River rescuer braves icy Huangpu to save life
Print Edition
When he arrived in Shanghai some five months ago, 24-year-old Canadian Joshua David Freund never expected to be honored for his contribution to the city.
Freund, who teaches at two local primary schools, was among the winners of the recent Shanghai International Excellence Awards, an honor for outstanding members of the foreign community organized by Shanghai Daily and International Channel Shanghai.
Freund was selected for the bravery and compassion he displayed when he jumped into the Huangpu River to save a Chinese man who was allegedly attempting to commit suicide.
“It’s nice to win this award and I do not regret jumping into the water, though it fractured my ankle,” Freund said. “I knew the water was cold but I just had to. It kind of happened naturally, and I would do it again.”
Freund was seeing sight along the Bund with his girlfriend around 10 pm on November 13 when he saw someone nearby jump into the river.
After a couple of seconds, he said, he realized what had happened. In a flash, he took off his coat, pants and shoes and jumped into the icy water to rescue the man.
“I felt pain in my right ankle immediately after I jumped into the water,” Freund said. “I guess my foot hit something like a platform under the water.”
Despite the pain, Freund managed to reach the man, pulled him to safety, and then waited for rescue.
“When I held him above the water, he said ‘thank you, thank you’,” so obviously he no longer wanted suicide,” he added.
Other eyewitnesses informed police, who reached the pair in a patrol boat.
Police pulled the two men, who were clinging to a flotation belt, out of the water, and gave them warm showers and hot water before taking them to First People’s Hospital.
At the hospital, doctors diagnosed Freund with a broken ankle.
“I’m not regretful,” Freund said, “My leg will heal. It’s important that the old man is well.”
Freund said he met the man’s family at the police station after the incident. They expressed their gratitude to him and told him the man, who is in his 60s, had been suffering from depression.
Shanghai Pacican Academy, Freund’s employer, said it would cover his hospital expenses.
The story of Freund’s bravery quickly spread when reporters arrived to interview the young man at a school where he teaches.
“Many students and teachers gave me flowers and cookies,” Freund said shyly.
Freund’s foot is still on the mend, which he says makes it tough to climb the stairs to his seventh-floor walk-up apartment. What’s more, it’s also put a damper on exploring the city with his girlfriend.
“We used to go out every night to explore the city,” he said, “I’ve been in Shanghai more than four months and I love Shanghai. It’s a big city and we have a lot to do here.”
He says he plans to see more of Shanghai and the rest of China after he recovers.
“I would like to visit the Bund again as I’ve been there only once. And I would also like to explore other parts of the city, such as the Jade Buddha Temple and Chongming Island,” he said. “I would like to travel by train to other cities of China, including Beijing and Xi’an.”
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