when accidents happen

i know, two posts in one day! i came to the cyber prepared to write about jabbes then something happened on the way here that i wanted to write about too so my gift to you, a blog posting two...

you often see the aftermaths of accidents here; a smashed up car next to a tree, a turned over motorcycle... accidents happen all the time here and are always really really dangerous and violent. i've seen semi trucks turned over because they were overloaded. i've seen--and been in--alhams that are full of thirty people and come sooo close to tipping. these always make me nervous because if something did happen- the alham i was in did tip over- what would happen? people would of course be hurt, some severely and some probably would be killed. forget help- the emergency services we have in the states don't exist here so anyone who couldn't walk away from the crash would probably not make it. needless to say that i travel tense and anxious until i get to my destination.

now, today i'm in a sept place on my way to podor to do a mosquito net distribution to the different koranic schools with lauren (more info on this in the next post i promise) and we're getting to one of the dips in the road. these dips are like a bridge in that they have steeped sides, but there's no body of water. as we're crossing, a two donkey charette is coming the other way. suddenly the charette driver loses control and the charette- and occupants- go over the side. donkeys and cart, everything flips over. as i was in the front seat i saw the whle thing happen and of course gasped, my heart thumping. immediately the driver stops and runs out of the car over to the charette. meanwhile i quickly open the rest of the doors (because they can only be opened from the outside in most cases) and everyone rushes out of the car to help. meanwhile a few other charettes come up, people bailing off to run over and help. luckily, no one was hurt, just a few scratches. the donkeys were okay two and were removed from the harness. five guys turned the charette over while the ladies picked up the articles that were thrown about.

while i was thankful that no one was seriously hurt, i also realized how fortunate that it was only a charette. we were only about 3 k from podor so we would be able to get help right away, but still. i am so happy that everyone rushed to help them though. no one decided to stand and watch, everyone acted which i think is a testimate to their characters. it's so important to help your neighbor here and yes, usually this doesn't ring true as much as today but when something like a charette tips over there will always be people to help. i will rest a little bit easier, though my heart is still pounding a bit.

off to go distribute nets!
jaime