Among the terrible scenes of devastation left by Hurricane Otis after passing through the Mexican city of Acapulco, there was an image that moved the world: that of a policewoman with a baby in her arms whom she was breastfeeding on the street in broad daylight. .
The agent was Arisbeth Dionisio Ambrosio, 33 years old, who on October 28 had been deployed in Acapulco along with other rescuers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) of Mexico City to help those affected by the hurricane, which left dozens dead and missing.
While helping a population desperate for food, water and other basic necessities, the agent realized that there was a baby who possibly needed help.
“I heard the baby crying. It caught my attention and I turned to look at it.”, Dionisio tells BBC Mundo.
“Immediately I did not hesitate to approach to the people the baby was with, asking if he was okay, because I heard him a little restless,” the agent recalls.
“The lady told me ‘Yes, possibly he’s hungry.’ And without hesitation I told him that, if he would allow me, I was breastfeeding my baby and I could give him some breast milk”.
The moment was captured in photos and videos that were published in media around the world, as well as in numerous publications on social networks.
mother’s empathy
Dionisio has two daughters, one 5 years old and a baby less than two years old whom he continues to breastfeed.
According to the agent, as a mother, she had the ear to hear the baby crying and He took him in his arms very naturally. The little boy, who was being cared for by his aunt, immediately had the instinct to look for her breast.
“It was a very nice moment. There were several emotions. I was breastfeeding a baby I don’t know and I was thinking about minefrom which he was far away,” says the police.
“I know that my baby is in good hands, with his father, with his aunt, that gave me peace of mind. But with the baby from Acapulco… These are things that cannot be explained, it was a very beautiful moment”.
After a while, he handed the boy to his aunt. “I thanked the lady for allowing me to breastfeed her a little and we left the place,” says Dionisio.
This act of solidarity earned him the recognition of many Mexicans and many other people around the world.
“I applaud him. And more because she has to leave her baby to work and now she is helping a baby in need”; “Congratulations on sharing motherhood and job responsibility”; “More people like her in the world, please,” were some of the messages on social networks that this scene generated.
“Do not lose sensitivity”
After concluding her deployment in Acapulco last week and her image breastfeeding the baby went viral, Dionisio was recognized by her superiors at the Secretariat of Citizen Security, receiving promotion “for his vocation of service to citizens and for raising the name of the SSC.”
“His work is an example of humanism for everyone”said the secretary of the SSC, Pablo Vázquez Camacho, in his X account.
After 10 years as an agent in the SSC, for Dionisio helping that baby and the victims in Acapulco was one of the missions that has given him the most satisfaction.
“In the time that I have been in service, this is the most relevant to me”, he says with conviction.
The more than 100 SSC paramedics and police officers who arrived in Acapulco were among the first bodies deployed in the city after Otis.
“Everything was very strong, everything hurt, because it destroyed a lot”Dionisio remembers. The group recovered lifeless bodies and supported debris removal tasks in different neighborhoods of the city.
The agent points out that it is in situations like this that people must show empathy towards all types of needs, especially with minors.
“We have to tell people not to lose that humanitarian part. I believe that everyone, at any time, anywhere, in any circumstance, may need something. And we don’t have to wait for it to come back to us, or ask ourselves, ‘Why am I helping?’” she reflects.
“Just being humanitarian and not losing sensitivity is more than enough.”
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