Gumleaf
August 24th, 2008, 06:03 PM
00:02 AEST Mon Aug 25 2008
An eight-year-old boy who drowned while trying to save his older sister, smiled and told her he loved her before slipping beneath the waves.
Ibrahim Ouaida drowned two years ago at Sandridge Beach in Melbourne after his sister Sarah, 10, was caught in a rip.
He has been posthumously awarded a bravery medal for placing the life of another before his own.
The eight-year-old was swimming with his sister and two brothers, Fouad, 6, and Billel, 20, at the beach on December 10, 2006, when an unexpected cool change swept across Port Phillip Bay.
"About 5pm the temperature dropped drastically by 10 degrees from the high-30s," Ibrahim's mother Soraya Ouaida told AAP.
"With the changes of weather the ocean went a bit wild and Sarah got pushed back by a wave and caught in a strong rip."
Sarah yelled at her younger brother to get help but without a second thought he said: "I'm coming, I'm closer."
Although both children had taken swimming lessons Sarah couldn't stay afloat and Ibrahim had to keep pushing her head above water.
"But a child of eight, what can he do, it's just too much for a little body," an emotional Ms Ouaida recollected.
"All that time he kept smiling to her and saying `You're going to be fine' and `I love you'."
By this stage another man had swum out to help the two children and Ibrahim told him "Please look after my sister, my mother needs her, she's very important", before letting go.
Ibrahim's older brother Billel, who'd already saved Fouad, and fellow rescuer Samir El Haouli, managed to get the eight-year-old back to the beach but he couldn't be resuscitated.
Both Billel Ouaida and Mr El Haouli also received bravery medals for their roles in the rescue attempt.
Ms Ouaida said while Sarah had made a full physical recovery "mentally she hasn't recovered".
Ibrahim's mother said his bravery award would help reinforce what Sarah already believed - that her younger brother was a very special person.
"She always calls him her special angel and hero," Ms Ouaida said.
"She writes poems about what happened and about her special brother who looked after her."
The bravery medals, and the stories behind them, remind us all what is important in life, Ms Ouaida said.
"The most important thing is having each other. All the other things that people complain about are not really important."
Twenty-four people were awarded bravery medals this year while another 18 received commendations for brave conduct.
An eight-year-old boy who drowned while trying to save his older sister, smiled and told her he loved her before slipping beneath the waves.
Ibrahim Ouaida drowned two years ago at Sandridge Beach in Melbourne after his sister Sarah, 10, was caught in a rip.
He has been posthumously awarded a bravery medal for placing the life of another before his own.
The eight-year-old was swimming with his sister and two brothers, Fouad, 6, and Billel, 20, at the beach on December 10, 2006, when an unexpected cool change swept across Port Phillip Bay.
"About 5pm the temperature dropped drastically by 10 degrees from the high-30s," Ibrahim's mother Soraya Ouaida told AAP.
"With the changes of weather the ocean went a bit wild and Sarah got pushed back by a wave and caught in a strong rip."
Sarah yelled at her younger brother to get help but without a second thought he said: "I'm coming, I'm closer."
Although both children had taken swimming lessons Sarah couldn't stay afloat and Ibrahim had to keep pushing her head above water.
"But a child of eight, what can he do, it's just too much for a little body," an emotional Ms Ouaida recollected.
"All that time he kept smiling to her and saying `You're going to be fine' and `I love you'."
By this stage another man had swum out to help the two children and Ibrahim told him "Please look after my sister, my mother needs her, she's very important", before letting go.
Ibrahim's older brother Billel, who'd already saved Fouad, and fellow rescuer Samir El Haouli, managed to get the eight-year-old back to the beach but he couldn't be resuscitated.
Both Billel Ouaida and Mr El Haouli also received bravery medals for their roles in the rescue attempt.
Ms Ouaida said while Sarah had made a full physical recovery "mentally she hasn't recovered".
Ibrahim's mother said his bravery award would help reinforce what Sarah already believed - that her younger brother was a very special person.
"She always calls him her special angel and hero," Ms Ouaida said.
"She writes poems about what happened and about her special brother who looked after her."
The bravery medals, and the stories behind them, remind us all what is important in life, Ms Ouaida said.
"The most important thing is having each other. All the other things that people complain about are not really important."
Twenty-four people were awarded bravery medals this year while another 18 received commendations for brave conduct.