http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Former+Alexandria+resident+rickshaw+nightmare+China+ends+with+settlement/8770085/story.html
Former Alexandria, Ont. resident’s rickshaw nightmare in China ends with $10,000 settlement
OTTAWA — After three days of nerve-racking negotiation he says verged on “blackmail,” a former Alexandria, Ont., resident trapped in China can finally leave after he struck a deal with the family of a woman injured in a moped crash.Jacob Gerow, 19, said the woman’s family in the rural town of Huangshan claimed Gerow should pay $20,000 for medical expenses.
“It’s definitely the most emotional thing I’ve gone through,” Gerow said Friday in an interview from China. “It’s like blackmail, ransom and a million other weird things all at the same time.”
Gerow had just arrived in Huangshan on Tuesday when he hired a “pedal taxi,” or a rickshaw to drive him from the train station.
Gerow noticed the rickshaw operator was tired so he offered to take over.
As he drove along, a 61-year-old woman on a moped cut in front of him.
Gerow said he had no control over the rickshaw — the brakes didn’t work, causing him to slam into the woman’s moped. She fell and hurt her knee, Gerow said, but the extent of her injuries were never really known.
Gerow, a Mcgill University student, said the woman’s family members tried to intimidate him into paying them by surrounding the hotel he was staying at.
Gerow said he feared for his safety and worried about what would happen if he tried to leave.
The family of the rickshaw operator also “stalked” Gerow, he said. If he left, they would be forced to foot the bill for the woman’s medical expenses.
“They avoid any sort of law,” Gerow said. “They just use their own tactics to get whatever they need.”
The police were no help to Gerow, he said. They told him to do the right thing and pay the money so he wouldn’t force two families into financial ruin.
But legally, Gerow did not have to stay in China. He was not charged by police for the crash.
Still, he tried to negotiate a settlement, which soon became exhausting.
The woman’s family repeatedly demanded $20,000 and wouldn’t budge, Gerow said.
“It’s like screaming at a wall,”he said.
Gerow sought the help of a lawyer and a translator who helped talk the family down to $10,000.
By early Friday afternoon Ottawa time, Gerow said he had a contract drafted and translated to outline the terms of the agreement.
He said he planned to open a bank account on Saturday in order to accept a money transfer from his mother’s colleague in Beijing. His mother was to reimburse the colleague at a later date.
Once the transaction had been completed, Gerow said he planned to travel to Beijing. His father, Aaron Gerow, said Friday from his home near Alexandria the news came as a relief.
“It’s been psychologically stressful for him,” Aaron Gerow said.
Gerow studied Chinese language and culture in a class at McGill.
Gerow wanted to experience the culture first-hand and left for China on July 15.
“You think you know China from studying it in university, but I’ve learned so much about cultural norms that most people don’t have to deal with,” Gerow said. “You don’t have to negotiate so much in Canada.”
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