I
IN THE D.R.
t was July, and I was
in the Dominican
Republic. I was 10 years
old at the time, and I
was filled with anticipation
as our bus drew nearer and
nearer to the resort where
my mother and I were
staying. But my mood took
a sudden swing when our
bus arrived in a strange
neighborhood. I was dying
for cool air to counteract
the overwhelming heat of
the bus. Everyone on board
was either loud, annoying,
or both. I tried to distract
myself by peeking out the
window. I noticed the lack
of grass in the yards and the
bars on the dirty windows.
The loud music and the
vicious dogs in the fenced in
areas gave me an unsettling
feeling that I was not safe.
Debris littered the concrete
ground and I assumed that
people loitered during the
day and vanished when the
night appeared. Personally,
I would rather have pissed
my pants than have stepped
even a toe outside to use
any of the bathrooms in the
vicinity. The smell of waste
and cigarettes pervaded
the atmosphere, and it
seemed like I was the only
one that was bothered by it.
A few guys were outside
heckling girls, yelling: “
hola mami chula, adonde
vas!” Although the closed
windows and the hardened
seats protected me from
what was outside, I could
still detect a distinct sense
of misery and absence of
hope in the atmosphere.
A few minutes later,
scurrrrrrrrrrrr, the bus
came to a sudden stop
without any warning from
the bus driver.
POW! the bus door blasted
open. “Everyone get down
and shut up!” a masked man
shouted. He was tall, skinny
and wore a small black tank
top, with old denim jeans
and white, dirty flip-flops.
He was holding a black
M9 handgun sideways. I
sat there, and amidst my
immediate terror I found
myself wondering, “should
I really take a man in a
black tank top and flip flops
seriously?” Blank-faced
expressions surrounded
me, because everyone was
startled. My body was full
of mixed emotions; I was
scared and confused. My
body shifted nervously in
my seat, my hands folded as
I watched my surroundings,
corner to corner, waiting
for something to occur.
I wasn’t able to look at
anyone in the eyes, not
even the masked man. I
had lost all words and I
was defenseless. “Please
leave us alone,” another
lady cried in despair. The