A Story

Dear all,
This time I’ll write a letter in English, because what I experienced today is of more importance to you, maybe this would be helpful in deciding what is right to do in a critical situation, if you happen to experience one (I hope not..) and Lithuanian people would also understand English.
Sometimes when you see beggars and sick people on the street, you have to put on some shelf of ignorance to be able to live in this environment because you cannot help everyone and helping only one of them could make a situation even worse. But I think any person in this world has to the best one can, when it is a matter of life and death.
Today was happily starting my breakfast in the cafeteria just outside the university campus, by the street. If it was Europe, no cafeteria could be held in such place, because the traffic to the city the size of Arba Minch would be too high and noisy to sit 2 meters aside from the road. But here the traffic is low - only some busses, tourist Cobras and Isuzu trucks with goods go now and then. That’s why people use the road for walking and the drivers have to use the sound signal to make them aware that a car is coming (what is a bit annoying if you are in a car).
So, I was just trying to add an adequate amount of sugar in my milk+coffey when I heard a weak scream and a bump. Whatever - I didn’t pay any attention, because people often are shouting with or without reasons here. But when I saw several and then more and more people running to the direction, and shouting for the car heading to Addis, I realized that someone was hit by the car. The car didn’t stop, neither did it come back.
I also stood up and went a bit closer, but I didn’t want to see someone in blood, because sometimes even a detailed story about someone who died from inner bleeding after a car accident can make me feel sick for a week.
So soon almost a hundred people gathered around the person and I was trying to find out in English if the person is still alive. I was talking to a guy (not a student, he was in his ~40ties) who was also having breakfast in the cafeteria. She (the girl was about 14-15 years old) was alive and I asked why they are not taking her to a hospital NOW, because it can be a matter of minutes between life and death. So he was trying to explain me, that the traffic police has to come and write the act, because it might have been an assassination or sth. Nonsense. I insisted that it doesn’t matter and they have to take her to a hospital immediately, and then he told something to a university guard passing by.
There were 4 minibuses at the gate of the University nearby, some Isuzu were passing, and I was becoming nervous that no one takes her to hospital immediately. One pickup stopped (or was stopped by people, because it was difficult to move on the road) and some action happened, so I thought that it is going to be all right now and with shaking hands tried to finish my sandwich. Later on the car moved and I saw that the people are still around the body which was lying on the sideway of the road. There were 2 possibilities- they didn’t take her to hospital because she was already dead or they didn’t take her to hospital for some other reasons like the driver didn’t want to have his car covered with blood.
I went to pay for my breakfast and tried to ask for the waiters why they didn’t take her to hospital, but their English was too bad for answering anything. So I went back to the table where the guy in his 40ties was having coffee with his friends and insisted once again, why nobody takes her to a hospital. He was a bit surprised at first, because he also thought that a pickup would take her, but his friend assured him that the girl was still there.
Once again I told that they must do something, he said there is no car, they are trying to report and later the car will come. How?! There are many cars around - 4 minibusses are waiting for clients and several Isuzu were passing and of course there cars in the university. Then he tried to explain me that it is a matter of ignorance and that no one wants to take the responsibility for her. His friend was laughing a bit about my concern and belief that they must do some actions quickly. I understood that there was a waste of time talking to them and asked if there were any traffic policemen around. There were only guards at the university gate, so I went to them and asked why no one is taking her to the hospital. They said that now they are reporting and after that the Red Cross will send a car and take her to the hospital. Now I was really irritated and nearly shouted, that no report matters now and that the life of a person must be in the first place. There are plenty of cars and they must take her to the hospital this minute. Luckily some university pickup wanted to leave campus and stopped at the guards, and the guard who was convinced by my words (or my tone or my skin color) told them to take her. They went to the victim, I was still far away, but I saw several people jumping into the back of the car and pulling the victim inside. Still I wanted to be sure that it wouldn’t happen like it happened before and was asking people if they took her. This time it seems she was taken, because people started to move on to their own directions. Also the woman who was with the guards told that the girl was bleeding from her nose and throat and vomiting. The 40-year-old guy translated and said that she was alone there, so that’s why nobody took responsibilities. And like before, he said, that she has got a chance to survive. Now it’s up to God what happens. Ahh, religious and lazy people - whatever the God decides, as time passes by, she would have less and less chances to survive if she bleeds..
I told him that she was not alone, a hundred of people gathered around and there were many possibilities to help. And I also asked what he would think if it was his own child, but it was too difficult and too fast for him to think over the whole situation, so I left.
And I thought about them and myself. I myself was also ignorant at the beginning and to some extent till the end - I selfishly didn’t want to see her because that would cause some discomfort for me. Somehow when there are so many people, and you think that they must do something - they are more related to the girl than me. One can find many reasons why he didn’t help: I am not a doctor - I don’t know what to do, I am not a part of this situation, I already tried to convince people and so on... But later I understood, that if physically I am not able to stop the bleeding and other medical issues, the color of my skin should do it’s job this time. So luckily the guard, who was at first willing to behave according the usual procedure, took some immediate actions. If he wouldn’t do so, then my next plan was to go to the university clinic to invite some doctors. Now I think (but that didn’t come to my mind before) that I could pay 50 birr (that was what I had with me) to a minibus driver, so maybe they would agree to take her. There might be some other possibilities according to the situation, but definitely it would have been a mistake to try to avoid problems ‘leaving their own matters to themselves’ and go to the lab to work and I would have blamed myself a lot if I had left.
So I hope for you and me those situations wouldn’t happen often in our life, but when it’s between life and death, I think that the thought ‘I am not able to help’ shouldn’t occupy ones mind and after trying to do something, If it doesn’t help, we should try to do something more, then something more effective and by any means.
I hope she will survive. It was some 15-20 minutes after the accident that the car took her and it will take another 15 minutes to reach the hospital. Then it depends on how fast and how skilled the doctors are, what equipment they have. And then (only after people did everything they could) it depends on God. That’s what I think.
All the best for you,
Dovile