On the 20th February, 37-year-old Mounir Jalal was on the small beach in front of the Fariones Hotel when he spotted a woman swimmer who was in trouble in the sea. That day, the waves were high, and there is often a strong current further out to sea near the pier in this area. For this reason, lifesavers had raised the red flag, which recommends that no one enters the water.
On the 20th February, 37-year-old Mounir Jalal was on the small beach in front of the Fariones Hotel when he spotted a woman swimmer who was in trouble in the sea. That day, the waves were high, and there is often a strong current further out to sea near the pier in this area. For this reason, lifesavers had raised the red flag, which recommends that no one enters the water.
Mounir was a fisherman in Tan-Tan, Morocco, before coming to the Canaries a couple of years ago. However, he also has a lifesaving qualification in that country and, after the other rescuer found the sea too challenging, it was he who finally managed to get the woman to safety, pulling her to the pier where both of them were buffeted against the concrete by the rough seas. “I told her to relax and she did, but it was a very tough 20 minutes” Mounir told us.
Mounir received several cuts and bruises in the rescue attempt, but he’s certain that the woman would have died if they had waited for the jet ski.
Following the rescue, Mounir became something of a hero on social media, and a friend of his family, Sarah English, set up a GoFundMe campaign which raised €658 for Mounir. Wanda Knight also did a €125 shop for both of the rescuers.
But while gestures like this were gratefully received, Mounir is more interested in finding work, which has been non-existent since the pandemic started. He plans to take a lifesavers course which will qualify him to work on the island, but needs to get his Spanish up to scratch first. In the meantime, he’ll consider anything.
Sarah says “He’s very modest and quiet, and I want to let people know about his personality and character. He’s embarrassed and shy about asking for help, but he’s also the oldest son of the family, with a disabled sister back in Morocco. I really hope that someone gives him a chance.”
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