1984 - DomRep #15

1984 - DomRep #15

On Easter Monday I took a walk, as usual, from Jose's home to the center of town. Suddenly at a corner I stopped because I heard gunfire and saw a crowd down the street faced by military dressed armed forces. I hesitated to photograph this as I had no idea what was going on and why, but then I felt a hand on my shoulder - it was a good friend of Jose - a student. He recommended to drawback into a near bar and as we entered the jalousies were immediately shut down. Here we waited a longer time till we were sure that the shooting had stopped. He explained me the background of these civil commotions: the global bank had obliged the government to adjust their finances and so the government decided to rise the prices of several basic foods and medicine. My friend guided me through small lanes and narrow paths back to Jose's house where I thanked him for his help. A day later I heard that he was arrested.

As Jose returned back from office he had "organized" a big bunch of Platanos - a kind of cooking bananas - to ensure not to be hungry and beside that we still had some meat from our Easter (calf) Meal. Later I heard that about 70 people had been killed during these troubles. Because of the unclear situation I spent almost the whole last week in Jose's house with exception of a short drive with the car through the streets of Santo Domingo with the skeletal remains of burned out cars.