There are two Faces of the Day today, only one of whom we can (so far) put a name to. The first you’ll probably recognise as Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee senselessly murdered on a train in Charlotte, USA.
The second is the so-far-unnamed good Samaritan who rushed to her aid: one of the only of dozens of people on the train who did so. At least five people sitting around Iryna got up and walked away as she collapsed, bleeding to death, on the floor of the train.
One man didn’t.
The nameless hero quickly approached and applied pressure to Iryna’s neck to try and stop the bleeding. He then took off his shirt and used that to try and staunch the bleeding.
“My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’ … if you look for the helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope” – Fred Rogers.
Whoever that helper was, his name deserves to be far more famous than the killer.
Iryna Zarutska left Ukraine in 2022, six months after the Russian invasion. She fled with her family – mother, sister and brother – to a new home and what she hoped would be a new life, in North Carolina. She had a degree in art from Synergy College in Ukraine and, in the US, attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, with dreams of becoming a veterinary assistant. Still learning to drive, she was dependent on the train to commute to her job at Zepeddies Pizzeria in Charlotte.
“We lost not only an incredible employee, but a true friend,” the restaurant said in a statement. “Our dear Iryna left this world far too soon, and our hearts are heavy with grief.” The restaurant has a candle burning in her memory.
