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Vernon resident,
Nara Straw, facing police and enormous medical costs after tragic accident in
Brazil. |
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this page: English - French - Portugese
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This
web-site has been published to provide information on the case of Vernon
resident Nara Straw. Nara is suing Real Expresso, (a major bus company of
Brazil comparable to Greyhound) and Unibanco Seguros ( the insurance company
contracted when he bought the bus ticket), following a tragic bus accident
which has left Nara unable to continue his work, and faced with over 2 years
worth of dental surgeries and orthodontic treatments. |
On Febuary, 8 1998, Nara
embarked on a 5-year journey to explore the world, trading peace, laughter, and
music among the many cultures of our planet. Nara was due to return to the
Okanagan, Canada, in January of 2003.
Nara attended both Beairsto
elementary and Fulton high school in Vernon BC, and is a resident of nearby
Silver Star Mountain. In his senior year he started travelling extensively in
order to broaden horizons and discover a wider world of learning than that
represented by institutions and borders.
In the last 5 years Nara
has travelled in over 20 countries, working in many occupations to develop new
skills, and making money to travel to new destinations. He left Canada with
under $1000 and managed to live quite well through Jamaica, Honduras,
Guatemala, Mexico, U.S., France, Spain, Italy, India, Kashmir, Thailand, Brunei,
Australia, Bali, South-Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Croatia, Belgium,
French-Guyana, and Brazil (hopefully).
Each country revealed a new
experience and job; he has worked as an events organiser, shop keeper, fruit
and vegetable picker, restaurant waiter, chauffeur for a millionaire, healer,
labourer, jeweller and street performer throughout all his journeys. Nara is
known by many as a wonderful musician and organiser of street performers. 2
years ago Nara was in Croatia where he met his travelling companion Camille
Hivelin, a young woman from Paris, France; the two have been travelling
together ever since.
On December 14th 2002 Nara
and Camille suffered a tragic accident when the driver of a Real Expresso bus,
carrying 24 passengers, collided head-on with a dump truck full of sand. There
were two fatalities and numerous severe injuries. There were mostly tourists on
board. Since the accident, the driver of the bus pleaded guilty to having
fallen asleep at the wheel, and has since been removed from duty.
(See
links for A Tarde article below)
Nara smashed his teeth and
lower jaw into the seat ahead of him, an injury now said to require 2 to 4
years of dental surgery and orthodontic treatments to recover. He spent a week
in and out of hospital and another month of eating only liquids because of a
metal brace clamping his jaw shut to heal the fracture. At the time of the
accident Nara had considered returning to Canada, however, his extended leave
from Canada made him ineligible for medical coverage, and the bus and insurance
companies were not going to pay for the treatment if he was outside of Brazil.
Faced with the prohibitive
costs of his medical treatments, and considering recommendations from his
lawyer (recommended by the Canadian Embassy), Nara remained in Brazil.
Real Expresso Ltd. agreed
that Nara remaining in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil until a settlement could be
reached, was the best course of action for all parties. Real Expresso promised
to pay for the best treatment possible in Canada, flight tickets back to Canada
for the couple, all expenses needed for food, lodging, and transportation, as
well as their lawyer's wages, the fine for overstaying their Visas (if needed),
compensation for moral and aesthetic damages, and a bit of extra money for the
vacation time lost because of the accident.
Over the next 7 months Nara
and Camille were busied gathering information from specialists in both Canada
and Brazil, discovering the extent of treatments he would require. All the
while saving receipts for transportation, food, and lodging.
Since the beginning Real
Expresso wasn't very helpful with information and paying for expenses, and
after lots of arguing and endless telephone calls from his lawyer, Real
Expresso would pay the minimum needed to survive. As the dental treatments
continued, money became less frequent and was more difficult to receive. Often
the couple would have to pay for their living expenses with their own money. The
difficulties continued to the point where, Nara and Camille, now broke and indebted
to their banks, were abandoned completely August 4th 2003 by Real Expresso, and
were forced to borrow money from family members and friends to survive.
On September 9th 2003 the
Bus Company reported Nara and Camille to immigration officials and the couple
were removed from their apartment by federal police and fined 828 Reals (379
$CAD) each for overstaying their Visas. Luckily Nara's Portuguese was adequate
to request the presence of their lawyer whom explained to the police that she
had previously taken
care of everything and that they were in fact legal, whereby the two were
released.
The preliminary hearing was
held on October 14th 2003 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Real Expresso cited the
couples illegal overstay in Brazil (maximum 6 months of a year from the date of
entry) as their primary defence, asking that the case be dropped. Their lawers
claimed that a Brazilian in the same situation in Canada wouldn't have any
rights and be treated the same. (unlikely)
A parallel case against
Unibanco Seguros Insurance Company was delayed when the defence failed to
appear.
Although we are hopeful
to have Nara back in the Okanagan by Christmas, they are in need of both
public, and political support from our community.
For more information,
and/or to send letters of support, please contact:
Strawcase@winthroppublishing.org
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Description: |
Link: |
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Article
from "A tarde" about accident |
http://www.atarde.com.br/materia.php3?mes=12&ano=2002&id_materia=2244 |
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Same as
above - Transcribed (portugese) |
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Same as
above - English Translation |
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Same as
above - French Translation |
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Article
from "The Vernon Morning Star" |
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Real
Expresso Bus Company |
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Unibanco Seguros Insurance Company |
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Darryl
Stinson MP, Okanagan/Shuswap |
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Bahiatursa
(bahia tourism authority) Conceicao Maria A. Serravalle |
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Brazilian
Embassy in Ottawa |
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Canadian Consulate in Brazil |
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Canadian Embassy in Brazil |
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Brazilian Congressman: |
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Brazilian
minister of tourism: |
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