THE bravery of Cpl. Jabran Bin Jaber Awaji who killed two terrorists in Riyadh on Saturday in a face to face encounter deserves all praise. He gunned down the two terrorists armed to teeth with machine guns and explosive belts. We should highly commend his patriotism and bravery. He is a real security man who strongly believes in carrying out his duties regardless of his personal safety. He believed in fulfilling his duty even when his own life is at stake. The brave man and his colleague Nadir got the reward they deserved from the leadership and from society at large. The print and electronic media have all appreciated the courage of Jabran and his colleague. They thanked them profusely for their heroic work. This is a natural when soldier and officers who are determined to protect the country's security show extraordinary courage in confronting threats to the nation. Society's reaction to this brave act is also quite normal. However, equally important is the bravery of the amateur photographer who captured the entire action on camera. All local and international TV channels used the 40-second video while telecasting news about the incident in Riyadh. The video was filmed by a terrified young girl who was astounded by what was going on right in front of her house in a peaceful Riyadh neighborhood. She also photographed the two terrorists who jumped out of their apartment in Al-Yasmeen district in the north of the capital city. This new public role in capturing incidents on mobile phones or still cameras has blown away all old media concepts. This is an important and popular role that should be praised and encouraged. It is a role to be emulated by every citizen who happens to witness similar incidents. This role is also important as it will help the concerned authorities track down the terrorists who escaped from the scene and discover their hideouts. The citizens should not limit their role to capturing the terrorist acts on camera but should also inform the authorities about them. What the young girl in Riyadh has done by filming the terrorists is a courageous act when everyone else panicked in that terrifying moment. It is a real act of bravery for which she should be profusely commended. In such dangerous situations, any onlooker might be worried and overly conscious about the one stray bullet that could end his or her life and would not be in a state of mind to get directly involved in the action. The possibility of a flying shrapnel hitting the eyewitness in the Riyadh scene of action was extremely high especially that the two terrorists were armed with machine guns and explosives. If the girl did not capture the action by her mobile phone we would not have seen the bravery of the two security men and we would not have appreciated their courage or praised their work. The role on the shoulder of every citizen to monitor, document and inform about terror plots is highly significant particularly because terrorists may continuously shift their hideouts by moving from one apartment to another and frequently change their cars. The grip should be tightened against the terrorists. They should be tracked down and sent to court for a fair trial. Those who help them secure accommodation or transport should also be traced and punished. People who help terrorists rent houses or transportation may be doing this unwittingly and in good faith. Good intentions are not enough in such matters. All landlords should ascertain the identity of people who rent out property and make sure the documents are not forged. These are important steps that every cautious citizen who is keen about the safety of his people and security of his country should take. By so doing we will be able to contain the scourge of terrorism and eliminate it from our lives.
