Matilda's blog

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Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Matilda said:
Re the dwendies. Chip the word is Spanish, and properly spelled, is duende which is an imp or a goblin. It was the closest I could find to a garden gnome, which are present in most well manicured gardens in middle class England. Don't you have them in the US? The idea being that they sit in the garden doing nothing.

I have come across dwendies in tourists areas, and in purely Dominican towns - in fact more so in the latter as there are much more limited opportunities for sankying and generally scamming people. They are not representative of the DR in general, but their lives are representative of the majority of the youth from lower and working class families in this country. I don't want to get into a discussion about actual numbers or we will have Pichardo bombarding us with the world dwendy stats. If you go out into the street where you live and interview 20 young men between the ages of say 16 and 20 and see what answers you get to the same questions I asked, then maybe you will see. I think that children of the wealthier families maybe come from a more stable background, perhaps stay at their private school longer (as they did not have to leave school for financial reasons), and have a better chance of employment.

As far as the role of a dwendy is concerned, as they have nothing to do and no work, rather than sitting on upturned plastic beer crates outside the colmado all day, they prefer to sit in our garden where they can discuss life, the world and the universe with Mr Matilda, and run errands and do general chores in return for food and companionship. You will not have dwendies as you are not Dominican. Only a Dominican man can have dwendies for some reason!!

Thanks for the nice words Pedro - hope you and yours are enjoying Blighty. And thanks everyone for reading - I really appreciate your comments and insights.

Oh, I nearly forgot, have blogged again, What about your saucepans?: Matilda has moved out

Matilda
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Thanks for the clarification. Still I don't know if this phenomenon is that rare in the world today and especially in areas of high unemployment and very social societies as is the DR.

The campo area I lived in and visit frequently every month while poor certainly has enough young unemployed men but I can't say the majority come from tragic situations or broken marriages. Certainly, many come from separated parents but that is no longer a unique feature anywhere in the world. I also expect these types of situations are more prevalent in the worst areas of the country which I understand are in the bateyes, SD and the tourist areas. Honestly I expect it to be really worse in the tourist areas because of the high level of prostitution and thus unwanted children and the real lure of easy money.

I just wish more expats could see the good that there is here in the DR. Maybe though there is very little "good" in some of the areas where people live and that would be a shame.
 
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LaTeacher

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May 2, 2008
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Chip - what do you consider good? BEcause although she pointed out the "bad" parts of their lives, she always is talking about how they're willing to do work for her, and help her! Sometimes we need to sift to good things out of the negative background -
These "dwendies" are not thugs, and as far as we know aren't stealing or attacking people. they are decent guys with little direction in their lives!
 
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pedrochemical

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Aug 22, 2008
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I saw lots of good, especially in Haiti where things are really tough for most people.
There is certainly more of a culture of family in Haiti than in the D.R. in my experience. - but that for me is totally unremarkable as good is a default setting in my culture. That makes the bad worth noting.
If the bad is the default setting then any good would be worth remarking upon.

Perhaps that is the difference - in my life things are good with the occasional bad thing. In some people's lives things are bad with the occasional good thing.

Which are you Chip?
 
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pedrochemical

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Aug 22, 2008
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And how do I apply to be one of Mr Matilda's dwendies.
At least I wouldn't freeze my nuts off every time I went outside.

And remember that any one of these guys could take a guagua 30 mins down the road and become the sankies and tigueres that we all complain about.
Good on them for not doing this.
 
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Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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LaTeacher said:
Chip - what do you consider good? BEcause although she pointed out the "bad" parts of their lives, she always is talking about how they're willing to do work for her, and help her! Sometimes we need to sift to good things out of the negative background -
These "dwendies" are not thugs, and as far as we know aren't stealing or attacking people. they are decent guys with little direction in their lives!
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Exactly. I couldn't have said it better. They are great kids, and I wish I could pay for the operation on the arm for one, and send them all to a good school. But I can't. They deserve a chance in this life and the way things are going they won't get it. They need to be motivated and to see that there is a future for them if they work at it. But they can't see that future because for them, and for thousands like them, it quite simply doesn't exist.

matilda
 
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Chip

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Matilda said:
Exactly. I couldn't have said it better. They are great kids, and I wish I could pay for the operation on the arm for one, and send them all to a good school. But I can't. They deserve a chance in this life and the way things are going they won't get it. They need to be motivated and to see that there is a future for them if they work at it. But they can't see that future because for them, and for thousands like them, it quite simply doesn't exist.

matilda
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I can see your sincere concern for these individuals and that is impressive and honorable to say the least.

Still, I don't agree that they have little future because they are poor or physical limitations because there is always hope for them in this life and the next. There is still a lot to be said for having adequate food and a place to sleep and sufficient social contact and acceptance, ie love. That's the real food of this life anyway and at the end of the day the only permanent feature too.
 
Africaida

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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Chip said:
Thanks for the clarification. Still I don't know if this phenomenon is that rare in the world today and especially in areas of high unemployment and very social societies as is the DR.

The campo area I lived in and visit frequently every month while poor certainly has enough young unemployed men but I can't say the majority come from tragic situations or broken marriages. Certainly, many come from separated parents but that is no longer a unique feature anywhere in the world. I also expect these types of situations are more prevalent in the worst areas of the country which I understand are in the bateyes, SD and the tourist areas. Honestly I expect it to be really worse in the tourist areas because of the high level of prostitution and thus unwanted children and the real lure of easy money.

I just wish more expats could see the good that there is here in the DR. Maybe though there is very little "good" in some of the areas where people live and that would be a shame.
Click to expand...

Chip you are becoming a major pain in the a$$ (and given the size of mine that says a lot :) ) !

Matilda is writing a blog about her life/experience in the DR, why do you have to analyze it like a thesis paper ?!

I don't know jack about dwendies and did not come to the conclusion that all unemployed men in the DR are sitting in someone garden, nor all unemployed men in the DR come from a tragic situation.

There is nothing negative about her post. Quite the contrary, seem to be good kids.

Relax and stop reading too much into things.


Great blog Matilda !:bunny:
 
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Chip

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Maybe if the introduction started out with something more positive???? Ok so I didn't read everything, mea culpa.

Anyway I'll leave Matilda alone.

Thanks for caring Matilda, I sincerely appreciate that.
 
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jrhartley

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cant get used to seeing people eating stuff out of the truck yet , Im not acclimated (thats an American word I think)
 
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suarezn

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Matilda: That dog of yours (Tyson) is so ugly that he's actually cute if you know what I mean. I know you're his "mother" so you love him, but dayummmmmmm....
 
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Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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suarezn said:
Matilda: That dog of yours (Tyson) is so ugly that he's actually cute if you know what I mean. I know you're his "mother" so you love him, but dayummmmmmm....
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He is a lot prettier without a pair of mangos swinging around between his back legs - and he is totally beautiful lol.

Matilda
 
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dulce

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Jan 1, 2002
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Another good one Matilda. I can relate to it. It's a good thing I grew up in Maine. Mainiacs do things the easy way too. I think that is why certain things didn't bother me in the DR.
 
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jrjrth

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~Matilda

Absolutely downright enjoy reading your blog!! Especially like the "Bits" of Binmen cometh....don't even wanna know what they did with the "Bits" and from the looks of Tyson....they were not "Tidbits"...lol....keep them coming to entertain us further!
 
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