Canadian Nomad

A week or so ago my boss told me I should lose weight to be sexier and wear sexier outfits to get more customers come into the bar. This was s big blow to my ego. I went home later that night and I was not as happy and peppy as I usually am, one of my flat mates, Big G, asked me what was up. I told him what my boss had said and he was not impressed. July 4^th my boss once again mentioned my weight and that was the night everything began.

Before my shift on July 4^th my flat mates and I went to a house party. I was not drinking because I knew I had to work in an hour or so.  Big G was distressed about what my boss had told me and wanted to have a few words with him. I told him to calm down and not to say anything to him, I did not want to lose my job at this point.

Later in the evening around 12AM once I had been working for about 2 hours, Big G and a few friends showed up. They all got some drinks and made their way to the dance floor. After dancing for a while I saw Big G talking to the other bartender, I was curious to know what they were talking about so I walked on over. Big G was asking the other bartend if my boss, Patrick, was still in the club. Patrick was in the back mopping. Once Big G found out where Patrick was I just shook my head and walked in the other direction thinking to myself “well, so much for this job”.

Next thing I know I see Big G heading towards the exit of the bar, he looked at me and shook his finger as if he knew he did something wrong. My heart started racing. I started to walk to the back of the bar towards where Patrick was, that’s when the other bartender came running up to me and yelling “YOU KNOW HE’S GOING TO JAIL NOW RIGHT?”. I started shaking and crying immediately. I told the other bartender I needed to go. He insisted that I had to stay and if I left to not bother coming back. I had no intentions on staying.

I got down stairs some of the patrons pointed me in which direction G had walked off in. I started yelling at him once I was face to face with him. I told him the cops were on their way and that he had just done something really stupid. At this point, he didn’t care about anything, he was too drunk. I finally convinced him to just make his way home. I walked over to a wall, sat down and continued crying. I didn’t know what was going to happen at this point and feared the worse.

One of the local patrons I had been chatting with all night noticed me crying and offered me a hand up from the cold cement. He walked me home and helped me figure out the dos and don’ts of dealing with the police in Utila. There’s was nothing I could do for Big G at this point in time. I did pay off the cops so they would not hurt him while he was in jail, he was also supposed to get out of jail in the morning, but Patrick has more money than I do and made sure Big G would not get out that easily.

I did not sleep that night in fear of what was going to happen to Big G and what may happen to me as well. The next morning one of our flat mates went up to see Big G in jail. It looked like he might get out later that evening on a 24h hold. No such luck. I went up to bring him some food, water and a t-shirt, but once I arrived everyone was there (Patrick’s wife, her sister, and two friends of Patrick and his wife). None of them looked impressed. Next thing I know the police are going to Big G’s cell and telling him he’s going to jail in Roatan. Patrick’s wife, Nellie, was making it out that Patrick’s injuries were especially bad and he was in the hospital in La Ceiba. She was also going on how she was scared for his life and the G was a threat to him. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what to say but I did know that I was not going to let him go alone.

I ran home and packed a bag with a change of clothes and all of mine and G’s vital information. I made as many phone calls as I could to inform all of our friends and anyone who could help of current the situation. I had a hard time holding it together; I was feeling like this was my entire fault and now G may have to do real jail time. I had not heard good things about the jail in Roatan either.

I was scared and so was G. The cops put G in cuffs and we made our way in a taxi to the ferry. Everyone’s eyes were on us. I just wanted to yell at the top of my lungs that this was just a huge mistake. Luckily, the cops were all in good humor and were very kind to G and I. I was waiting in line to pay my ferry ticket with Nellie’s sister Juanita. She was giving me her take on what had happened and over exaggerated everything. She said G approached Patrick like he was going to hug him then attacked him and looked as if he was trying to kill Patrick.

Now the true story… G hit Patrick twice, this is only after Patrick laughed in G’s face when G told Patrick it’s not appropriate to talk to me that way and ask what he had asked me to do. Patrick said “I can say pretty much whatever I want to whoever I want”, it’s understandable that G punch after saying that about me. I don’t know many people who wouldn’t have.

We arrived in Roatan at 6pm after an excruciating 5h ferry ride to the unknown. We climbed in the back of the cop truck and made our way to Coxen Hole where the jail was located. I could see the fear in G’s eyes and it killed me that there was still nothing I could do. As soon as we got to the jail they took G into the back where the cells were. I asked the cops to not put him in with the other cellmates. They did as I asked and G spent the night in the corridor outside the cells.

I left the jail and headed towards West End. I was told to go to Sundowner’s Bar and to ask for one of three people Will, Monty or Erin. I was lucky to have found Monty. Turns out his girlfriend’s, Christy, parents are the Canadian Wardens. If anything happens to a Canadian on any of the Bay Islands, they are the first to know and to inform the Canadian government. Christy took me to see them right away. I sat down in her parent’s, Bill & Danie’s, living room and gave them all the details I possibly could. In the meantime Christy and Monty went out to find me a place to stay for the night.

Bill and Danie were very informative and made every phone call they possibly could to help us out. They called lawyers, attorneys, the embassy, the hospital etc. They told me to come back in the morning and we’d discuss further and they would give me and update with the information they got back from everyone.  At this point, it was not looking good in G’s favor. If Patrick had been sent to La Ceiba, there was a possibility that because he has money he could bribe the doctor to give a false medical statement stating that his injuries were more severe than reality.

I grabbed a bite to eat and sent out some emails to G’s flat mate back at home and his girlfriend. I went right to bed after I finished, I needed to get a good night’s rest after not sleeping the night before. I had a feeling the next few days to come would be emotionally exhausting.

I got up the next morning and went to Bill and Danie’s to see if they had any news. The first thing they told me was that the medical exam turned out to be minor. I started to cry I was so relived. This was great news. I knew things good could only get better from here. Danie told me she would give me a ride up to the jail to bring G food and water. So, with a big smile on my face I went to get food, water and a pack of smokes for him.

We got the jail and Danie started talking with the Chief of police, she asked if I could see him and he looked at me and asked “Do you want to go see him?” I nodded eagerly. He then replied “No”, so I pouted and bowed my head down. He laughed and said “Don’t cry, you can see him”. With a big smile plastered to my face I impatiently waited for G to come to the office. He walked in and I ran to give him a hug and told him the good news. After hearing the news, he still had a look of fear in his eyes. That morning they had thrown him in with the rest of the jail mates and the “Boss” was asking him for money to have a “place” in the cell. It was still unknown how much longer he would have to stay in jail, possibly another night. Fortunately for him I had brought him smokes. Once he was sent back with them and shared the smokes everyone was now his friend.

Danie took me over to the lawyer’s office, and introduced me to Pamela. Pamela had been the one who made sure the medical statement did not come back with a false statement. She threatened the doctors and told them if they gave a false statement and our doctors came back with a different report then they would be in big trouble. Pamela and I discussed everything that had happened and she told me everything that was going to happen. G was going to get out later that afternoon. It cost $2200 to get him out, but it was better than the alternative.

Pamela and I went to the Fiscal General de Honduras where we awaited G’s arrival. I was pacing back and forth looking over the balcony of the building to see if I could see G coming into the parking lot. After 10mins of waiting in came the police truck with G (in cuffs) in the back. I have never been so happy to see a police truck. I waited at the top of the stairs for G. He turned the corner and saw my face at the top of the stairs with a smile that said “I did it”. He was shocked. He thought he would have to stay in jail for much longer than it took. He was out within the hour after his arrival at the Fiscal.

Pamela gave us a ride back to jail to collect G’s passport and other possessions. She then gave us a ride to the hotel I had stayed the previous night at. After G showered, four times, to get the smell of prison off of him I took him to meet the people behind the scenes helping him get out as quickly as possible. Everyone was in good humor and pleased to meet the man they had been trying to save the last couple days.

We went out for dinner and drinks with Christy and Monty that night. I have never seen a smile as big as the one G had one his face that night. He couldn’t be happier to be out. I was also very happy, I was proud of what I had accomplished and I now know that even in the stickiest of situations I can prevail.

Tags: adventure, Friends, Honduras, jail, justice, work

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 10th, 2010 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.