So we left to head back to Independence and caught the last bus out of Belmopan. People here dont exactly wait in line. It was the craziest shove fest I have ever seen trying to get on the bus. Once we finally got on it was standing room only for 2 hours. (even the space between the seats and the roof was filled with people.) Dont know how they got up there, but there they were! When we got to Dangriga (halfway) I heard "Jacob...is Jacob on there?" Turns out one of my buddies host fathers was in Dangriga and offered us a ride home in his car. Needless to say we jumped at the opportunity to get off the bus! Now we thought we were leaving right away. Turns out we had to joyride around town, watch him play video poker and have rum forced on us for a few hours first. It was tiresome but also interesting. We left around 9, made it an hour back before the car started smoking (found out later it blew a head gasket) We coasted to a stop in Silk Grass (no cell phone service). We were all pretty sure that we were spending the night there, so I got comfy and dropped off (what can ya do...just the next thing to happen that day!)
Round about 12 a guy stops and asks us if we want a tow back to town (1 hr away at normal speed) We say yes and we hook up the tow rope. Towing in belize is interesting to say the least.
Heres where the story gets interesting. About 1/2 hour from home we get flagged down. A pickup is on the side of the road, it has obviously flipped more than once after going right through a telephone pole. Four people were in the car. Three had been thrown out. One's leg was turned around backwards and was screaming, one's head had been sliced open so I could see his skull, I pressed a cloth against his head and told someone to hold it there. The guy in the car was obviously in shock, and people were pulling him out of the vehicle. (probably not good medical care) He had a gash on his rear that went at least 4 inches down, 8 inches long, fatty tissue spilling from it. The fourth guy, the driver, was dead on the spot. I checked his pulse, his body was still warm, but he was gone. His entire face had been torn off when he was thrown from the car.
The ambulance took over an hour to get there, and the on scene medical care consisted of "can you walk? ok, lets go to the ambulance" different world. The police didnt show up the entire two hours we were there. We saw them roaring by after we left, leaving the body there. I finally got home around 3AM, a 23 hour day for me.
The strange part is, I dont feel very affected by the incident. It just feels like I am in a different world and things operate differently.
here is the link to the news posting. Its very inaccurate, but gives you an idea of what reporting is like down here.
www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=21801
2 comments:
Ai yi yi, Jacob. Hearing you tell this over the phone, reading it again here, and then seeing the vague paragraph that the Channel 5 Belize news station put out is pretty astounding. I suppose that above all else, this experience further outlines what it means to be a Peace Corps volunteer.. you're there not only to perform your job duties, but also to integrate yourself into the culture, and to furthermore act as a good citizen of your new country. It's tragic that your first experience as such had to be so gruesome.... stopping off at a roadside accident to find such a horrible scene is not the choice anyone would make, i'm sure, but I know they're glad you were there to help.
Keep your chin up, love. :)
-Suzer
oh wow, I have forgotten to check this in the last week. What a story. I'm sorry you had to see such a gruesome sight. Were you able to help at all with your wilderness EMT training?
You seem to be adapting to the PC worldwide motto which goes something like : just be flexible and never expect anything to go as planned, especially travel.
thinking of you honey. love, Bridget
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