Why does there seem to be an increase in the number of gawkers who gather around road accidents taking photos and videos? Many Civil Defense personnel and police officers complain that the crowds who gather around accidents block their way, making their job to save and rescue the injured more difficult. What really infuriates me is that some bystanders do not seem to care about the life of those injured and do whatever they can to take photos or videos in order to upload them to YouTube just to be famous. For them, the end justifies the means. What has happened to our values? We were not like this three decades ago? What makes this situation worse is the negative stereotypes people have about firefighters and how they respond to fires, floods and other incidents. Many people believe that firefighters and rescuers do not respond quickly and that even if they do, they usually do not bring the right equipment to rescue people. I do not agree with this stereotype and strongly believe that the main reason why firefighters fail to do their job properly is the presence of nosy bystanders. I am sure that many of these gawkers do not realize that they are the main reason behind this negative stereotype. The other day I met a civil defense rescuer at a friend's house. He was talking about the same issue and the difficulties that he and his colleagues encounter at accident scenes because of inquisitive bystanders. He told us several stories but one particular story was really shocking. He and his colleagues were on their way to rescue a family involved in a tragic road accident. When they arrived at the scene, they were shocked to see the wreckage of a car that had collided with a truck. A man and a woman, who was pregnant, were inside the car. The man had died on the spot while his pregnant wife was still alive. The ambulance and paramedics had still not arrived. The rescuers freed the pregnant woman who then went into labor. Although the rescuers had no experience in delivering babies, they had no choice but to help the woman give birth. While they were at it, many of those in the crowd which had gathered pulled out their cell phones preparing themselves to take photos and videos. The rescuers immediately brought a blanket and held it over the pregnant woman to prevent the bystanders from taking pictures. I call on the authorities to inflict punishment on such irresponsible and immodest people.
