Tofuball
07-05-2007, 06:12 PM
I usually don't talk about my past, and this story really isn't about me, but I figure this story would be something you guys (and girl) might find interesting. I may get a lot of the details wrong, as it's been a while since I heard this story, and never told it before, also, it doesn't really have an ending.
The first part of this post will describe, in very simple and quick terms (and leaving out a lot of detail) some background you would need to understand this otherwise short story.
In some of the Dominican Republic, I observed that the relationship between different races are a great deal different then they are here. In the capital, Santa Domingo, things are a bit different then in the poorer places, like where I was, in Polo. Usually, if you're Hispanic they regard you as a Dominican, if you're white they think you're a tourist, and if you're black they think that you are a Haitian.
For those of you who aren't too keen on geography, the DR shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Dominicans speak Spanish, Haitians speak Creole. Haiti is far worse off then the DR, so a lot of Haitians run the border to find work in the DR, much like Mexicans run the border to find work in the US. However, once the Haitians get in to the DR, they are treated as sub-human; in a flood a while back, hundreds of Haitians died and a few Dominicans, and the local newspapers only reported the Dominican deaths. They usually won't deport the Haitians because businesses love the ultra-cheep labor.
Basically, this leaves a lot of the Haitians with a racial inferiority complex, not dissimilar from the racial inferiority complex the blacks in the US had during slavery and segregation (and it could be argued, some still have). However, I met a fascinating, cheerful person from one of the Haitian groups who told me that he had broken free of his previous perception of racial inferiority, and I was curious so I asked for his story.
He told me that one day when he was working in the hills, he was in a terrible accident (I forgot exactly what he told me happened). Lucky for him, a missionary pastor was driving past, as otherwise there would usually have been no cars in the area. The pastor grabbed the man and drove him to the local hospital (very far away) and by the time they reached it the worker had already lost an incredible amount of blood.
Now, keep in mind, Dominican hospitals are not like the ones in the United States. The doctors are not quite as well trained and the equipment is not exactly as sterile or up-to-date. I'm putting this nicely. Very nicely.
The hospital managed to stop the bleeding, but they did not have the right kind of blood to give to the man, and without it, he did not have long to live. The pastor offered to give his own blood, and it was the correct type. Because of this act, the man recovered. The Haitian man was amazed to hear that a white man was willing to give blood to him, as he perceived that he was sub-human, and believed that the blood was not even compatible.
The first part of this post will describe, in very simple and quick terms (and leaving out a lot of detail) some background you would need to understand this otherwise short story.
In some of the Dominican Republic, I observed that the relationship between different races are a great deal different then they are here. In the capital, Santa Domingo, things are a bit different then in the poorer places, like where I was, in Polo. Usually, if you're Hispanic they regard you as a Dominican, if you're white they think you're a tourist, and if you're black they think that you are a Haitian.
For those of you who aren't too keen on geography, the DR shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Dominicans speak Spanish, Haitians speak Creole. Haiti is far worse off then the DR, so a lot of Haitians run the border to find work in the DR, much like Mexicans run the border to find work in the US. However, once the Haitians get in to the DR, they are treated as sub-human; in a flood a while back, hundreds of Haitians died and a few Dominicans, and the local newspapers only reported the Dominican deaths. They usually won't deport the Haitians because businesses love the ultra-cheep labor.
Basically, this leaves a lot of the Haitians with a racial inferiority complex, not dissimilar from the racial inferiority complex the blacks in the US had during slavery and segregation (and it could be argued, some still have). However, I met a fascinating, cheerful person from one of the Haitian groups who told me that he had broken free of his previous perception of racial inferiority, and I was curious so I asked for his story.
He told me that one day when he was working in the hills, he was in a terrible accident (I forgot exactly what he told me happened). Lucky for him, a missionary pastor was driving past, as otherwise there would usually have been no cars in the area. The pastor grabbed the man and drove him to the local hospital (very far away) and by the time they reached it the worker had already lost an incredible amount of blood.
Now, keep in mind, Dominican hospitals are not like the ones in the United States. The doctors are not quite as well trained and the equipment is not exactly as sterile or up-to-date. I'm putting this nicely. Very nicely.
The hospital managed to stop the bleeding, but they did not have the right kind of blood to give to the man, and without it, he did not have long to live. The pastor offered to give his own blood, and it was the correct type. Because of this act, the man recovered. The Haitian man was amazed to hear that a white man was willing to give blood to him, as he perceived that he was sub-human, and believed that the blood was not even compatible.