Following on from last week’s blog about the recent Glasgow Central Station fire, Charlie discusses the actions of Lamin Kongira and gives an insight into the different types of heroes during an incident.
The story of Lamin Kongira intrigued me, and I have waited a couple of weeks to do some research on him, what he did, and how this story played out in the media. Lamin is a Gambian man who came to Glasgow about 19 years ago and on seeing the fire in the vape shop next to Central Station, instead of taking photos of it on his mobile phone as others were doing, he went to the next door Subway sandwich shop, got a fire extinguisher, and went into the shop to try and put out the fire. When an explosion prevented any further firefighting, he remained on scene making sure that nobody else was caught up in the fire. He was hailed as a hero, both in the media and on social media – a classic case of an ordinary person becoming a hero by selflessly putting their life on the line to protect others. Besides the hero aspect of this case, I was also interested in how his identity as a Gambian and an immigrant, despite living in Glasgow for 19 years, would play out on social media. Immigrants are a group which people are sometimes happy to vilify, with the flying of flags on lampposts and protests outside their accommodation, so I was interested to see people’s reactions on social media.
The Hero Narrative
I read an excellent book by Matthew Seeger and Timothy Sellnow entitled Narratives of Crisis: Telling Stories of Ruin and Renewal. It is a very readable book and talks about storytelling in crises, and then looks at some of the narratives within incidents such as blame, renewal, victim, and memorial. The one this event was most relevant to was the hero narrative.
Hero narratives have been around since the beginning of time and are a key element of storytelling. The narrative of a hero emerging in the middle of a crisis is a counter to the loss of control and destruction associated with a crisis, but also helps highlight and model desired behaviours. Heroes demonstrate the altruistic behaviours of self sacrifice, disregard for their own safety, and resoluteness in the face of danger. They can often be common people who rise to the occasion and do extraordinary things. They are also important in public perception, as they add a positive element to a very negative event, and thereby mitigate some of the negative emotional impacts of the crisis.
Heroes arise in the middle of, or after, a crisis and have to be designated by the people around them. You cannot designate yourself as a hero, and they very quickly reach a high level of recognition and public awareness. In the Seeger and Sellnow book they talk about three different types of heroes which can emerge in a crisis.
1. Citizen Heroes
The first is the common-person citizen hero who, faced with an extraordinary situation, shows courage and determination and puts themselves at risk to save or prevent others from coming to harm. They have no special training or skills, but in the situation, they rise to the occasion. This was the case of Lamin Kongira. This type of hero is especially important in many incidents, as immediate help is usually provided by family, neighbours, or passers-by, who respond until the professional responders arrive. This could be a car crash where responders may be there in minutes, or a natural disaster in a remote region where responders could take days to arrive and provide help.
2. Responder Heroes
The second type is the first responders, professional skilled people who still respond and put their lives at risk and may perish trying to save others. They go beyond their professional training and required responses. A good example of this was the response to 9/11, where over 400 police officers, firefighters, port authority police and medical technicians were killed as they responded to the attack on the World Trade Center. Another example is the case of Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, who, when his plane was disabled by a bird strike, was able to put the plane down in the Hudson River, a feat not achieved before, and all the passengers were saved. He was a professional pilot and had trained for emergencies both as a military and a civilian pilot, but in responding to this emergency showed extraordinary skill. His passengers only had minor injuries and he achieved something that most pilots would struggle to do.
3. Leaders as Heroes
The last type of hero is the leader as a hero. This could be leaders whose political capital and influence are very low and who, when faced with an extraordinary situation, rise to the occasion and provide the leadership that those responding and those affected can rally around. Good examples of these are Churchill at the beginning of the Second World War, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and at present the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is interesting that once the incident is over, they can fall out of favour, as Churchill did after the war and Rudy Giuliani did more recently.
Lamin as a Citizen Hero
As most incidents are recorded on mobile phones almost immediately, either by those caught up in the incident or by bystanders, it is very easy for heroes to be recorded and recognised. As in the case of Lamin, all his actions were recorded and then very quickly posted on social media. These were then picked up by the media and he was designated a hero. I suspect, although I do not know, that him being an immigrant added to this hero status. In the media, the narrative about immigrants is mainly negative, so having a news story about an immigrant doing something positive and selfless for others – his neighbours – helped this story. He also had a back story of being homeless and presently living in a hostel, and I think this, when known, helped the hero story.
The Haters?
On social media there are always the haters, and I was interested to see, although the coverage of Lamin and his actions was positive, whether there was a seam of vilification to be found on the darker realms. I looked through Facebook, X, and did some Google searches on his name, and the comments were mostly positive. There were lots of comments about him being a hero, and sentiments such as “Lamin is a hero: People like Lamin make Glasgow”, and that he should get an award. Community groups such as The Glasgow Gospel praised him, as did the Gambia High Commission. In the face of mainly positive comments, there were a few saying “deport”. There was also a thread about whether he used the correct type of fire extinguisher to try and put out the lithium battery fire in the vape shop. I suspect that this was a way of criticising him without being seen as openly racist. I did notice that there were a couple of fundraising pages set up to reward him, especially due to his personal circumstances of living in a hostel, but they only raised about £100 between them, so perhaps people are happy to praise a hero but do not take this any further.
Conclusion
The actions of Lamin and the designation of him as a hero followed the classic path of a citizen hero, and emphasised the idea that in a shocking and negative event, people look for positive stories. I also think his personal circumstances and being an immigrant who was prepared to put himself in danger for his fellow Glaswegians, combined with the anti-immigrant sentiment across the country, contributed to his designation. As business continuity professionals, we should, in responding to an incident or in our plans, look out for people who could be designated as heroes, as this can help turn a bad situation into a positive.
