Taking to the stage at an awards ceremony on Australia Day, Ahmed said he still had a “big hurt” in his body, with two bullets still in his arm more than a month on from the nation’s worst ever terror attack.
“I didn’t expect to receive it but [it’s] something very nice and thank you for everything,” he said, outside the ceremony.
Mayor Bilal El-Hayek called Ahmed a “true blue local hero” and said the award was “befitting his courage”.
“This is the highest honour a city can give and it is the first time it has been presented by the City of Canterbury Bankstown,” he said.
“Congratulations and thank you Ahmed.”
At an Australia Day ceremony in another part of the city, Premier Chris Minns also praised the Syrian-Australian’s actions.
“I think what Ahmed’s story shows us, and this is often the case … is that some of our most patriotic Australians are the newly arrived,” he said.
“Those who’ve decided to become Australian.”
Following the Bondi terror attack, Ahmed spent two weeks in St George Hospital in Sydney’s south and underwent surgery for gunshot wounds.
