2010-10-14, 12:06 AM
Yup, we usually try to talk or think about something else to try and distract ourselves from the massive crime in our country. Of course, there are people that say that it's not that bad, that other exaggerate too much. But when people say that, I think, we've been exposed to this kind of violence daily that we've kind of adapted to it, we see it as normal. We think "Oh, they're just exaggerating, it's not that bad." What the hell? Open your damn eyes and tell me that everything that's happening around is not that bad. It's bad. It's ugly. It's terrible. I don't know what my fellow Mexicans see in the news or read in the papers or see out in the street. But what I see, is awful. It's the entire country.
Around two years ago, everything was sort of okay. Of course there were drug cartels and shootings and killings, but the parties involved were the same bad people. It was bad people killing bad people, in silence, in the shadows, in dark alleys at night. They wanted to go unnoticed, they were at least being stealthy. But suddenly, it's as if they stopped caring, the police and government stopped caring. Everyone except the citizens stopped caring. Bad guys were getting murdered in broad daylight, in busy streets, in a reckless manner. A lot of respect went down the drain. And that's when everything went to hell.
It went to hell and normal citizens started to get hit by it. The organized crime people started demanding businesses a [I don't know what the word for it is, Fiel told me once, but I forgot], think of it as an extra bill. You pay your gas bill, phone bill, water, electricity, etc. and you pay these criminals that come into your business and threaten you to pay up. If you don't pay, they set your building on fire. They kept on doing that, then they just started to kill owners of the businesses. If they were unreachable, they kidnapped their close relatives and demanding an exchange in money or to give yourself up to them. The commerce in the city started to disappear. Everyone is too scared to open a business, to maintain it and to make it grow because of these thugs.
My dad had a successful business in Juarez, but was forced to shutdown because of these idiots. Now s'hits all hard and tough, it really sucks ass. But, we're all still one big, happy family and that's one thing we're thankful for. He's told us numerous stories of how he's been followed by presumed gunmen that stopped following him only because he wasn't the person they were looking for. He's even been stopped and pulled of his vehicle once, but was able to lie his way out and avoided getting kidnapped. He's told us many stories from people he knew, that are no longer alive. There are two of his stories that are pretty much stuck in my head.
One was about this business owner that was on vacation somewhere in a beach, Acapulco or some place like that. He received a call from the criminal, they told him "So, you're in Acapulco, huh? That's where you're wasting our money? When you come back to Juarez, we're going to kill you for wasting our money." The man was just using his money to take a vacation, but suddenly the cartels act as if that's their money that he's using. When he returned to Juarez, the next night he was murdered.
The next one is just more messed up. A daughter or niece of one of my dad's friends was happily driving, tra la la la la, when suddenly, the car in front of her just stopped a bit before traffic light. It just stayed there, the light was green. There were two people inside the car in front of her. She didn't honk, she didn't pass 'em, she just stayed right there, behind the car, not moving or making a ruckus. I think it was around five minutes, when the driver of the car in front of her got out and walked towards her. He told her "You just made me win a bet between my friend (the passenger) and I. If you passed us or honked, we were going to shoot you." He showed her the gun and then gave her around some cash (around $5,000 (USD), I think). And they drove off.
I have no idea what the f'uck happened with this place, but cartels and criminals started targeting normal people, people that had nothing to do with crimes or drugs. They were innocent people that got shot down and killed by hooligans. Then it got worse.
Yup, it got worse. How the hell can it get worse when innocent people are getting murdered? Students and children start getting killed, that's how. It's happened a lot. Whether it be high school students having a party on a weekend at one of their friend's house or 5 year olds walking down the street with their parents. Everyone's a target. No matter who you are, they don't care. It doesn't matter what you've done, they don't care. Nobody cares. It just sucks.
The war's not in the Middle East. The war is right here and I live with it every time I go out. I can't do anything without worrying my parents. I can't go out to places with my girlfriend because there's always a chance that something awful might happen. I try not to show that I'm afraid, but it doesn't really work anymore. Each time some awful happens, I count the days until graduation. Just less than six months to go. Then I can be done with this piece of haunting s'hit that surrounds me. It sucks spending these years of my life not being able to go out peaceful, without having to worry every time I step outside my parents bar fence wrapped house. I'm not afraid of what might happen to me, I'm very scared of what might happen to the people I love. To my girlfriend. That's why I always tell her that we can have fun in a couple of years, when we're not living in this place. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. To me. To us.
I try to be as optimistic as possible, as comforting as possible to everyone around me, but it's not changing. I used to have a lot of hope that this place would change, that it would gradually start to get better. But it won't. I have lost all faith I ever had in this city. It's just not worth fighting for...
So, when you guys say that it ain't that bad. You're either not old enough to understand, aren't aware of your surroundings or are just used to it. It's horrible out there...
Around two years ago, everything was sort of okay. Of course there were drug cartels and shootings and killings, but the parties involved were the same bad people. It was bad people killing bad people, in silence, in the shadows, in dark alleys at night. They wanted to go unnoticed, they were at least being stealthy. But suddenly, it's as if they stopped caring, the police and government stopped caring. Everyone except the citizens stopped caring. Bad guys were getting murdered in broad daylight, in busy streets, in a reckless manner. A lot of respect went down the drain. And that's when everything went to hell.
It went to hell and normal citizens started to get hit by it. The organized crime people started demanding businesses a [I don't know what the word for it is, Fiel told me once, but I forgot], think of it as an extra bill. You pay your gas bill, phone bill, water, electricity, etc. and you pay these criminals that come into your business and threaten you to pay up. If you don't pay, they set your building on fire. They kept on doing that, then they just started to kill owners of the businesses. If they were unreachable, they kidnapped their close relatives and demanding an exchange in money or to give yourself up to them. The commerce in the city started to disappear. Everyone is too scared to open a business, to maintain it and to make it grow because of these thugs.
My dad had a successful business in Juarez, but was forced to shutdown because of these idiots. Now s'hits all hard and tough, it really sucks ass. But, we're all still one big, happy family and that's one thing we're thankful for. He's told us numerous stories of how he's been followed by presumed gunmen that stopped following him only because he wasn't the person they were looking for. He's even been stopped and pulled of his vehicle once, but was able to lie his way out and avoided getting kidnapped. He's told us many stories from people he knew, that are no longer alive. There are two of his stories that are pretty much stuck in my head.
One was about this business owner that was on vacation somewhere in a beach, Acapulco or some place like that. He received a call from the criminal, they told him "So, you're in Acapulco, huh? That's where you're wasting our money? When you come back to Juarez, we're going to kill you for wasting our money." The man was just using his money to take a vacation, but suddenly the cartels act as if that's their money that he's using. When he returned to Juarez, the next night he was murdered.
The next one is just more messed up. A daughter or niece of one of my dad's friends was happily driving, tra la la la la, when suddenly, the car in front of her just stopped a bit before traffic light. It just stayed there, the light was green. There were two people inside the car in front of her. She didn't honk, she didn't pass 'em, she just stayed right there, behind the car, not moving or making a ruckus. I think it was around five minutes, when the driver of the car in front of her got out and walked towards her. He told her "You just made me win a bet between my friend (the passenger) and I. If you passed us or honked, we were going to shoot you." He showed her the gun and then gave her around some cash (around $5,000 (USD), I think). And they drove off.
I have no idea what the f'uck happened with this place, but cartels and criminals started targeting normal people, people that had nothing to do with crimes or drugs. They were innocent people that got shot down and killed by hooligans. Then it got worse.
Yup, it got worse. How the hell can it get worse when innocent people are getting murdered? Students and children start getting killed, that's how. It's happened a lot. Whether it be high school students having a party on a weekend at one of their friend's house or 5 year olds walking down the street with their parents. Everyone's a target. No matter who you are, they don't care. It doesn't matter what you've done, they don't care. Nobody cares. It just sucks.
The war's not in the Middle East. The war is right here and I live with it every time I go out. I can't do anything without worrying my parents. I can't go out to places with my girlfriend because there's always a chance that something awful might happen. I try not to show that I'm afraid, but it doesn't really work anymore. Each time some awful happens, I count the days until graduation. Just less than six months to go. Then I can be done with this piece of haunting s'hit that surrounds me. It sucks spending these years of my life not being able to go out peaceful, without having to worry every time I step outside my parents bar fence wrapped house. I'm not afraid of what might happen to me, I'm very scared of what might happen to the people I love. To my girlfriend. That's why I always tell her that we can have fun in a couple of years, when we're not living in this place. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. To me. To us.
I try to be as optimistic as possible, as comforting as possible to everyone around me, but it's not changing. I used to have a lot of hope that this place would change, that it would gradually start to get better. But it won't. I have lost all faith I ever had in this city. It's just not worth fighting for...
So, when you guys say that it ain't that bad. You're either not old enough to understand, aren't aware of your surroundings or are just used to it. It's horrible out there...