Vasan contacted me soon after reaching home and narrated his experience. I asked him from where he got the guts to undertake this difficult task. His answer was ‘I do not know! I do not know!! I was worried and I wanted to help as there was no one to help her’.
Rajasingham Jayadevan
(July 17, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) V S Vasan is 64 years old and is father of five children. He claimed asylum in the UK with his wife and two children. He and his family members underwent harrowing experience in the war in Sri Lanka before migrating to the UK.
His two children died in the ill-fated hijack of the Ethiopian plane that landed in the mid seas off Comoros Island in 1996. Vasan won the hearts and minds of many people for his hard work, commitment and honesty. Even at retirement, his friends from the cross section of the communities will enjoy his company. Despite his limitation in speaking English, he has acquainted many English friends and they value his company in their get-to-gathers.
On July 10, 2011, returning from his weekend visit to one of his English family friends from Letchworth in the British Rail, he was faced with a very emotional and troubling situation.
Some four or five teenagers (all English boys and girls) seated in the adjacent seats were having fun and laughs when a girl started to scream in pain. All those in the compartment were wondering as to what was happening, but no one moved to help the screaming girl.
Realising the seriousness of the scream, Vasan stood up and appealed for someone to come forward and help. There was dumbfounded silence from the passengers for his appeal. He approached the partner of the girl who was holding her and asked him what was wrong with her and he came to know she is in labour pains and about to deliver the baby.
When the response from the commuters was not forthcoming, he asked them to move to the other compartment for privacy and they too left except for two ladies who came forward to assist Vasan.
Some one pulled the emergency lever, but the train was moving. Vasan became worried and desperate. He opened his bag and pulled out the two towels he had. He spread one on the floor and made the girl to rest backward. Whilst she rested her partner supported her by helping to relax her head on his lap and was consoling her.
With severe pain the girl was screaming as the baby showing signs of birth. The two ladies held the hands of the girl and were consoling her with her partner. The baby’s head had come out and the body was struggling to eject. Vasan held on to the shoulders and gently pulled the baby out and wrapped her in the second towel and rested the child on mother’s chest without the umbilical cord being severed.
By then two train guards came and realised the desperate situation. The train too stopped at the next station. There was ambulance waiting.
The mother and the child were put in the stretcher. The mother held on to Vasan’s hand and with tears said ‘thank you’ many times. Her partner rushed towards Vasan and hugged him and thanked for helping.
Mother, child and the father were taken away in the ambulance.
Vasan contacted me soon after reaching home and narrated his experience. I asked him from where he got the guts to undertake this difficult task. His answer was ‘I do not know! I do not know!! I was worried and I wanted to help as there was no one to help her’. He said he never had seen child birth but had the experience of help delivering calves in his farm back home in Sri Lanka.
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