France in Fury as Emergency Services Let Young Woman Die, Mock Her Pains

22-year-old Naomi Musenga died on December 29, 2017, but her family has just obtained a copy of the recording of an emergency call where she is mocked by service operators.

French authorities have launched a probe into the death of a young woman that came just hours after she had made a call to the emergency services SAMU in Strasbourg, complaining of a strong stomachache. In the recording, Musenga is heard saying in a weak voice that she was “going to die,” as the pain was growing.

“You’re going to die, certainly, one day just like everyone else,” an operator responded, as cited by France 24. As Musenga struggled with her pains to describe the symptoms, the female operator laughed at her with a colleague before providing the woman with the contact details of a home doctor service.

Musenga called emergency services once again five hours later, but died from a heart attack shortly after arriving at the hospital; an autopsy showed she had suffered multiple organ failure, Le Monde reported.

Her story couldn’t help but spark global outrage, with over 76,200 people signing a petition calling for a judicial inquiry into the death of the woman to find out if a quicker response from SAMU could have saved her life.

French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn tweeted that she was “deeply outraged” by the circumstances surrounding Musenga’s death and ordered an inquiry into the “serious failures” of the emergency services, promising to provide her family with all information.

Je suis profondément indignée par les circonstances du décès de Naomi Musenga en décembre. Je tiens à assurer sa famille de mon entier soutien et demande une enquête de I'IGAS sur ces graves dysfonctionnements. Je m'engage à ce que sa famille obtienne toutes les informations.

— Agnès Buzyn (@agnesbuzyn) 8 мая 2018 г.

The hashtag #JusticePourNaomi has been trending on Twitter and Facebook:

Welcome to the French people's service: heartless & dismissive especially to blacks. It's a cultural ticking time bomb. Injustice to one group is a threat to all! #RipNaomi #JusticePourNaomi

— G-Women Recognition (@GWRM8) 9 мая 2018 г.

Naomi calls the emergency services in Strasbourg. She asks for help, but is only mocked: "You will die one day like everyone."

She died a few hours later. This tragedy must not happen again.#JusticePourNaomi #Samu67 #humanité https://t.co/GY9yYNpjv0

— Rose Michael (@rose_mmichael) 7 мая 2018 г.

Naomi called the French 911, she told one of the operators she felt like she was about to die from the intense stomach pain. They laughed and replied: "Everybody dies someday day." Naomi died a few hours later at age 22. #JusticePourNaomi https://t.co/ppgHoqi0Zh

— Awo (@Awoawo6) 5 мая 2018 г.

Hello @blackvoices Naomi a 22-year-old black woman called emergency services in France because she felt really bad.
The two racists operators mocked Naomi last name (who has an African consonance) laughed at her, refused to provide assistance and let her die.

— ANN-LY (@ANNLEEONE) 5 мая 2018 г.

#JusticePourNaomi

How can you call yourself a care provider when you are responsable for her death. How can you have no shame. And what made you think you could speak to her this way? https://t.co/lXfRATGFbG

— mélissa laveaux (@melissalaveaux) 9 мая 2018 г.

Her name is Naomi MUSENGA, she died after an infarctus before that she tried to call ambulance who laughed at her while and said “yes you are going to die” while she was suffering and asked them for help on the phone. This is unfair. pic.twitter.com/vmt8Z4jnLl

— Justine Skye France (@JSkyeFrance) 9 мая 2018 г.