Yesterday morning I was walking in my neighborhood. As I came to a major street there was a crazy street person breaking windows of parked cars and yipetas with rocks. Several car owners appeared and chased him down the street. They caught him and hauled him back to where he had done the damage. Three or four of them proceeded to beat him silly with fists and boards.
I stayed around to see what would happen. They flagged down a police patrol that happened by about forty minutes after it all began. The cops were reluctant to stop but they did. They listened to what the witnesses had to say, wrote nothing down and took away the hapless perpetrator.
I spent some time talking to several people about what happened and one theme kept surfacing. People kept saying that the government consistently fails to deal with street people like that. Several serious people suggested that what often happens if someone like that becomes a serious continuing problem in a neighborhood eventually someone will kill him.
Later in the day I stopped into the colmado next to where all this happened in the morning. I struck up a conversation with a man from Spain. He had been staying in the Zona Oriental and had had his money stolen. He called his family and they sent money to Western Union. A "friend" offered to take him to Western Union to pick up his money and then take him to the airport.
The "friend" robbed him at knifepoint of his passport, suitcase and the money and took off without injuring him. All he had left was his Spanish cedula. He was waiting for more money from home and a duplicate passport from the Spanish Embassy.
I told him about the English expression "school of hard knocks" which I translated "escuela de golpes duros" and that he had just earned a year or two worth of credits. He laughed. He'll do all right in life with a good sense of humor.
It was his first visit to the DR. He says he won't be back.
Last night I called the colmado for an order. The kid showed up with a brand new laminated carn? (photo identity card) pinned to his shirt. I asked him what was up with the carn? and he said there have been tigres roaming the neighborhood on motorbikes that look like colmado bikes mugging people.
This morning I was out walking and three police came by on motorcycles accompanied by a fire department yipeta that was packed with young males. I watched them stop several young men who were able to produce cedulas and explain their presence so they let them continue.
Boys and girls, this is not Kansas.
I stayed around to see what would happen. They flagged down a police patrol that happened by about forty minutes after it all began. The cops were reluctant to stop but they did. They listened to what the witnesses had to say, wrote nothing down and took away the hapless perpetrator.
I spent some time talking to several people about what happened and one theme kept surfacing. People kept saying that the government consistently fails to deal with street people like that. Several serious people suggested that what often happens if someone like that becomes a serious continuing problem in a neighborhood eventually someone will kill him.
Later in the day I stopped into the colmado next to where all this happened in the morning. I struck up a conversation with a man from Spain. He had been staying in the Zona Oriental and had had his money stolen. He called his family and they sent money to Western Union. A "friend" offered to take him to Western Union to pick up his money and then take him to the airport.
The "friend" robbed him at knifepoint of his passport, suitcase and the money and took off without injuring him. All he had left was his Spanish cedula. He was waiting for more money from home and a duplicate passport from the Spanish Embassy.
I told him about the English expression "school of hard knocks" which I translated "escuela de golpes duros" and that he had just earned a year or two worth of credits. He laughed. He'll do all right in life with a good sense of humor.
It was his first visit to the DR. He says he won't be back.
Last night I called the colmado for an order. The kid showed up with a brand new laminated carn? (photo identity card) pinned to his shirt. I asked him what was up with the carn? and he said there have been tigres roaming the neighborhood on motorbikes that look like colmado bikes mugging people.
This morning I was out walking and three police came by on motorcycles accompanied by a fire department yipeta that was packed with young males. I watched them stop several young men who were able to produce cedulas and explain their presence so they let them continue.
Boys and girls, this is not Kansas.