Motorcycle Crashes

Motorcycles are ubiquitous in the Dominican Republic. In my rural community, and much of the developing world, the motorcycle is the family vehicle (There are only two families out of 150 in my community that have cars). It is not uncommon to see a family of four packed together on one motorcycle. And when walking, Dominicans are constantly on the lookout for a friend on a motorcycle to take them the rest of the way (nobody wants to walk under the hot Caribbean sun). Despite all the motorcycles, few laws are enforced regarding their usage. It is not uncommon for me to see twelve year-old kids driving motorcycles, and drivers sometimes will have an open beer or rum bottle in one hand. Thankfully, I have yet to see a twelve year-old drinking alcohol and driving a motorcycle at the same time. The only time I have seen the law requiring drivers to wear helmets was during the week of Easter, which traditionally is a week of partying and therefore lots of drunk driving. And even then the police accepted the following types of headgear: baseball helmets, bicycle helmets, and construction hard-hats.

The lax enforcement of these laws have allowed for thousands of Dominicans to needless die each year. Motorcycle accidents are the leading cause of death for young men in the country (for girls it is AIDs - but that is a whole different can of worms). For the most part I have been able to ignore the dangerous role motorcycles play in Dominican society. I mitigate my own risk by wearing my helmet and riding motorcycles as little as possible. However, since a careless motorcyclist broke my host sister’s leg, my acceptance of Dominican vehicle culture has been rapidly deteriorating. It is getting to the point that I might start lecturing everyone I know about the importance of wearing a helmet and the dangers of drunk driving.

Luis Angel showing off his school work

Two weeks ago, two boys from my community riding a motorized scooter crashed into a guardrail. The driver, a 14 year-old boy named Nezo, was sliced open by the guardrail and died on impact. In some ways that was a blessing because as neighbors took the boy to the hospital a truck struck their motorcycle. Thankfully the two other passengers on the motorcycle only received scrapes from the hit-and-run. The second boy on the scooter, Luis Angel, a student of mine, hit his head on the pavement hard. He was sent to the capital for treatment and is now recuperating with family in another part of the country. The rumor is that he has permanent brain damage. Luis Angel is 10 years old.

Only a few days after the accident in my community, a Dominican baseball star, Oscar Taveras of the St. Louis Cardinals, killed himself and his girlfriend in a drunk driving accident while vacationing in the D.R. In both cases, the crashes were talked about for a few days and masses of people attended the funerals. But there was no rally cry to change the status-quo. Instead people chalked up the deaths as terrible accidents and went back to their daily lives.

On Monday I witnessed another motorcycle crash in town. I was in the back of a pick-up truck headed to my community when two motorcycles crashed into one another. One of the motorcycles went skidding by the truck on its side. The semi-conscious driver was then picked-up by another motorist who rushed off to the hospital. The second motorcycle also skidded on its side but was stopped by the back tire of the pick-up truck, where I was seated. The driver was able to get up on his own and, with only a slight gash on his forehead, wedged his motorcycle out from underneath the pick-up and then continued on his way out of town. The whole event occurred in less than 3 minutes, afterwards you would have no idea there had been an accident. And for me that's a problem.

No one stops to think after an accident occurs - how can another crash like this be prevented. Time and time again deadly accidents occur, yet little is changing (There is currently an ad campaign with Dominican baseball players saying they don't ride without helmets.). Part of the problem is that the police are not enforcing laws that would improve rider safety and security, but society is also to blame. Dominicans like to say that teenage boys fooling around, not obeying their elders causes all the accidents. But they forget that even when teenagers are to blame their are often innocent victims in crashes, like my host sister, Luis Angel, and countless others. As roads improve and Dominicans become wealthier, more vehicles will be on the road being driven at faster speeds. It is critical that Dominican society start to take road safety seriously. Parents need to be more cautious about allowing their kids to drive motorcycles and ride with other teens. The government needs to better enforce the laws on the books and also make helmets more available and affordable.  If change does not happen, then the D.R. will continue to loose the future leaders of the country to tragic and preventable accidents.

Death in the D.R.

Cross cultural exchanges between myself and Dominicans almost always occur in unexpected moments. Like the time I had to explain that just because Americans send many used clothes to the Dominican Republic it doesn't mean we throw away our clothes after one use. A few weeks ago I my grandmother passed away, and I found myself explaining an aspect of American culture: death.

I was able to take an emergency vacation to the States to attend my grandmother's funeral, but before I left, I had to let all of my project partners and students know that I would be away for the week. After giving me their condolences my friends would inevitably ask if I was going to be able to attend the actual funeral. In the D.R. the tradition is to bury the dead 24 hours after their death. My neighbors were relived when I told them that in the U.S. the dead are typically embalmed to allow family members living far away to participate in the funeral services. Dominicans know of embalming but most families do not use the procedure either because they do not have the money and/or prefer to follow culture tradition of a rapid burial. 

Since the funeral is held 24 hours after death, the mourning process is sped up and intensified in most Dominican communities. Immediately following the death of a loved one the family springs into action informing everyone in the community of the death and inviting them over to the home of the deceased to mourn. I was once awoken at 6 a.m. by mourners informing neighbors of the death a community member who had died at 4 a.m. 

The home of the deceased becomes an impromptu wake. The body is typically laid on the ground in a bedroom where mourners can visit at and express all their emotions. Everyone in the community is expected to visit. Those closest to the family are expected to stay at the home until the funeral. The home often becomes a full 24 hour vigil of screaming, crying, and comforting. Unlike in the U.S. where everyone tries to keep their emotions in check, in the D.R. emotions are displayed at an almost theatrical level (I have seen people pass out in front of the body of the deceased.). There is little time for the family to be alone; which is the point. Dominicans do not like to leave friends alone during times of sadness. (One of my project partners said she would've traveled with me to the States if she could have, just so I wouldn't be alone.) 

It's easy to tell when a wake is being held at a home. There will be an overflow of people outside the house in white or black, sitting in plastic chairs and talking in groups. It is not uncommon for drinking to occur, and when an important figure in the community dies the wake can become a huge party. More of a celebration of the person's life than a mourning their death. The food and spirits are normally provided by the family of the deceased; unlike in the U.S. where friends and co-workers bring enough food to last the family for weeks.

Funeral Processional (umbrellas are for the sun)

When it is time to head to the cemetery Dominicans, like Americans, have a processional to the cemetery. However, aside from the processional itself, not much is the same. Almost everyone who attended the wake will also attend the funeral, which means a lot of vehicles are needed. Since most Dominicans do not own cars, all sorts of vehicles are used: motorcycles, busses, flatbed trucks, tourist safari trucks, livestock carriers, etc. The processional is also a slow one, allowing those who live along the route to the cemetery the opportunity to join in the processional and/or pay their respects. I was once part of a processional that took 45 minutes to travel 5km (typically a 10 minute drive).

Cemetery in Argentina 

Once at the cemetery the funeral itself is quick; often those at the end of the processional miss out on the majority of the service. As in much of Latin America, the dead are not buried below ground but instead are placed in tombs or family crypts. Following the funeral everyone gets back into the vehicles from the processional and return home - at a much faster speed. Depending on the family's religion other events will occur to memorialize the deceased such as a church service nine days after the death and/or a yearly mass in remembrance of the deceased. Most of these events are held by Catholic families. The majority of my community is evangelical (a growing sect in the D.R.), who typically refrain from such events. However, evangelicals will honor the deceased during the church service following the death of the deceased, as they did for my grandmother.

Explaining to my neighbors that I had to return to the U.S. for a funeral was a surprisingly cathartic experience. It allowed me to realize how integrated I have become  - I had so many people to inform of my departure - and I was able to see how deeply my community cares for me, which was part of the silver lining of loosing such a dear family member.

I want to thank everyone who gave me their condolences. And my apologies for those who didn't know I was back in the U.S. Let's meet up when I am home again in December.