I Cannot Imagine

It is one of our biggest fears while driving. José was driving yesterday on a dirt road and as he passed a stopped Microbus, a 9 yr. old boy ran out in front without looking. He tried to brake but couldn't stop in time. They rushed him to the nearest hospital (1.5 hrs away) but the boy died within 30 minutes so they turned around and took him back.

It took only minutes for a crowd of thousands to gather. He called me after they got back, weeping and asking me to pray. I asked if he was ok and through the tears he said, "Only God knows." They were ready to burn him alive in typical indigenous fashion, but thankfully the head of the Baptist association arrived and calmed them down with the words, "but if you kill him, you won't get any money." The father of the child immediately demanded Q90,000. After negotiation, José agreed to pay Q50,000 within 15 days. Mateo, the Kekchi pastor overseeing the association had brought along Q7,000 to appease the people for now.

His missionary partner Domingo called me after it was over. He was driving José home, upset that his friend had agreed to so much when he has so little. He said that maybe José would be able to sell his land or something. I was shocked that the price was so high, when funeral arrangements including tomb and casket would maybe reach the price of Q10,000.

I called a friend of mine who has a lot of connections and is the owner of a bus company to get a grasp of the cultural side of this. When I told him the amount, he seemed relieved and described it as low. He said to his buddy with him, "50,000 for a kid? Yeah Jimmy, that's a good price. Maybe he got off easy since he's poor." Apparently he knows somebody who just had to pay Q120,000 for killing a friend's kid.

It was explained to me that it doesn't matter if it was unintentional, or if it was the kid's fault, or even if it was the mom's fault who wasn't watching her kid, the crime is killing a kid while driving. That apparently means prison time, unless you can convince the family to drop the charges. The "offering" is meant to be a help to get them to that conclusion. The lawyers around here have a form all ready to go.

So we're going to try and help our friend. We have several friends in the States who know José already looking to see how they can help. José is the national with whom we work the most. He is the kindest, most trustworthy person we have met here and his heart for his own people is evident. A show of his reputation is that the association already paid Q7,000 and is looking to do more. The churches here will be taking of love offerings as well, but it takes a lot of Q5 and Q10 bills to get to Q43,000.