Night time warning

planner

.............. ?
Sep 23, 2002
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I heard about what happened Sunday night, asked permission to repeat the story and here you go:

Sunday night 2 women went out to a concert. They were fairly careful to be safe about their outing - they didn't carry a lot of cash - didn't wear a lot of jewellery etc.

They spent the evening at the concert, in a throng of people. At one point one of the young women took her camera out of her handbag, took some photos and put it back away! The concert ended at midnight and they departed for home.

Here is where it went wrong:

They left together on a pasola! At night! Alone! They had their handbags with them.

When they reached a quieter location a jeepeta that was following them ran them off the road! The occupants took their purses but left them. For those familiar with Puerto Plata it was on the main street across from the big new Banco Popular!

Fortunately they were not seriously hurt!

It did not matter that they had little money on them! It mattered that they carried a purse and were 2 women on a pasola - can't outrun a car and it makes them an easy target!

They were seen by many at the concert with a camera and a purse and could easily have been watched and followed.

I would not go out late at night on a pasola. I would not recommend it to any other woman either. Thank goodness neither was seriously injured and I hope they splurge for the cab fare next time they go out for a late night. Or, heck call me for a ride, I was at the same concert!
 

aegap

Silver
Mar 19, 2005
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This a good warning to take seriously no matter where one lives. Heck, I'm a man yet would not even contemplate riding a pasola around Washington D.C at night (both because of the potential for crime and because pasolas aren't really meant to be driven at night).
 

POP Bad Boy

Bronze
Jun 27, 2004
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I really doubt........

.......that they were followed for the camera...

They were probably run off the road because they were two women on a bike at night carrying purses............
 

planner

.............. ?
Sep 23, 2002
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I was not suggesting it was the camera specifically. More likely two women with purses. BUT the point is to be careful of everything. You carry a purse, have a camera............ it is easy to assume you also carry money!
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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wow, darlene, that sucks!
and on main street too!
despite my little incident with crime i do walk around still - much to minovio's disapproval - but never at night. and never on a pasola.

actually i am now used to being extra careful, i was never like that in poland or london. makes it kind of sad...
 

planner

.............. ?
Sep 23, 2002
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It really isn't about being extra careful as just different careful! I would not ride a pasola at night but then again I never would have considered using one before! Walking around at night alone - not something I did before either. This culture is just different so our being safe is about common sense and adapting that to the culture.

I am told today that the young women are feeling much better.

It is sad that almost everywhere in the world we have to be more and more security conscious!
 
N

naturelover

Guest
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you didnt take care walking round London ? you must have been very fortunate
 
Jan 5, 2006
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They were very lucky!

Riding a pasola at night is a big no-no. A Dominican friend of mine in La Vega was shot and left paralized from the waist down less than 3 months ago, while riding home from a friend's house on a pasola. He was going through a dark stretch on the main road (Avenida Pedro A. Rivera) less than 1km from his house, when 2 criminals rode next to him on a motorcycle and without saying a word opened gunfire. He was carrying a pistol and managed to shoot one of the criminals in the leg while laying on the floor, otherwise, I'm convinced that he would have been killed.

The criminals (2 young men in their early 20s) were caught a few days later because a neighbor of the one who was shot by my friend, alerted the police that he was being treated at home for a gunshot injury, by his mother who was a nurse at the local public hospital. After being caught, they confessed to that crime and many other robberies and thefts. Their reason for shooting my friend was that they wanted to steal his pasola.

Those 2 young women were very lucky that they did not run the same fate as my friend, who was a hard working, honest man in his early 30s, full of life and with a beautiful family. Now he has to watch his kids grow from a wheelchair; all because 2 thugs wanted his pasola.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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.... The criminals (2 young men in their early 20s) were caught a few days later because a neighbor of the one who was shot by my friend, alerted the police that he was being treated at home for a gunshot injury, by his mother who was a nurse at the local public hospital. After being caught, they confessed to that crime and many other robberies and thefts. Their reason for shooting my friend was that they wanted to steal his pasola.

The last line above is something that happens a lot here. I was warned by a Dominican friend of the same thing years ago. He even advised me of a certain street not to take because of that problem (EVEN in the daytime). My Dominican brother-in-law was robbed at gun point of his pasola.

Someone in this thread advised that the 2 women should have taken a taxi, that is good advise. One word of warning, NEVER take a public car that is not properly marked with the official government decal, thieves use this ploy at night to rob people also (Sister-in-law robbed at gun point in this scenario).
 

tarrantino

New member
Jan 12, 2006
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SantiagoDR by public car do yu mean those cars that you can catch across from the supermercado in Sosua?
 

AnnaC

Gold
Jan 2, 2002
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Someone in this thread advised that the 2 women should have taken a taxi, that is good advise. One word of warning, NEVER take a public car that is not properly marked with the official government decal, thieves use this ploy at night to rob people also (Sister-in-law robbed at gun point in this scenario).


Isn't this a scary thought since you never had to worry about things like that before. :paranoid:
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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SantiagoDR by public car do yu mean those cars that you can catch across from the supermercado in Sosua?

In Santiago, the Public cars are those that travel a pre-determined route and each of such cars have large government issued decals indicating the route, such as the "M" car, "A" car, etc. They are like mini-buses, picking up and dropping off passengers along the route. Some refer to them as a "Public Taxi". Drivers usually have an ID card with their picture on it attached to their sun visor. Cost in Santiago is 10-12 pesos.

Isn't this a scary thought since you never had to worry about things like that before.

Yes Anne, it is. Not sure if you meant that sarcastically or not. In the states, at least the places I lived, there was no similar transportation methods, thus I never had to worry about things like that before.

I may that mistake a few years ago, and the passenger picked my pocket, distracting me by making like his leg was hurting from being crowded in next to me. The car was unfortunately not an official one, the same thing can happen in those also, but the driver is usually not involved with the thieves as was in my case and that of the sister-in-law. I learned the hard way, and I try to advise others when I can about the danger.

Don SantiagoDR
 

AnnaC

Gold
Jan 2, 2002
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No sarcasm on this one. I never worried about and can't even remember if they had a sticker or not. But the last two years I do worry about the things that have changed the DR.