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Medellín, Colombia
9° 21' N 73° 37' W
Dec 22, 2005 02:20
Distance 0km

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Revolver Robbery

Text written in: English

This morning we headed to the mall with Pedro and Kamilo, where Beatriz, pedro's and kamilo's mother and our gracious host, has a pasta and pastry shop. Again the mall was very nice and except for the Spanish language and abundance of shoe shops one might as well have been in any other capitalist, developed country in the world. While there we  went to a fed ex store so that I could try and send some presents home, however to send very little was extraordinarily expensive so I had to settle for 2 postcards for 4 dollars.

 

From the mall we drove to a spot in the middle of the city which was high on a hill in the middle of the city so that we could have a great view of the middle of the city. During the ride I was pondering how safe the city was, and how our hosts had made such a big deal about the improvements in security that the recent administration had made here, when I saw something that I've never seen before anywhere else but I know happens everywhere. A stocky fellow in a green shirt, who had his back to me was shoving at a smaller older man in a button down white shirt. When I looked at the man in the white shirt's face I saw wide eyes and a shaky mouth, the man was terrified and as I watched him reach under his shirt for a money belt, I noticed the source of his fear, the man in the green shirt was holding a revolver up almost against his side. When I realized what was happening I wanted to roll down my window and shout out (there was a police officer with a mean looking automatic rifle only 30 meters back from where all this was happening), but fear kept me still. I feared that if the stocky man were aware of my presence he might turn and fire the weapon at me, which he easily could have if he wanted or cared. So we drove on and did nothing, soon after the robber can careening by on a motorcycle and I knew that he had gotten away with his crime.

 

As soon as I realized this a small kernel of anger popped in my stomach. The crime, my fearful complicity, and my sense of justice all heated the kernel to the point where it could not be stymied by fear. Where does some thug get off taking what isn't his? In broad daylight with a police officer nearby no less! I wanted to beat the crap out of this thug stop the crime from happening, but instead I had sat and watched powerless like a weakling. At that moment I wanted to be batman, not the nice batman in the campy adam west version, but the batman in the comic book who beats criminals into a bloody pulp, because he's so angry at them and at himself for letting them get away with injustice. It was not just the crime itself which I feared and hated, but my very inaction which compounded these emotions. Because I had wanted to do something but had refrained, I felt powerless and violated, and I think that these things just as much as the loss of valuable materials are part of the root of our fear of crime. I want to feel the power of controlling my things, and of controlling justice in the world, but as I found out today such a thing is not always possible.

 

To close I want to remind everyone that what happened in Columbia today is not a real representation of  the danger of Columbia. Every day all over the world, in big cities, probably hundreds of people get robbed, probably less at gunpoint, but the fact remains that a stickup happening may not be a sign of greater danger. In fact, I am sure that Columbia is a little bit more dangerous than the average latinamerican country as greater security is needed on the roads (there are lots of military checkpoints on the roads), but is it too dangerous to travel here? Absolutely Not! If you obey the laws stay within the areas protected by the national government, and don't do anything stupid, you would probably be fine, and in no greater danger than an American traveling in a foreign country. I would be wiling to bet that when Noah and I travelled to Israel 2 years ago during the height of Palestinian resistance, we were in much greater danger than we are now.