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Albanian in London saves 7-year-old girl from drowning: I couldn't leave her without help, it would burden me for the rest of my life

Politiko 2025-05-23 16:01:20

Albanian in London saves 7-year-old girl from drowning: I couldn't leave

The person you see in the photo below is Hismet Smakaj from Shkodra, a long-time resident of London, who became a hero after saving a 7-year-old child from drowning in the Thames River.

Top Channel has learned that on Saturday, May 17, the 65-year-old Albanian man went out with his wife for a walk by the river in the Newham area of ​​east London.

They saw a little girl who crossed the barriers and after taking a few steps jumped into the river. Without thinking twice, Hismet Smakaj took off his clothes and jumped into the river, saving the girl five meters from where she jumped and bringing her to the shore.

Many passersby gathered to watch the girl's rescue, applauding and loudly chanting the word... HERO . After the arrival of the police and ambulances, it was learned that the girl was autistic.

Contacted by journalist Muhamed Veliu, Hismet Smakaj says that "if I didn't save the girl, she would remain a hostage for the rest of my life."

In his story, Smakaj said that he “felt satisfied when he was able to catch the girl while she was above the water and did not go down and get lost in the river mud.” “ Without any hesitation, I would do what I did again ,” says the Shkodra hero Hismet Smakaj.

Asked if he has been contacted by the parents of the child who survived, Hismeti says that this has not happened yet. " I don't know if the girl is still in the hospital or has gone home. I really want to know how she is ," Smakaj declares.

The event starring Hismet Smakajn is a matter of pride for the Albanian community in Great Britain, constantly anathemaed by politicians with extremely radical tendencies and the island media that has turned them into the favorite "prey", building the stereotype of gangsters more terrible than the British themselves. /TCH

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