Dominican 16 years away from home

PICHARDO · #1 02-21-2004, 11:50 AM

Hello there my DR1's buddies, I'm Dominican, was born in Santiago RD, moved to NY 16 years ago and I haven't returned to DR not even once ever since, not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't do it and still can't do it!

I came to the States as a tourist back then to buy some chic clothes for my first year of college at then UCMM now PUCMM, but life had other things in store for me, I worked at a boyhood friend's bodega, well not his but his uncle's bodega, came the time for me to return to old sweet home, this guy sweet talked me into staying here to make wads of greenbacks (Old story I Know...I Know...) and I set to work my butt off for about $325.00 bucks a week, a pretty good sum back then, Nikes were $20.00 a pair (yore), after about a year I notice the good uncle was milking the life out me, and confronted him about the 80 hours week of work and no new greenbacks to ease the pain, after some arguments we split villa, I got a good offer by a loan shark to take over a run-down bodega in Manhattan's notorious Spanish Harlem blood bath, a small store in the corner of first Ave and 105th St., you knew summer was officially here when the sirens of ambulances and police (timed to come after the last 30 min gun battle ended) vehicles announced that three or four murders were committed in the projects, well it wasn't long after, about a year, when I was held up at my store by a gang of criminals notorious because the made their calling card the body count of bodega owners in their trail, I had a 357 magnum revolver, a phyton if I recall well, and a 38 detective special in my waistband, I was very easy with the hold up until one of the suspects told the one with the gun to take me out, all hell broke loose and the tally was one bodega owner alive and well and 3 very bad guys in terrible shape, the police responded after a long while, arrested me for possession and God knows how many other things else from the shootout, they arrested two of the guys, the third one turned up DOA the next day, The DEA was very nice telling my court appointed lawyer that he was going to bring only charges for possession of the weapon and minor stuff if I helped him testify in a grand jury against the two other guys, my lawyer told me I would get not more than a year in probation and such, I pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years probation, first thing I learned was not to trust the police, the DEA and for heavens sake a court appointed lawyer, I testified against the bad guys and one of them was let go on a technicality, I had to flee for my life and lose my $170,000.00 bodega along the way either that or lose my life, when they give you a court order of protection: run for your life right there and then, at least you'll get a head start from the courthouse, unless they hand you a loaded . 44 magnum with a bulletproof vest, you see the guy that's going to take you out has the luxury of picking the time, place and way, you only pick what to wear to your funeral.

After that I had several jobs, plumber's mechanic, welder, carpenter, electrician apprentice, security guard (yep back then not background checks), delivery guy, store keeper, cashier, livery taxi driver, and God knows what else, later I found another loan shark and got into another bodega, better luck this time I sold it to some drug dealers who need it a storefront for the biz, lets just say the bodega location wasn't that great for honest working people to walk about, the next day I sold the new guy the store he got shot in a drive-by shooting', bless my lucky stars!

I thought myself Computer and such, and hope to set up a restaurant soon here in queens, God willing, but the truth is that they 9/11 events had made life to illegal aliens, like Lou Dobbs (CNN Biz)loves to call us, next to impossible, and I think a general amnesty it's all but out of the question during election year.

I swear that if I ever move back to DR I will make it exponentially hard (or at least as hard as they make it for us Dominicans to come to US) for US nationals to travel to the DR, so they can feel the frustration and terrible feelings of those that have a need to travel here or there for whichever reasons, many of you will just dismiss this notion as nonsense, but if you study the DR economy you'll find that we do trade with the US under less than perfect conditions and many of those same products and services that today originate there and are basics of US-DR import and export are equally and directly as easy to market in the vertical markets in the world today, your closest country may not be your best candidate for trade (translation), the DR lacks a responsible and experienced trade institution in today's global markets, 79% of the agro industry is under exploited to say the least, the lack of a localized industry for consumers goods is terribly a big as the sky.

My only fear is that if I go back I'll turn into a Caamano or something to that effect since power only changes hands with corruption or by the bullet there.

It's so sad to see this country lose the fabric of it's own existence the liberty that was enjoyed ever since I came here, only under the pretext of homeland security, albeit the only way we can ever achieve something like that it's to ship all these son of %$#@@ back to the their caves to read their holy Koran.

If you come across many grammatical and syntax's errors just ignore them you must remember I didn't go to school here so I write as good as I have been able to learn on my own for the past 16 years.

Ken · #2 02-21-2004, 02:24 PM

Hello, Pichardo. Your post is one of the most interesting that I have read on this board. To say you have had an eventful life would be an understatement.

pati · #3 02-21-2004, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PICHARDO

I haven't returned to DR not even once ever since, not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't do it and still can't do it!

Why is it you feel you can not return to DR?

Talldrink · #4 02-21-2004, 02:56 PM

Im confused, all that you went through you werent able to Marry some papers? tell us more about that. nice post.

PICHARDO · #5 02-21-2004, 09:38 PM

Well the reason that I can't just pack my bags and go visit you guys down there under the tropical sun is that I was unable to adjust my extended visa stay due in part in no small way to the fact that I was under a 3 year probation and had adquired a criminal record by the same token, funny part is that both guns were owned by my partner and he never explained to me that in the USA you had to be almost a cop to own one and use it? you better had a few bullet holes close to your heart to prove self deffense to a police agent looking for a nice collar(cop talk for a good arrest towards prosecution)

After making the regular rounds with several lawyers all I was told was to wait until they offered an amnesty(still waiting) and to answer the question of why I didn't get the papers by marriage to a citizen, well call me a prune but I think marriage it's too sacred and to wed a woman just to achieve a greencard it's lower than the lowest common denominator, no dice.

If it's meant to be, it will be, if not then you guys better get ready for the second coming of April 1965, some unfinished biz to take care of.

Funny, with all this homeland security and crap, you think they would smarten-up by a yard or so, yet they are raiding the janitors on Kmarts and vendors, cooks, dishwasher etc at the airports, yet we have thousands upon thousands of not so friendly America-hatin' fanatic muslims in brooklyn and across the pond in NJ, who the hell gives their enemies the keys to the pillbox and expects these guys to understand what America stands for even when they lived here and breathed the same air of freedom we do here, the lower life forms that crashed those planes into the twins lived here among us for a long time, yet the venom in their blood far outweighted the values they sought to kill that day, that day citizens and illegal aliens (as Lou Dobbs loves to call us) die together, with no distinctions or questions of creeds or race, just plain Americans die that day, time heals all open wounds yet time itself places the scar that never goes away no matter how much you try to erase it, and that scar it's eating away the most precious of things this country ever standed for generations of immigrants, that honest and hard work would always be the pillars on which a true democracy can stand against all odds.

I stick to my odds and still believe that a time will come when I can re-integrate myself to the Dominican Republic way of democracy, one which I found out to be non-existant 16 years ago, and today for all you can hope for the best, still hasn't changed because power corrupts and corruption is the key to grabbing the power, you can expect changes yes, changes for the worst, the only thing sure to come every election year for this tired and hungry country.

I guess old Hippo wants to keep eating all the lettuce by himself!

suarezn · #6 02-21-2004, 10:55 PM

Pichardo: With your rants about homeland security and the muslims in the US I don't see you having a long posting "career" in here. Anyhow, I don't believe your story. I don't believe you have been in the US for 16 years and you still don't have your papers just because you believe marriage is a sacred institution. Come on dude...you're dominican right?
Turn yourself into Caamano? Somehow I don't get the vibe you're one to care too much about what goes on in the DR when you can spend 16 years outside the country without ever visiting.

PICHARDO · #7 02-22-2004, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suarezn

Pichardo: With your rants about homeland security and the muslims in the US I don't see you having a long posting "career" in here. Anyhow, I don't believe your story. I don't believe you have been in the US for 16 years and you still don't have your papers just because you believe marriage is a sacred institution. Come on dude...you're dominican right?
Turn yourself into Caamano? Somehow I don't get the vibe you're one to care too much about what goes on in the DR when you can spend 16 years outside the country without ever visiting.

Well let's see I came on a cold (meaning the coldest thing I had felt in my entire life) january morning of 1988, I arrived aboard a Dominicana de Aviacion plane, small but sturdy, I can clearly remember the all my steps to the exit of the airport, where about 10 "Piratas" or unlicensed taxis jumped all over my single bony piece of luggage, I said "the bronx" and quickly I was put in the back of a Cadillac with about 4 others, my luggage squeezed in the trunk by some miracle, when the driver finally took off and started dropping people all over the 3 boroughs and we got into the Bronx, he asked me for the address, to which I replied: "La 800 de Concourse" he smiled wide at me and said "primera vez huh" "no existe la 800 mi hijo" , then he took me to the 800 of grand concourse in the bronx, about a block from the court house, dropped me in the sidewalk, BRRRRRRRRrrrrrr it was so cold my fingers got stuck to the handle of my bag, I proceeded to enter the building when I came across the doorman, he promptly asked me where was I going, to which I replied "apt 4N" he then looked plain seriously at me and said "buddy" "there isn't a apt 4N here, show me the address you want to go to" (my english wasn't that good, apart from the Mary and John went to the store they teached me in High school" I showed him the piece of paper I had the address written on, he said: "Well it's 800 Concourse Village west" and I was miffed by this a little (OK quite honestly I was sh*tt*ng in my pants) he pointed out to a imposing group of tall buildings in the back, and told me to go there, picked up my bag and proceeded to walk with the bones of my legs striking each other from the cold, I hit the lobby and sure enough I was home!

It had snowed some days earlier, because I could see patches of the white stuff in some rooftops, I picked up the news paper about some days later, and in the news they said somebody had found the body of a girl under the bridge or something to that effect, Ed Kotch was the mayor, and police had Grand Fury's and Valiants for the detectives, My first trip on the subway was exciting for the first 25 minutes or so, I got on the #4 line in 161st st, headed to downtown brooklyn to visit an old friend there(yep just got here and had fires under my soles to go out and explore this new world to me) whe the time came to change trains, wow! the train that pulled up was the train from hell, you couldn't tell which was the actual color of it , neither outside nor inside, where most windows were awol, the lights were out save for one emergency bulb dead center of the cart, I got to NY!

Had my first bite of the famous big mac at my local mickey D's it came in a foam container, a bun on the right with patty and ketchup, a bun on the other with the lettuce and tomatos, it was printed in the container that it was to keep the meat hot and the greens cold till you put it in your mouth, the soda was a huge dissapointment, it tasted like soap water, the fries were the icing on the cake!

Went to my first movie in times square, I paid one ticket and watched about 3 movies until my eyelids closed by themselves, walked the now extinct peep shows and live nude revue (OK...OK...I admit tohaving gone in to check them out a little), man this was NY!

Went To mall across the pond in NJ, had a lot of fun with no money to spend, the things your brains can come up with are endless, imagination is free!

Witnessed my first live homicide in the bronx, in the corner of brook ave and 138th st, Dopeland a.k.a. Calderones land, where the king of new york ruled the streets of dope sellers.

Witnessed and had the lead roll in my first robbery, I was the victim of course, little did they know that not everything that shines and is yellow is actual gold! Took me a week dare go back into the streets and subway!

Got my firts job at a local Pioneer supermarket doing deliveries and helping stock the produce line, working inside a walking box all day long, working on a outdoors freezing cold doing the deliveries!

Yeap ! NY allright!

PICHARDO · #8 02-22-2004, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suarezn

Pichardo: With your rants about homeland security and the muslims in the US I don't see you having a long posting "career" in here. Anyhow, I don't believe your story. I don't believe you have been in the US for 16 years and you still don't have your papers just because you believe marriage is a sacred institution. Come on dude...you're dominican right?
Turn yourself into Caamano? Somehow I don't get the vibe you're one to care too much about what goes on in the DR when you can spend 16 years outside the country without ever visiting.

I can't believe it myself but the more i count the years the more real it gets, I became a member about ayear ago to post a reply for somebody that wanted some info on a good hotel to stay in Santiago, since my sister was the second in command in the Camino Real and later Sheraton hotels in DR, I had some inside tracks on it, I'm not a saint but wouldn't use a woman just for papers, sadly my last relationship with the woman I loved and still do, cost me a great deal because her family had the shortminded attitude that I was after her for papers, we broke up some years back, I was involve in the formation of one political party in the Dominican Republic back in 1985-1986, it was called Movimiento de la Identidad Dominicana, Later became Partido del Pueblo Dominicano, I was a Founding member and activist, the emblem of the party was my idea, a yellow sun with rays emanating from it atop a grey background(the colors available at the time) the motto was You can't hide the sun with one finger, as in you can't hide the truth from everyone, met seldom with the son, daugther and family of the late Col. Francisco Alberto Caamano Deno, I'm the Nephew of El Chino Pichardo, my father and his brothers were very active members of the Partido Reformista before it became social Cristiano, sat on Joaquin Balaguer's lap during many meetings of the party, got to play around generals and people that still rule by cords, and was and still am anti-old parties in the DR, a muted voice because of time, but not extinguished at all, I can teach you a thing or two about the history of the DR, social, economics, political and spiritual.

You're right about one thing thus:
I can go right now to the DR, yet my future would be bleak in the actual conditions of repression and dictatorial goverments put in place there, when the president of the coutry can jail one or two or a bazilion of journalists or radio commentators for their freedom of speech, then freedom is just a mirage painted in the door to jail or worst God only knows where're the people that disappear all the time.

If only the younger generations knew their humbled and bloody beginnings, then maybe then the future wouldn't be so bleak a picture as those of us who can see the writting on the wall come to life every year, so much closer, so much destructive.

As for my rants about home land security, buddy it's a cruel joke of a plan by the present administration, that I hope and pray won't come back to bite was in the as* anytime soon, but all bets are off, and there's so little you can protect a glass house form a mob armed with stones.

You can talk to a muslim, you just can't talk the muslim out of the guy, if you had ever visited a Muslim country you'll notice right away that it's like time stood still and somebody doesn't allow for the clock to be winded at all if ever.

Funny I have been driving in all the continental USA without a real license for 16 years, imagine what a low life form with the kind of money they are able to handle can do here?

pati · #9 02-22-2004, 11:13 AM

OK, correct me if I'm wrong but it appears that you don't have legal papers for yourself but you do have papers. Which would explain why you didn't feel the urgency to "marry some papers" as a fellow poster put it.

At first I thought the possible reason for your post was because you're starting to feel the walls close in around you due to Homeland Security and wanted to return to DR. Now I'm not exactly sure what you want.

Are you just venting your thoughts on how 9-11 has made things harder for people like you or is it that you want to re-connect with your roots in DR?

badpiece33 · #10 02-22-2004, 11:32 AM

Hey buddy you can go home if you like for about 200 bucks 1 way ticket Just let me know I will buy you the ticket if you can't afford it. If you dont like the USA you can go home any day you like. Don't go on about how bad you have had it here, You could have went home any time you liked but you choose to live here. Get your papers if you want and become a legal resident or stop bitching and go home. Don't blame us for traveling to your country (legally) unlike yourself Illegally here.