Paudie and I at the last Mass in Juruena as I handed back the parish on his return from his walking pilgrimage
Paudie, as some of you might remember is the “Kiltegan” Priest who walked from Ireland, through France and Northern Spain to the ancient Pilgrimage Site of Santiago de Compostela, Tomb of St. James. It was while he was on this walking pilgrimage that I was doing duty in Juruena from July to Early October of last year.
The two men who assaulted Paudie were part of the three men I had an encounter with last September when I was in Juruena. See Blog “A lucky Escape ~ September 2006”. These three men robbed our Parish Dance Hall of its cigarettes and sweets which were stored there for the parish dance the following night. I had an encounter with them the next day. And that night one of my neighbours called the police when she saw three men tampering with the windows at the front of the presbytery. These were the same guys who two days after my encounter with them, were to rob and tie up the priest in the neighbouring parish of “Cotriguaçú”, north of Juruena. They were soon caught by the Police and we heard afterwards they were sent to jail. But the other day the Judge released them after only a few months in jail.
ESCAPE or RELEASE
Their “legal” release coincided with the escape of 9 other men from police custody on the same day in “Juina” city, an hour south of my present parish.
And so last Sunday week Paudie had an unfortunate encounter with two of these three men who after stabbing and threatening him with his life, they robbed him of his laptop computer, a camera, a few dollars and euros and some clothes including a Tipperary G.A.A. shirt {not too many of them in this corner of the world} and they stole the parish Jeep to make their getaway.
Paudie who was bleeding from his wound, was tied up, gagged, blindfolded and locked into a small room in the Presbytery. He was able to free himself in some way so as to be able signal a passer by for help. The Doctor and Police were called and the search began.
Paudie was most surprised and thankful for the support the locals of all religion and no religion, gave to him after his ordeal. The thoughts on many peoples minds were, "would the priest leave after his terrible experience and then they would have no priest living in their parish with them".
THE WRONG PRIEST
Paudie tells me they were not expecting him when they broke into the house. They kept asking, “Where was the other priest?” ME, the one that they had met on the previous September! I only hope they don’t learn that I am in "Castanheira", and come a calling!!!
Photo taken of the
"Bandidos"
while in Police Custody last September.
One thing about our little corner of Brazil is that it is very difficult to get into it and as as a consequence it is equally difficult to leave, made more difficult by the present state of the roads. In that sense our remoteness saves us the worse excesses of Brazilian Violence.
THE DANGERS OF DRINKING AND DRIVING
Unfortunately for the bandidos, they also stole a bottle of Irish whiskey and duly got drunk and they must have lost their way a number of times as the parish jeep was seen on a couple of different roads that morning. Soon they got stuck in the ever present mud and had to abandon the Jeep on the road to “Aripuaná”, the parish west of Juruena.
ARREST
The abandoned jeep was reported to the police who raced out to search the area. On the way they spied a guy having a wash in the local river and recognised him and stopped to arrest him. He ran into the forest, and they gave chase and he was caught and arrested. He told them his accomplice was gone to Aripuaná. So they all headed out to Aripuaná, with one of the police men driving the parish jeep.
After searching Aripuaná he was not found so the police headed out to return to Juruena and on the way back the police man driving the parish jeep picked up a hitch hiker, carry a bag and wearing a Tipperary G.A.A. shirt. The hitch hiker did not recognise the jeep or the notice the police man driving it and he was duly arrested. All Paudie’s property {except the shirt} was returned along with the parish jeep.
Later when Paudie met them in the police station, they told him they were very sorry for what they did to him!
On a side note;
Paudie has two large German shepherd dogs that never made one sound on the night of the break in. When he went down to the police station to identify the robbers he brought the dogs with him for the walk. And when he was leaving the police station he discovered that one of the dogs was missing. So he went in search of his missing dog. Where was it found? In the cell with two robbers!!! I’m not sure if they got any food that day!
ESCAPE
After about two days in custody, we hear now that the two men escaped from police custody stealing a firearm in the process.
SAD RUMOURS
But now the rumours have started, some say they are in the forest somewhere. Others say that people are not to be worried about them any more, what ever that means!!!! And others say that they are not worried about them because they were taken out and shot and their bodies dumped somewhere in the forest. No one is sure, but what we do know is that both the Policia Civil {Detectives} & The Policia Militar {Traffic & Crime Prevention} are telling two different stories and don’t seem to be looking too hard for their escaped prisoners!
Such is the existence of violence and institutional corruption in Brazil that few will wonder or care where the "Bandidos" have gone!
