Holding on to the bag

One of those things I've noticed with the people in Medellin is that they don't set down their bag on the floor in public places. When they are seated, like in the metro or in a restaurant, they put their bag in their lap and hold on to it with their hands if possible.

After a while I started noting this, and even if it is a bit less comfortable I now do the same, trying to look normal… and as I wrote earlier in this blog, I actually learned doing this the hard way...

A couple days ago I was talking with a fellow American friend here in Medellin, and he said people often tell him, "Hey you should hide that thing! Somebody might steal it!" Then he went on to say, "People here in Medellin are so afraid of everything, they think somebody is going to rob you all the time." And it is true that they are very cautious about this, and people have warned me many times as well. But then again, I've also heard many real stories about people being robbed these two years I have been here. Not to mention everything you read about in the newspapers.

But my friend went on and said "I want to live with love. If somebody wants to steal this or that, let them have it! I am not afraid! I'm not gonna let them change my way of being!"

I thought his attitude was admirable, although it is one thing for a wealthy American to say it, another for a person who might lose two months worth of income in a few seconds. We went on to discuss the legacy of the Escobar era here in Medellin, and although that man doesn't walk the streets anymore, his shadow still hovers over the town.

If love and trust just could start "beating" crime and fear in Medellin, then people might even dare setting down their bags on the floor again. And who knows, maybe somebody needs to be the first to do it.