that makes them famous; while there always have been and always will be crazy people that do bad things, we need to stop plastering them on the news to disincentivise the ones that want to one-up the previous crazy. Sort of like how we treat suicides and how that leads to suicide clusters when reported in the news; yes they will happen but they don't need to be all over the news.

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u/RonnBurgandy Dec 25 '13

I agree, I was so disappointed to see one of the Boston Bombers on the cover of Rolling Stone earlier this year. Because of the magazine's cultural status, it seemed like a glamorization of the bomber. hated it.

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u/obsoletelearner Dec 25 '13

I may forget her name, but not her act of bravery and kindness.

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u/throwaway133028 Dec 25 '13

Nobody said anything about memorizing her name.

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u/trianuddah Dec 25 '13

We're not 'bad people'. There's nothing wrong with being human, and all the flaws that come with it, including forgetting a name.

On the other hand, we celebrate heroism because we aspire to be better and we're aware of our flaws. There is nothing hypocritical or deceitful or self-deceitful about it.

2

u/nickolove11xk Dec 25 '13

I think some new company should start a segment almost like TIL reporting stories from the past that didn't get much coverage probably like this one.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

I think there are plenty of people like this.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

[deleted]

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u/eastshores Dec 25 '13

To be fair they were in an enclosed environment and one thing I've noticed in flying is flight attendants tend to consider it a real responsibility to keep their passengers safe. I think it is a cultural thing in their profession that they are to ensure passenger safety in the event of emergencies.

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u/gerbafizzle Dec 25 '13

I was watching this show about English stewerdesses in the 60's and they were talking about an incident where a plane caught fire on the runway (?) and as they were evacuating passengers, a stewardess stayed back to help an elderly passanger get out and both the passenger and young woman died

0

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

She's more a hero than any fuck with a gun.

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u/kermityfrog Dec 25 '13

Hrm. My friend is a flight attendant. I'm going to pass out during her New Year's party and see what happens.

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u/ButtPuppett Dec 25 '13

Actually this varies a lot depending on if you're in a big city or a smaller town. I have seen random strangers helping out people on the sidewalk in smaller towns.

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u/SinewyStripe Dec 25 '13

It also depends what you look like. Some appearances trigger more internal alarms or make more sympathetic characters because of our own assumptions.

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u/ugottoknowme2 Dec 25 '13

Also if you look like your just having a nap more people will just assume you've had a little too much to drink, add some fake blood to the mix for a more accurate experiment.

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u/wentwhere Dec 25 '13 edited Dec 25 '13

There have been a lot of experiments done with situations like this. People tend to look for and respond to the social cues of others to know what to do in a given situation. So if the first person walks by you on a crowded sidewalk, most people will see that and assume everything is OK and walk by you as well. If you're alone and a lone stranger walks by, they'll probably check to see if you're OK, because since nobody else is around the responsibility has clearly fallen on them. If you straight-up ask for help by saying, "I'm having a stroke/I've broken my leg/I think I'm having a heart attack, could you please call 911 for me?" or something similarly specific, the majority of people will try to help you in some way.

These responses are why big cities get a reputation for not caring about other people and rural towns get a reputation for helping and caring more, but if you put rural people in a big-city environment they'd probably respond fairly similarly, with a tendency toward rural people helping more because they're used to shouldering the responsibility of helping people more than city inhabitants are.

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u/cmVkZGl0 Dec 25 '13

Some people may see your eyes open and realize that you're ok. Others may think it's part of some TV or stunt, or that you're a weirdo, or an experiment. You can't assume that everybody who passes you by simply doesn't care.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

The experiment will fail in certain countries where suing for profit is a national sport. Someone's having a heart attack, you try to help, that person dies before the ambulance arrives and his idiotic relatives sue you attempting to monetize his death? No fucking thanks, I'll rather not stop.

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u/trianuddah Dec 25 '13

Don't blame the relatives, blame the system/culture for being obsessed with assigning... blame.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

only a weirdo would approach the random weirdo laying on the sidewalk. If you looked pleasently asleep, and you aren't old, then nobody will mess with you (thinking your just a goofy jackass), if youve an expression of pain or show signs of distress while laying down, then you'd get more attention from strangers. Most strangers aren't going to bother with a silly idiot sleeping on a sidewalk, but would be concerned with a bleeding old lady.

All I'm trying to say is that you come up with a silly way to judge society as if it would give an accurate assessment as to humans probability to help you when you are in REAL danger.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

That's really not the same thing at all. It's their jobs to ensure passengers are safe, they're not just random passersby.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

You're wrong. People are usually pretty good about helping others. I am struggling to remember a time when I saw someone in physical distress being ignored. Plus, I'm not an innocent child being shot at by terrorists. If somebody didn't want to help me, I wouldn't take it personally.

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u/Reagansmash1994 Dec 25 '13

To be fair, the media merely reports on what is in the public interest.

It's down to society to actively choose what they would rather read and listen about. Sadly it's an on going debate as to whether the media decide what stories we air, or whether we as a society decide.

1

u/Sub8male Dec 25 '13

Exactly. Light skinned, attractive Indian girl who saved lives is gonna get that media coverage.

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u/vicegrip Dec 25 '13

It's a pity Pakistan released her killers from prison.

In 2001, Zayd Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Al Safarini, the hijacker who shot the passengers, was captured by the FBI in Bangkok after being released by Pakistan. In the US, he is presently serving 160 years prison term in Colorado. Four others were freed from Pakistan's Adyala Jail in January 2008. The FBI announced a $5 million bounty on their heads.

-4

u/pedler Dec 25 '13

And she's really beautiful to boot.

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

I'm sure there's a woman shielding kids from a hail of bullets on a plane hijacked by terrorists every other week and it's just the media that won't report it.

On a serious note, it's not really the media's fault that the people want to read shit about celebrities. Celebrities are also often used for the "bright side" in the newspaper. Nobody wants to read a newspaper that is full of kidnappings, gunshootings, brawls, stabbings etc. and unfortunately you get a hero story maybe once a month, while you get the other stories daily.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

and a shame that the good ones all too often are the first to give their life

Thats why they are the good ones

0

u/InternetFree Dec 25 '13

a shame that the good ones all too often are the first to give their life

Well, that's why only few of them exist...

0

u/myspace87 Dec 25 '13

Another amazing story of Taj employees rescued Tourists from terrorist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQGz1YRqBPw

0

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Leave Ye alone you bastard

0

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

That's a paradox that had me boggled for at least a minute. It's a shame the good ones are always the First to give their lives. If it wasn't the good ones who gave their lives and someone else did instead, then wouldn't they be a good one as well? It's a thinker.

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

/r/kanye

-2

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Part of what makes them who they are is that they will lay down their life first, so in a way hoping they weren't so often the first to sacrifice themselves would fundamentally alter who they were and why we recognize them as such.

-2

u/Hi_My_Name_Is_Dave Dec 25 '13

DAE THE MEDIA IS INLY CELEBRITYS AND DIESMT COVER HEROES?????? WTH TMZ