A Joburg angel who assisted a woman being thrown out of her car is taking on emergency services in South Africa to make them better.
Pam Green, the Joburg angel, created #SecondChances just over a year ago after she posted a photograph on Social Media, asking anyone to help with a job for a homeless man, this post went viral, and Pam took an opportunity by the horns!
Her goal was to create social upliftment via social media, she uses social media to bring the country’s attention to individuals in need. These individuals go to #SecondChances through recommendations, direct requests, and more frequently, by being tagged on social media platforms.
Giving Second Chances to Deserving South Africans
Green is now using social media again… this time to highlight her hope in humanity after she was involved in a tragic experience on the side of the road, involving a woman being abused by her husband, and various forms of emergency services being unresponsive.
The #SecondChances angel is calling for all South Africans to bring back our humanity!
On Friday night on her way home, driving along the highway, Green saw something out of the corner of her eye but carried on driving. But then, 100m further down the road, she looked in her review mirror and realised that what she had seen was REAL!
“A woman had been pushed out of a moving car, her limp body had tumbled down the grass embankment, and landed in a heap in the emergency lane!!! OMG that’s a woman I screamed and reversed as fast as I could.”
“She was screaming, not in pain at first, but in fear: “He’s coming back, go, he’s coming back to kill me”.”
Green immediately called 10111 (South African Police Service) and gave her exact location asking them to send the police and an ambulance. The call-centre agent told her she had to dial 112 for ambulances, she pleaded for them to send police in the meantime, and immediately called 112….the MTN South Africa emergency services line.
“For the first 1 and a half minutes of the call I had to listen to a computer explaining that it is a criminal offence to call emergency services if you are not in a real life and death emergency.”
“To confirm that you know this and that you are really in an emergency, I must please press 1.”
“I pressed 1.”
“All this time, this poor lady is screaming in fear for her life, I’m fearing for mine, she is bleeding, I am crying.”
“And MTN South Africa now reminds me that if this is not a real emergency, I will stand to have my cellular services discontinued!!!
“I would like nothing more than to discontinue my services from these money hungry inhuman service providers”
After 2 minutes of waiting, a human-being finally answered the phone. Green explain what happened, and that she needed an ambulance, gave their location, and explained the injuries she could see.
“Human 1 says: Please hold. I hold.”
“Human 2 comes on the line: Emergency services how can I help you? I explain what happened, that I need an ambulance, our location, and the injuries I can see.”
“Human 2 says: Please hold. I hold.”
“Human 3 comes on the line: Emergency services how can I help you? I explain what happened, that i need an ambulance, Our location, and the injuries I can see.”
“Human 3 says: Please hold. I hold.”
“Yes you guessed it…”
Finally the 4th call-center operator took over the call and Green had to explain the entire scenario again. When they her to hold for the fourth time, she lost her patience and
“I screamed and swore and lost my mind telling him to get someone to the scene… I have been on this emergency call for 8 minutes. I’m screaming that she is going to die, that whoever did this could potentially be coming back… Human 4 says: Don’t scream at me! and puts the phone down on me!!!”
Apparently the MTN South Africa emergency line call centre agent put the phone down on Green because she was screaming at her.
All the while, the woman who had been hurt was still screaming, she’s was trying to get up to run out of fear.
“The fear in her eyes will haunt me for the longest time! I go to her and ask her to try be still, she’s talking but none of it is making sense. Maybe she is concussed? She’s bleeding! She’s bruised! She’s crying!”
And then an absolute angel appeared out of nowhere… Lundi, a private security guard for Hlokomelang Security Services saw the two ladies on the side of the road and stopped to see how he could help. He stayed with them and waited while Green called 10111 again.
It had been over 30 minutes since her original call and nobody was on scene.
Lundi suggested they go directly to a police station and assisted her to get the women into her car while she was on hold with the flying squad.
“I was told that they have no record of my previous call!?!?!”
“I have never screamed the way I did then, I screamed so much that I was transferred to the captain of the flying squad! I screamed, I threatened, all while this woman was losing consciousness in my car, the adrenaline had worn off and she couldn’t handle the pain.”
“The captain said he would send the relevant help to where we now were. I gave him our current location, and within 30 seconds, 2 fire engines, an ambulance, a tow truck, 2 flying squad cars, and 4 plain clothes detectives arrived on scene.”
“Hallelujah! I burst into tears!”
The ambulance paramedics immediately attended to the woman and told Green which hospital they would be going to. She exchangedcontact numbers and said an emotional goodbye.
The detectives approached Green to get a statement. They asked if she had seen what had happened. They asked for the details of the car.
Green explained that it was an Audi A3 and believed that the man that threw her out was her husband and then apparently left.
‘The detectives looked at me, stopped talking and walked back to their car and left. Yes, they left.”
“I feel completely let down by our emergency services. Neither the flying squad, nor the MTN South Africa emergency line were helpful. It was a full hour before this poor woman received medical treatment. Where is our concern or care for human life?”
“I keep playing this conversation between her and I”
“I don’t know why you are helping me, you don’t know me, you saved my life” I answered “I’m human, you’re human, this is what we do for each other” She replied “Pam not even the police care, why do you?”
“For the first time I am left feeling hopeless! I don’t believe in our people. We live in a country where we are scared to stop and help another human being, where the people who should keep us safe don’t care. We have lost our humanity…”
“It’s Monday afternoon and I still haven’t been able to get hold of the woman. Please keep her in your prayers. I shudder to think what her husband might have done.”
“Bring back our humanity!”
Since the post went live, South Africans from all walks of life are joining the conversation. Some are investigating the matter further to try find the woman who was thrown from the car. Others have already reported the incident to the relevant management to look into with regards to the call-centres.
Mteto Nyati, CEO of MTN responded to Green’s post:
“As CEO of MTN South Africa I am shocked to read about your poor experience with us. I apologize to you for this lapse in service. We will use this experience as a learning opportunity to make sure that no other human being goes through it. My apologies once again. I have already initiated an investigation into this matter. Based on our findings, we will take the necessary disciplinary action. The agent involved will be suspended immediately.”
Good Things Guy is thankful that Pam Green was there to help the woman in the road and will bring you updates to the story.
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We hope that after the apology from MTN they go through with their expressed I tension and not find a convenient carpet
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I think itz disgraceful u can’t get help in this day and age
I would have put the lady in my car and taken her to the nearest hospital or saps. Don’t judge MTN, when someone is creaming and swearing a command at an operator it can easily be mistaken as a prank caller. Their are more prank calls than emergencies calls made on a daily basis. All you armchair warriors, keep in mind many emergency services these days have volenteers doing shifts. When making any call to report an incident, try keep as calm as you can, the operator is also only human.
I would have put the lady in my car and taken her to the nearest hospital or saps. Don’t judge MTN, when someone is screaming and swearing a command at an operator it can easily be mistaken as a prank caller. Their are more prank calls than emergencies calls made on a daily basis. All you armchair warriors, keep in mind many emergency services these days have volenteers doing shifts. When making any call to report an incident, try keep as calm as you can, the operator is also only human.
Go think about your comment and come back and apologize. Or rather go educate yourself a little on how traumatized people behave. It’s like being a psychologist. You know when it’s the truth and when something is half of the actual truth.