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Author Topic: Colombia....a new challenge for me.  (Read 7835 times)
HansErich
Guest
« on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
HI guys,

I met this girl last saturday on internet (25 yo) from Barrancabermeja (Santander) and we got started in conversation.
As i am heading for Colombia in October/November we will meet in Cartagena or in Bogota.
Santa Martha is also on my list as well.

However her hometown (Barrancabermeja) seemed to be fully under control of socalled "para-m,ilitaires".

Well.....me being a German and wanting to know everything of the place gave me a shock.
If you type in "barrancabermeja" in a Goggle search you will find enough material for hours of reading.

I decided that it was better NOT to visit her in her home town.
Allthough she stated that it was not so bad as forreign press stated.
"not so bad".....by Colombian standards?Huh

Indeed more and more I get convinced by the incredible beauty of the Colombianitas.
I phoned her last night (yes my friends....7 hours time difference with Germany:-( and we talked about 25 minutes.
I must say after the Argentinian spanish Colombian spanish sounded very swfit (even for me!!) and unclear. I sure had to listen very clearly and had to ask her several times to slow down on her speed of talking. Also I noticed myself using some Portugese words myself....which she didn't understand. LOL;-)
She realy sounded very surprised that I phoned her.
She told me before she met guys through the internet (yes also some US men) but only few actualy did phone her. NONE ever visited her.....

I am very curious how this will end. I still have many questions for her. I hope she has also questions for me.

regards,

Hans-Erich.

PS: I find the stories about Colombia very intresting on this board:-)
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cancunhound
Guest
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Colombia....a new challenge for me., posted by HansErich on Jul 30, 2003

[This message has been edited by cancunhound]

I bet your gal there has a point about the bad press.  As typical with Colombian news - you'll see headlines that begin with Bogota, Cali, or in your case Barrancabermeja.  This is just where the reporter is posting the story - 99% of the time the news concerns some region far away that you'll never step foot in.  I have yet to go to Barrancabermeja, but my understanding is that it's kind of a commercial oil town and that the surrounding regions with pipelines are always hotspots - in Barrancabermeja's case I recall most of the bad press concerns paramilitaries - not guerillas (and you're not going to side up with the FARC are you?).  My 2 cents - reconsider the opportunity to visit, you already have an advantage with a local Colombiana willing to show you the ropes - safely.

As far as "Not Bad - by Colombian standards" - well I just read the headlines in todays Dallas Morning News - we're on pace in Dallas to win the award for the No. 1 big-city crime rate, including violent crime.  Heck, we're even on pace to catch up with Medellin for a global award - so I wouldn't be scared off by the bad press about Colombia, even though it's the only press you'll see.
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Michael B
Guest
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Barrancabermeja, posted by cancunhound on Jul 30, 2003

Thank you, Chief Bolton. Oh, but the thugs only control 'certain barrios', like Oak Cliff and Pleasent Grove, if you have a native friend looking after you to keep you in the 'safe' parts of town, you'll be OK in Dallas.
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Miguel
Guest
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Barrancabermeja, posted by cancunhound on Jul 30, 2003

Murder rate in Dallas in 2001 was 21 per 100,000.  Highest in U.S. was probably Washington D.C. with 42 per 100,000.  I think I've read that certain parts of D.C. have rates around 60 per 100,000.  The overall average for Colombia is about 65 per 100,000.  And there are neighborhoods in Cali and Medellin in the 200 to 300 per 100,000 range.

Let's say you live in one of those neighborhoods, where the murder rate is 250 per 100,000 persons per year. If you live there for 50 years, your chance of dying would be, maybe, 250/100,000 x 50 years = 12.5%, or 1 out of 8.  If you're male, chances of dying would be higher than 1 out of 8, as a lot more men die from homicides than women.  If you're only in the neighborhood for, say, a month, and if your chances of getting knocked off are the same as the general population (which may be a big "if"), then chance of dying would be 250/100,000 x 1/12 = .021%, or about 1 out of 5000.
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Pete E
Guest
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Murder Statistics, posted by Miguel on Jul 30, 2003

Statistics are just average event numbers.Your personal risk may be much different.Gringo living in a bad neighborhood,probably much higher than average.If your are not the typical resident your odds could be much higher.
And murder statistics don't count robbery,assault,kidnapping.The risk of all thes is also much higher.Kidnapping,probably a thousand times higher than the US.
My personal assessment of risk in Cali is if your are there a short time and use caution about where you go and what you do the risk is small.If you live there I think you take the risk of being noticed.I would bet if you lived there 3 years something serious would happen.
I saw Rand McNally risk assessment map.Canada and the US,low risk.Mecico and most of South America moderate risk.
Colmbia high risk.Some places in the middle east,including Afganistan,extreme risk.
But again it comes down to what you are doing.But doing just about anything in Colombia is much riskier than the US.
Lets not kid ourselves here.The only places I would live in Colombia would be Cartegena,Santa Marta or San Andres.And would do a little more investigation before doing that.

Pete
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cancunhound
Guest
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Re: Murder Statistics, posted by Pete E on Jul 30, 2003

Well Santa Marta was the only place in Colombia where I've heard a bomb closeby, at least it wasn't at the hotel we were staying at but I did check out the damage the next day - pretty nasty (surprisingly only 2 dead - it basically took out an entire floor of a hotel).  That was rare up there however and apparently it was the typical Colombian "targeted" violence - they got their targets.  I would not hesitate to go back - nice area.

I recall reading the story awhile back about the Colombian family that had immigrated to the US (northeast) - this was back when we had that whacko sniper picking innocent folks off at random.  They'd had enough and were packing their bags and heading back to Colombia, of course that was news returning to "Colombia" - sniper, world trade center, their comment was - "At least in Colombia we know what to expect".  So it's really all relative.
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Miguel
Guest
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Re: Murder Statistics, posted by Pete E on Jul 30, 2003

Interesting thoughts Pete -- I think you're right.
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Miguel
Guest
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Murder Statistics, posted by Miguel on Jul 30, 2003

Maybe this is one of the reasons why there are more women than men in Cali (higher homicide rate for men).
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cancunhound
Guest
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Come to think of it..., posted by Miguel on Jul 30, 2003

I need to correct your statistics example, especially your 50 year one (sorry it's my living).  It's a probability thing and it's multiplicative - so should you move to that 250/100,000 murder rate barrio, your odds of being murdered the 1st year is just that - .25% or 5 in 2000.  Now to look at surviving for 50 years, the probability of survival per year is (100,000-250)/100,000 or 99.75%.  Take that out 50 years and you get a probability of surviving homicide of 88.24%.  

Now the odds of anyone on this forum even visiting that barrio are nilch.  Sorry, enough numbers.
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Miguel
Guest
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to The agencies don't like to advertise tha..., posted by cancunhound on Jul 30, 2003

Thanks, appreciate knowing how to do it right.  Interesting that my number was close -- 12.5% vs. 12.76%.
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DallasSteve2
Guest
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Barrancabermeja, posted by cancunhound on Jul 30, 2003

Now I've read it all: "we're even on pace to catch up with Medellin for a global award"

Please!  Give me a break.  I live in Dallas.  I've been to Colombia several times.  No comparison.  The machismo here on this board about how safe it is in Colombia reeks.  

I used to be afraid to go to some areas in Dallas.  Not anymore.  I've been to Colombia.   Nothing here in Dallas even close.

You can go to Colombia 100 times, behave normal, and probably nothing bad will happen.  You can drive through the country, go backpacking, even wear a dollar sign on your t-shirt and you will probably come back on time.  

But if you ever get kidnapped in Colombia you'll have a long time to think about what you could have done to be a little safer.  That and rock checkers in the jungle will be your only recreation.  

Travel to Barrancabermeja?  Yeah, for a million dollars.

Steve
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cancunhound
Guest
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Re: Barrancabermeja, posted by DallasSteve2 on Jul 30, 2003

Sorry, couldn't resist.  I was not suggesting that he drive to Barrancabermeja.  I think we all concur the countryside is not the safest place to be in Colombia - but this constant bashing of safety in the cities is getting blown out of proportion.

As far as Dallas, you need to take a tour south of 30 if you haven't done so recently.  I've seen gunplay there and within a stones throw of a schoolyard, I've never seen that in Cali.  Check out the stats released today for Dallas and compare 'em to Cali - it's amazing.  Now those stats are for Dallas proper, the city of 1.2 million (which is smaller than Cali).  That's why most "Dallas" residents, including myself, actually live in the suburbs that we call the "metroplex".  My wife is afraid to drive through many bad parts of Dallas, I don't see that same fear in her when near the lesser barrios in Cali.

As far as Barrancabermeja, give me a plane ticket and I'm there until I see some specific accurate info that it is too dangerous for me to consider.
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DallasSteve2
Guest
Not
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Chicken!, posted by cancunhound on Jul 30, 2003

No comparison. I'd rather drive south of I-30 than around Base Aerea where my wife lived in Cali.  And the barrio where her mother lived, Dios Mio...  And Cali's mild compared to Barrancabermeja or the slums of Medellin.  

People need to know what they're getting into if they travel to Colombia.  The President of the US has never had to dodge mortar fire at his inauguration.  Like I said to my buddy one day in Cali: "You're not in Kansas anymore."

Steve
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lswote
Guest
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Not, posted by DallasSteve2 on Jul 30, 2003

n/t
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cancunhound
Guest
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2003, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Not, posted by DallasSteve2 on Jul 30, 2003
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