Cuidado, Posible Peligro*
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*Careful, Possible Danger * I'll be heading down to Colombia soon and the mere mention of my travel plans to anyone has consistently provoked the concerned and almost automatic response, "Be careful down there." If I had five bucks for every time someone has expressed worry about the dangers that allegedly plague Colombia, I could probably pay for my flight. I appreciate the concern, but I suppose it's the repetition of the phrase, "Be careful; it's dangerous" that got me thinking: How do we decide that certain places are dangerous? Based on what evidence? Why do we like to repeat news and statistics without thinking too much about them? How do we think we understand a place without being there? I suppose "Be careful" is as natural a reflex when talking about Colombia as talking about the weather is in casual conversation. But I have to ask: even in countries that definitely have a danger factor that's seemingly higher than that in our home country, what's the legitimate specter of posible peligro that should cast a shadow over our travels there? Everyone I know who really knows Colombia through the first-hand experience of living there isn't naive about the dangers that exist in the country: poverty, social injustices, and the complicated dynamics of drugs and politics, both domestic and foreign. But they're also aware that these problems tend to be confined to certain communities, and they're equally cognizant of the fact that the U.S. is not a safe haven from violence of various sorts. When I hear the cautionary "Be careful down there," I say "Thanks, I will." I find it impossible to express in words that I typically feel safer on the road than I've ever felt in any home. Impossible to articulate that the reason I travel is to understand all of us more... how human we are, how we hurt each other and why, and how we have to connect with one another in order to make this big home safer for everyone.
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Folks who don't live in New York city get the same caution in a similar tone when they say they're headed there. I can't think of even one destination in South America that didn't elicit warnings, often whole countries thought of as existing for the pure pleasure of robbing or beating unsuspecting gringos, according to folks who had been somewhere for all of a week (if at all). I hated that twinge of paranoia that almost put me off going to certain places, and I was always glad I put those fears in their place. Yes, there are true stories of thievery, etc., but balancing the wits we have acquired from life, with a willingness to see and hear and know the world and those who inhabit it invites worlds of wonders, no?
Precisely! Well-said.
Thanks, guys. Richard- the story about your dad is fantastic. Can't wait to get there!
Important to remember that the world is more complex than can ever be conveyed by a sensationalized news clip. I know someone who's been mugged in broad daylight here in innocent little Portland, ME, whereas I'm sure millions of folks in "troubled areas" everywhere have lived their entire lives unaffected by crime.
I think this is a huge issue for world travelers and will continue to be so as long as we are in the minority. Your last line says it all.
Hey! Yes, there are murders, there are various conflicts, there are a whole lot of drugs and wait, oh yes, I almost forgot to mention the kidnapping - there is that too.
I just had my father here visiting for three weeks, not bad for a guy who turned 81 while he was here, had to clamber in and out of a canoe to get to Mompos, had last been here in the early 1980s and remembers dark times for Colombia. What were his parting words?
"What wonderful people, what a wonderful place, I couldn't have been made to feel more welcome and more at ease."
It seems the worst part is that you get jaded to it. Real concerns are lost in an ocean of don't-go-there-isms.
I remember being warned about Jamaica--a warning that was based on a "high murder rate". Oh, there were lots of murders...
...deep in the ghettos of Kingston...
...politically motivated...
...that have decreased significantly since the 70's. How this applied to us boiled down to: don't pledge allegiance to the JLP/PNP while meandering through a PNP/JLP neighborhood. Check.
Good luck in Columbia!
So true.
It is funny how a few bad headlines can doom an entire nation, race, religion or continent in the minds of the majority of the people. Sadly, our modern news services report only the negative, violent or corrupt happenings on most foreign locals, and no matter how many years in the past the events actually took place, the reputation is hard to shake.
Its not like I walk down dark alley ways at night in my own home town, of only 25 000 people, why would I do it in Lima or Bogotá or Prague? People only know the world they see through that 13 inch, check that, now they are more like 42 inch, boxes that bring the world to their door each day.
Ignore them. Go forth and travel. Be thankful there are places that are not yet Mainstream.