What Do You Say to a Person About to Die?
Declan Harvey remembers the voices of 9/11.
10 Sep 2011, 19:29
Declan Harvey's 9/11 Memory
But nothing, to my mind, equals the distress and ache of listening to the recordings of the poor souls who dialled (the hauntingly titled) 911 service whilst trapped on floors above where the planes hit the World Trade Centre. We know now their fate was sealed. That knowledge makes it all the more frightening.
Melissa Doi called for help from the 83rd floor. She was a 32-year-old financial manager working in 2WTC, the southern tower. Her phone call for help was released by NYC authorities. She began by explaining where she was phoning from, then asked:
DOI: Are you going to get someone up here?
OPERATOR: Of course we are. We're coming to get you... Everyone knows what's happened...
DOI: ...We can hardly breathe... Please... Everybody is having trouble breathing. Some people are worse... I can't see, it's so hot...
OPERATOR: ...OK... Just stay calm...
DOI: ...It's very, very, very hot...I'm burning up.
OPERATOR: ...OK...
DOI: ...I'm gonna die, aren't I? I'm going to die.
OPERATOR: No, no, no, no, no...
DOI: ...I'm gonna die...
OPERATOR:...Ma'am say your prayers.
The conversation lasted 30 minutes.
In a moment of life and death to be told to "say your prayers" must be shattering. It's akin to "only divine intervention can help you now". I infer no criticism, what else was the operator to say? Empty promises of imminent rescue seem to me inappropriate somehow. The human reaction is to offer the most useful and tangible advice possible. And when that involves prayer, and prayer alone, the situation is obviously drastic. Wouldn't even the most religious be tested by discovering that blind faith is where the best chances of survival lie?
I’ve met people who claim to get great comfort and calm from handing the situation over to their redeemer. But I am not one of those people and statistically neither were many of those who perished in the north and south towers. So I say lucky were they who found solace in faith.
It's not clear if Melissa was told to pray for a rescue or pray for eternal salvation. Either is a valid endeavour, but one doesn't call the emergency services for clerical guidance. The obvious expectation is for physical help. The operator is all out of options when providing pastoral care.
Of all the terrifying scenarios innocent individuals found themselves in my thoughts lie with the many hundreds trapped (including those on board the passenger planes) who were presumably dizzy with fright because they knew what was to come. The wait must have been agonising, unimaginable.
The female operator stayed on the phone with Melissa for half an hour. Her efforts were extraordinary, her humanity reassuring.
In the end one dispatcher can be heard to say "The line is now dead."
"Oh my lord," says the operator.
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"Oh my Lord" yes, "Oh my Lord".
Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Being an emergency operator is a tough job.
11/09/2011 01:37