Beware: Green men have arrived....

August 21, 2008
For the last six weeks or so Jarabacoa residents have been undergoing persecution. It has been very "duro" (hard) to get around town on a motorcycle without being stopped by AMET, the transit police. Yes, in July the green meanies, previously only seen in Santiago and Santo Domingo, showed up and began issuing 500 peso (US$15) tickets and impounding motorcycles. No helmet, no insurance? Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. Instead, go directly (on foot) to the Shell station where they have a "special" on insurance and helmets: 500 pesos (US$15). Note: 500 pesos would equal a day's wage for many in this area. There are additional fines for missing lights and people have actually received parking tickets!

But more and more people are traveling with helmets and we no longer feel so out of place. What is funny is that the helmet is sometimes a handlebar ornament so it can be whipped on if AMET is sited. Often the chin strap is flapping in the wind. The guys wear the helmet on top of their baseball caps. Some dominicans are finding alternate routes to avoid checkpoints or "scheduling" their trips during times when AMET seems to be off-duty. They are just waiting for AMET to leave since AMET has visited Jarabacoa in the past and left after a while. But I recently caught this posting on DR1 which makes me think AMET may be here for the long haul.

http://www.dr1.com/forums/government/77661-i-saw-part-gubmint-actually-work-last-night.html

We will wait and see like the rest of Jarabacoa, but we hope our fair city is changing for the better and taking a bite out of crime and motorcycle accident deaths, which is the leading cause of death for men aged 20-44.

Update: September 15, 2008...the Green men have left (all but a few and they don't seem to do give out fines anymore). As one Dominican said to us, they got their money and have gone home. So much for safety!