Saturday, April 18, 2009

IS COSTA RICA SAFE?

Needless to say after the murder in our neighborhood last night this is the biggest question we are asking ourselves. We found out more facts that help a little bit. One biggie was the fact that the kid (19 years old) was actually apparently speaking with the guy who shot him, and seemed to know him. The other was that this kid was one of the ring that has been robbing people in the neighborhood for the past few weeks. The other was that this kid was a known trouble maker and druggy.
About two months ago in fact he beat up my daughters boyfriend. He beat him up a bit and stole his sweatshirt. The guy who runs our neighborhood park called the police, who surprised all and showed up. They made the guy give the sweatshirt back and basically slapped his hand.
Apparently he messed with the wrong person this time. On the bus coming home from teaching I saw a group of people putting flowers and writing on the road where he was shot. A lot of the neighbors are surprised that anyone did anything since the kid was so much trouble. The fact remains he was only 19, and he was still someones' son, brother, and since we are in Costa Rica, probably someones' father.
Be that all as it may, my daughter is not allowed to walk off our street after dark. Isn't that messed up? I remember that when I was 8 not 15. People should at least be free to walk to the store or to get a movie or go anywhere without worrying about "bad guys".
Of course upon reading the U.S. news it sounds like it is getting pretty wild there. Who knows?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sheesh. Sorry to hear about that event so close to home! The threat of armed robbery in my home is my major concern. Most shootings are drug-related and there is not a huge gang presence here - although if the drug war here escalates, we can expect more of that. I fear the ladrones here. But I fear the government more in the states: everything is illegal and, as you know, you just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was a pastor just beat up by border patrol cops for refusing to be searched. Other stuff... that place is creepier than this place by a long shot. We live in our fortress but it's kinda cozy. Everything has a price and all things considered, I'd rather be here.