Help Thy Neighbour

[Androme]

Today I was just about to have a shower when I heard some shouting outside my house. I looked out the window and saw a 40 year old guy who was on the floor and a woman shouting telling him he has to stay there and looking around. I popped out and she wanted me to ring 999. He had been attacked by two youngsters with a stone who had tried to mug him.

The thing is, he's an immigrant and could speak English alright, has no family or friends here, has had the same clothes since he arrived in England, illegally might I add 5 days ago. He told me he had been sleeping underneath the bridge in East Ham, near to where I am situated. I rang up 118118 got the address of a shelter nearby, gave him a few clothes I was gonna throw out and a bottle of water. The neighbour to my left who could speak his language and the neighbour next to them, a carribean lady brought out a jacket and some carribean vegetarian rice with peas and jerk sauce (damn) for him to eat as he not only had a fractured arm and probably shoulder due to the aforementioned incident right outside my doorstep, but had had nothing to eat.

The ambulance came around 45 minutes after I called them as they did not deem it an emergency on the basis that a) he was not bleeding & b) was conscious. Good to know while you could be in pain and bleeding internally (which can happen to me due to my platelet disorder), that the NHS where I am would only mark me as a high priority case if I was unconscious or was bleeding 'visibly' & 'heavily'.

Fair enough it's his fault for coming to this country, what does he expect but a little help goes a long way for someone.

So what have you done recently to help someone less fortunate than yourself? Stop and think about. Stupid replies can kindly delete themselves thanks.