Hero Nanny Saved Baby Amid Mumbai Horror

The Early Show Exclusive: Woman Rescued 2-Year-Old As Terrorists Raided Home

(CBS)  In the midst of the horrors of Mumbai, there was one amazing escape.

Surrounded by police, gunmen controlled a Jewish community center, when suddenly, hours after the attacks started, a woman appeared outside with a baby in her arms.

"When I heard him calling me, I just ran, picked him up and ran out. That's it," Sandra Samuel said.

As CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar reports, Samuel has looked after 2-year-old Moshe Holtzberg since he was born.

On the night of the attack, Samuel was in the kitchen.

"First thing was a bomb, they put a bomb - it's like a boy shooting at me. I see the (boy) shooting at me and the fire coming at me and I go like this," Samuel said as she reenacted the scene of her dodging gunfire.

As the gunmen stormed in, "I hid in the storeroom," Samuel said.

All that night she listened as the terrorists rampaged through the house. Samuel said the men just kept shooting the lights.

The next morning, more than 12 hours later, Samuel heard something else.

"He was crying my name," Samuel said of the baby. "At a quarter to 11, the baby was on the second floor, near his mother, standing and crying."

Knowing the terrorists were in the building, but not knowing where, she opened the door, ran up the stairs and grabbed Moshe.

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World Watch Blog: Sheila MacVicar Has More on Sandra Samuel's escape

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On the floor, she saw Moshe's mother, Rivka, and his father, Rabbi Gaby Holtzberg, shot dead.

In Israel now, Sandra and Moshe stay with the baby's great uncle.

"I think she is a big hero because she has the chance to leave and save herself," Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman said.

But Sandra, guilt-stricken because she believes Moshe's parents were still alive when she fled, insists she is no hero:

"No. No not one bit because if I was I would have tried to do something for my rabbi. I would have done something, but no, I was a coward. I just took the baby and I ran and that's it."

In an irony of ironies, Moshe is being cared for by family, who have cared for so many other orphaned Israeli children - thousands of them - in a center founded by his uncle.

"When he cries, I also cry to see a child like Moshe who lost his father and his mother for nothing," Rabbi Grossman said.

No one knows how much Moshe saw or how much he knows. His back is bruised where terrorists hit him.

Samuel says she will be with him as long as he needs her. She wants to be with him until he "grows big."

"By God's grace I hope I am there to see it," Samuel said. "That's it. All my blessings to my Moshe baby."

For More Information & How You Can Help:
Migdal Ohr (Tower of Light) | Chabad Mumbai Relief Fund

[mommy1237]

''Summarex'', here is a radical idea for you. Women are capable of raising children, reading, writing, and dare I say...working too! What a ridiculous comment.

[gaye5]

But before I do that... duhrer unless the church was not following what the Bible says, there is no where that any church would condone killing an abortionist..NO WHERE,...
You said, that They raise their children to believe that people who want to make abortion legal are evil.
What a lot of rot. The act of killing is not christian and is bad, but people who do it are not necessary evil, they think that they are saving the mothers from a life of trauma for goodness sake, that they are being kind and doing it for her sake, or they are doing it for money... The Bible says to love AND forgive everyone, even hitler if necessary. I have read many religious books and all but the Quran calls for peace, love, tolerance etc.. NOT killing others who will not believe as the Quran does..

[gaye5]

yep duhrer, I have heard of the many thousands of millitant anti abortioists killing anyone who got in their way in the thousands in America because their religious book tells them to do so.... Joking of course..
There is a bit difference in what the Muslims are told to do and what these people a few under the disgusie of religion do. Firstly the Bible does not tell them to do it, and secondly they are straight out murders if they do, just as bad as those who slaughter babies in the womb. Yes a woman has the right to do to her body what she wants to, but she has no right to do something to someone else''s body no matter how small it is..

It IS an attribute of Islam, and it is about time that people read the last three quarters of the Quran and others of their books to find out instead of fighting on here with out any knowledge.. The only people on here who could say that it is not a part of Islam is a Muslim...
The first part of the Quran is lovely, full of love, peace, tolerance etc, but then when their numbers became enough to become a force, Allah had a change of heart and said the only way to bring peace to the world was to kill all who would not submit.. This is put in my words of course.. I will give you a few examples in the next post.

[gaye5]

mommy1237, you are so right, they have no value for life as they are taught that they are going to paradise if they die, and where do they get this teaching ???? from the Quran, and what else is in their holy books??? Many, Many verses on to kill all who will NOT submit. On yes they tell us that they cant kill the innocent, but they don%u2019t tell you that the innocent are other Muslims not us, and yes it is against Islam to lie other than certain circumstances one being to the infidel or in times of war as long as they don%u2019t mean it in their hearts..

Until our leaders read the Quran and others of their Muslim books we will not be able to stop this slaughter.
You cant tell me that it is only a few radical terrorists who are responsible for the slaughter of many thousands of people in the world today and in the past, especially in places like the Mulcan Islands, Africa, Timor where today Muslims are slaughtering many thousands a year. It takes well organized many thousands of Muslim soldiers to do this. But of course you in America don''t hear of the many thousands of non Muslims being slaughtered every year in other countries.. your country is so big that the media wont??? and cant spend more time on outside news as you have enough of your own, which in turn keeps you in the dark. NZ and Australia being much smaller has to have outside news or our news would only last half an hr...

[summarex]

Gee
I hope she has enough time to take care of her own two children.

[mommy1237]

Here is the terrifying difference between radical Islam and groups that you describe (duhrer), such as militant anti-abortion groups, KKK, or even Nazis. All of these groups had some sense of self-preservation, such that they were willing to kill others they opposed but were not willing to endure certain death in the process. Suicide missions leave no room for conscience, rational thought or reason. When someone has no value for human life, even their own, where do we go from there?

[duhrer]

Let''s explore the false premise that violence condoned by a large group of people and performed by a few fringe lunatics is solely an attribute of Islam.

In America, we have a very large "christian" movement that is militantly opposed to abortion. There have been several murders, indiscriminate bombings, and hostile assemblies all condoned by christian "churches" in the name of "saving the unborn". They raise their children to believe that people who want to make abortion legal are evil. Would this not be labelled the same kind of terrorism? Why not? Is it just scale? Perhaps that''s just a problem of numbers... more dissatisfied Musilms than there are dissatisfied anti-abortionists, so consequently more and bigger acts of terrorism. Would you expect all christians to take up arms against those who want the freedom to choose for themselves? Is this what their religion teaches them to do? If you can''t see the parallels, you are hopelessly myopic to history and the repetative self-destructive nature of humans. You are also ignoring the fact that often-times the few in power use religion to build their following of tools. These traits are not honors that can be claimed by any one religion or belief system. How old is the war-cry "for God and Country"? I can''t think of any time in history when people ran into war screaming "for Logic and Science".

[maharajag]

OK... NOW LET ME CLEAR TO ALL THE PEOPLE .......

I was being completely sarcastic and this sarcasm ofcourse, is created by imense anger grown inside me after the horrible senseless killings done by these Muslims al over the world.

[bmh1953]

"You provided a few examples of individuals in America. Suicide bombing is part of Muslim culture throughout many Muslim countries and groups. You are comparing apples with oranges. "

Where did you get that startling piece of mis-information?

Part of the culture? HUH? You apparently have not spent much time with Muslims. The majority are horrified by what is happening.

Get a grip an get real!

[mommy1237]

again, you proved that you are a lunatic.

[mommy1237]

Never mind, now it is clear that you are both a terrorist and psychopath "Maharaja G". You have clearly been brainwashed by sick people who are warping the Muslim religion into a cult of death. You are horribly, tragically mistaken if that is what you think Allah wants you to do. Why don''t you take your passion and direct it towards educating yourself about other religions and people. Go introduce yourself to a Jew, Hindu or Christian, learn about them as people, see that goodness and love can be found in people of all religions, and maybe one day your hate will dissipate.

[mommy1237]

Never mind, now it is clear that you are both a terrorist and psychopath "Maharaja G". You have clearly been brainwashed by sick people who are warping the Muslim religion into a cult of death. You are horribly, tragically mistaken if that is what you think Allah wants you to do. Why don''t you take your passion and direct it towards educating yourself about other religions and people. Go introduce yourself to a Jew, Hindu or Christian, learn about them as people, see that goodness and love can be found in people of all religions, and maybe one day your hate will dissipate.

[joeovercoat]

It is rare the term ''hero'' actually applies when used - this is most certainly a case where it applies: without concern for her own safety, which was relatively assured, she bolted into danger and very likely saved that child''s life. Even if they had intentionally left the child alive, it was reasonable for her to assume that they would kill it given the chance, and she knew she would be killed if they had the chance.

[rhs648]

so I guess its a good thing that little Moshe''''''''le is not Muslim so he wont strap explosives on himself at the age of 15.
Who else did you hear around the world doing this type of nonsence but Muslims ----------------------------------------
-------------- Posted by AM1236


Well, there was the Pizza Guy in Erie, PA, the guy that Richard Jewell took the rap for in the Atlanta Olympic Bombing, lots of Irish Catholics and Protestants, Chinese ricin bombers, Spainish Bus Bombers, London Tube bombers, three guys in a Bruce Willis movie...

Posted by DaVicar1

You provided a few examples of individuals in America. Suicide bombing is part of Muslim culture throughout many Muslim countries and groups. You are comparing apples with oranges.

[mommy1237]

Just so everyone knows, Jewish leaders all over the world are urging Jews to "Take all of the emotions we are feeling and channel them to positive action . . . [to] fill the world with light and good deeds so that terror and darkness have nowhere to hide."
You will never see Moshe, as someone wrote, with a "bomb around his waist". To "Maharaja G", the fact that you feel torturing a toddler and shooting his 5 month-pregnant mother (in front of him) & leaving him amidst dead bodies merely a "mistake", shows your complete lack of empathy for other human beings.
If you are a parent, try to imagine your last moments in life knowing your child will see you die and thinking they will be killed too. Unless you share the universal horror of this atrocity and join with other Muslims to condemn the people who did this, you are just as evil as the terrorists.

[mommy1237]

Just so everyone knows, Jewish leaders all over the world are urging Jews to "Take all of the emotions we are feeling and channel them to positive action . . . [to] fill the world with light and good deeds so that terror and darkness have nowhere to hide."
You will never see Moshe, as someone wrote, with a "bomb around his waist". To "Maharaja G", the fact that you feel torturing a toddler and shooting his 5 month-pregnant mother (in front of him) & leaving him amidst dead bodies merely a "mistake", shows your complete lack of empathy for other human beings.
If you are a parent, try to imagine your last moments in life knowing your child will see you die and thinking they will be killed too. Unless you share the universal horror of this atrocity and join with other Muslims to condemn the people who did this, you are just as evil as the terrorists.

[mommy1237]

Just so everyone knows, Jewish leaders all over the world are urging Jews to "Take all of the emotions we are feeling and channel them to positive action . . . [to] fill the world with light and good deeds so that terror and darkness have nowhere to hide."
You will never see Moshe, as someone wrote, with a "bomb around his waist". To "Maharaja G", the fact that you feel torturing a toddler and shooting his 5 month-pregnant mother (in front of him) & leaving him amidst dead bodies merely a "mistake", shows your complete lack of empathy for other human beings.
Try to imagine your last moments in life knowing your child will see you die and thinking they will be killed too. Unless you share the universal horror of this atrocity and join together with other Muslims to condemn the people who did this, you are just as evil as terrorists - who did this INTENTIONALLY!

[greeneyes222]

You people use the word "hero" so much you''ve cheapened it.

What this woman did was extremely brave. God bless her.

[be_real]

This lady is set for life.

[legacyabq]

These outfits usually stop short of killing small children intentionally. -------------
Posted by summarex


Say WHAT?!?!?

You idiot, they kill whoever, what, are you saying terrorist bombers have a conscience when it comes to children??!?!

Terrorist killers care nothing for anyone or anything except their own plans..
Children are never spared out of empathy, give me a break..