Ladrones stole my phone…
7-12-10 9:53am
I decided I needed to spend some more time with my dominican hermanitos so earlier in the week I went to fix the pedal on my bike (so much better and it cost 5 pesos) and I also bought a plastic bat and wiffle ball. I invited my hermanitos out to play and they got all excited when I suggested we go to the local "play" which means the local baseball field. It took us forever to put some sandals on and walk over there but we arrived looking optimistic even though there was a dooming rain cloud over us. We start to play and sure enough it started to rain so we ran under a large canopy until the rain stopped. I normally never carry my phone on me and I am also sad I made the mistake of bringing it because I tend to do dumb things like leave it on the ground and expect nobody will take it. Well, I guess you know what happened next. I set the phone down because I didn't have any pockets and I didn't want to carry the phone in my bra (not too classy) and because we were the only people there I didn't think it was going to get stolen. Long story short, we go out and continue playing after the rain and when I felt I had enough of them arguing and yelling "Tramposa!" at each other I said Time to go! And that's when the phone was gone. Crap. Then I tried to use my brain. I did see people walk by but I didn't think anything of it. I saw 2 guys walk by with bright basketball shorts and we also saw the owner of the park come by as well. These were my suspects. I walk behind the play and there is a house with 3 haitians working so I ask them to come over so I can ask about the phone. They were wearing bright basketball shorts like I recall the people wearing as they passed by. Because they were Haitian, communication was not going through. They struggled with their spanish and I couldn't understand them but I felt like they had my phone and I really wanted it back. So I went to the police. (Now that I recall this, I know it wasn't the best idea for a silly phone but I don't learn this until after the story is over). I told the police that my phone was stolen and the only people that passed by the park were the haitians, the owner and us kids. Policia #1 tells me to stay at the base and he went along with one of the kids that was with us to investigate. What resulted was that he came back with the haitian I was questioning earlier. Ok… so I just asked him again and still communication wasn't going through. I started to think maybe going to the police was a bad idea. 2 other haitians arrived and they also said they didn't have the phone. It was absolutely awkward the judicial system here. Here I am in front of them saying do you have my phone, the haitians are looking at me saying no i don't have your phone and the policia is saying alright these haitians are guilty. Ok, fuck it. They don't have the phone no big deal. I told the police it's fine just let them go and I will just have to get another phone. But the police tell me to come back in a hour. They arrest the haitians and search them and put them in their small cell. Crap. You can imagine how dumb I felt. What if it isn't them, I am just ruining their day, they are going to be set free after this and they're gonna see me walking on the street and kill me later, what are the policia going to do to them, is it worth it for this damn phone? I return in an hour (the funny part is that the policia tells me go home and shower and come back in an hour, was i really that stinky?) and the policia says that in their attempts to scare them by putting them in the cell they still said they didn't have the phone. One said he saw it but he didn't take it. Great. He also asks me if I want to accuse one of the haitians to go throughout further prosecution. No, no, no.
Upon returning to my house I decided I will probably never go to the police again. It's not like they didn't serve me and do what I asked but I realized that it's way more effort to get other people involved than to just deal with it yourself. Plus I really felt bad for the haitians. If they stole my phone or not, I just thought about how dangerous it is for them to deal with these injustices everyday. I merely said that I saw them passing by where my phone was set and the policia automatically said it was them I don't know if it was them I was just hoping with the policies help maybe they can communicate better but that was definitely wrong. My don tells me that now the policia was going to keep the haitians in the cell until they sent someone to send them money to bail them out. Stab my heart. He also told me that if the policia wanted to, he could deport them back to haiti or other drastic things.
So probably Friday I will be making my way back to the capital to get a phone. I learned a new lesson and I probably won't be heading back to the play anytime soon.
11:30am
The owner of the baseball field arrived at my house and dropped off my phone. Apparently the haitians I accused returned him the phone to give to me. I am definitely lucky. What a crazy story.
wow, crazy story Bri. be careful! so they did take your phone?!