Chihuahua & the Drug Wars
Since I just spent the last month in Chihuahua, the heart of the drug wars
here in Mexico, I feel just a little obligated to share with you my first-
hand observations and experiences about this difficult time for Northern
Mexico.
2 years ago, Chihuahua, the capital of Chihuahua state, the largest state in
Mexico, was a quiet university town. People were friendly and neighborly and
it was a nice place to be, surrounded by scenic pink desert mountains with a
wonderfully sunny, dry climate. Today however, after two years of vicious
fighting over territories, resulting in THOUSANDS of murders by the various
drug cartels, it is quite the opposite. Bullets and sirens can be regularly
heard over the normal sounds of salsa music, passing cars and singing birds.
Squadrons of pick-ups filled with fully-armed police, sirens flashing,
rushing down the street, are a normal sight. Fear and uncertainty rule the
streets.
I spoke at length with many of the locals, including my friend who was in his
3rd year at Chihuahua State University. Most everyone that has lived in
Chihuahua, including my friend and all of his friends, has witnessed, first
hand people being murdered right in front of them or in their neighborhoods.
Many of them have had close calls, barely missing drive-by shootings.
According to them, 5 people die EVERY DAY due to the drug wars in the city of
Chihuahua alone. 25% of Chihuahua's population is in some way related to the
drug industry, whether is selling, trafficking, or laundering money from
drugs. Many local business owners are terrorized by the cartels as they have
been known to burn down competitor's stores that have been laundering money,
as well as stores that REFUSE to launder money, hurting the surrounding
businesses as well with the violence. In the last year, several stores in a
plaza on the outskirts of town were targeted and burnt down. Many of the
still-standing businesses are struggling to make it as it has scared
customers away. One of the business owners is a family member of my friend.
During one evening when I accompanied my friend to a local bar, he and his
friends often hang out at, I was told that the owner there is facing some
difficulties with some drug dealers. They are demanding that he sell their
drugs in his bar, to which he is refusing. Due to that problem, there are
always several cops outside his bar in an attempt to protect him and it. I
think he is an incredibly brave man and hope that he is kept safe and wins
his personal battle against the drug wars.
Fear is so prevalent that it even affects the local law enforcement and other
social services. Often, there are many jokes about the police and ambulances
as it appears they can sometimes take their time getting to a scene. It is
also said that sometimes hospitals will not help patients that have been shot
as they are afraid that someone will come to the hospital to finish them off.
Many stores are kept locked during business hours and will only be opened to
"normal" looking customers. 24 hour convenient stores operate out of small
1ft square windows in the doors as soon as the sun sets. You are not able to
enter the stores. One of the women I met there was even afraid to drive her
"nice" car around town as sometimes nice cars are hijacked in broad daylight
and stolen by people with guns. She said that you were lucky if only your
car was taken and you were left with your life.
As can be imagined, all the violence Chihuahua has seen has had a devastating
effect on the social atmosphere and has made life very difficult for many.
People are now quiet and introverted, suspicious of everyone. For me, it was
incredibly difficult to strike up a conversation with anyone as everyone was
so guarded.
Regardless, the people of Chihuahua are putting on a brave front and facing
the situation rather than running away from it. As my friend put it, "We
just try to live day by day and focus on the good, enjoying our lives as much
as possible." Myself, as well as everyone else, are hoping that this
situation will not last forever. Someday the peace will return to Chihuahua
and it once more be a great place to live and raise a family.
*Please note that northern Mexico is one of the most dangerous areas
currently for reporters to be. They are targeted and killed. I have been
wanting to write this blog entry for quite some time and even though I am not
a bonfied reporter, I thought it wise to wait till I was out of the area to
post it.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Chihuahua: Livin' the Good Life: The Apt from Hell & the Monster Next Door
Life in Chihuahua, Mexico has been real. Almost too real sometimes. And
others, not real enough! (I am currently listening to music with
headphones to drown out the sound of the fussy baby that's been driving me
BATTY not quite next door, more like in the next room that's connected by a
permanently open window...Her name's Julia too. Poor little Julia is never
quite happy and always getting scolded in Spanish. I think I was the same way
when I was small.) Oh well.
So I guess that's a good enough intro for the place I've been living for the
last month! Now, in all due fairness, Canaantzi did do his ABSOLUTE BEST to
find the nicest, most affordable apartment for him, me and Carlos, his buddy.
He searched high and wide and COMBED the city, but there's just not a lot available here and then you have the added difficulty of making sure it's in a good neighborhood so you don't get accidentally sprayed with bullets! (But that's my next entry). All things considered, he did a fabulous job. There's just a few quirks with this apartment:
1.)The fridge is on crack and adding to the drug problem here. It freezes
everything solid then proceeds to thaw and flood the kitchen floor until we give it another hit...Occassionaly we've got rivers and lakes we have to paddle through to be able to cook!
2.)The apartment that it is ajoined with literally is ADJOINED. There's a
window in our kitchen and BEDROOM to the other apartment. We can shut the one in the kitchen but the one in the bedroom is the issue, really. It's a HUGE window, from floor to ceiling, covered by a thin, white curtain with smaller windows up top, one of which is missing the glass...so it's open. Now, this window opens up into the other people's KITCHEN which is really just wonderful. Most of the time our bedroom smells like frying meat. It's really spectacular when we're in bed at 11 or 12 and someone walks into the kitchen for a late night snack or glass of water and TURNS THE LIGHTS ON because guess what...OUR BEDROOM GETS FLOODED WITH LIGHT. Randomly. Whenver. All through the night. It's great when our neighbor invites his buddies over and drinks all night...they're constantly snacking and talking in the kitchen making for GREAT sleep-background noise.
3.)This brings me to our neighbor, lovingly dubbed "The Monster Next Door."
This may not be a fair nickname because the landlady really did say he was a
nice fella...I just haven't really seen much evidence of this. When I first
heard his voice I was like "What the fu...."? He had a deep voice that
sounded like Arnold Schwartzenegger who was all stuffed up. Supposedly he
speaks in Spanish but Canaantzi and Carlos can't ever understand a word he
says (due to the windows we hear everything that is said loud and clear).
Um...CREEPY. Then I saw his face and understood why his voice sounded like
that. I don't know what's happening, if he's got cancer or something else,
but it's unfortunately very badly disfigured-both of his cheaks all the way
down to the jaw are puffed out and it looks like his nostrils are embedded in his face...Hence the muffled wierd voice. So. There's that.
4.)The shower that thinks showering JUST YOU is NOT ENOUGH and insists on showering the whole room. Really, it's a problem of the shower curtain--we need to buy a REAL one and a shower nozzel that isn't ALSO on crack. Regardless, whenever you take a shower the whole room ends up showered as well and mopping up the floor is a necessary evil. (All I can think of is those cockroaches scuttling over the floor all night...ewwww). It's really very nice.
5.)The cockroaches the size of mice. I don't think I have to say anything more on the subject except for the fact that I am CONVINCED, for better or worse, that I am, IN FACT, The Cockroach Whisperer. When I talk, they listen. It's been a mystical experience.
6.)The faulty pipe of the water tank located on the roof that occassionaly floods THE BEDROOM. Last week I woke up to the sound of rain and thought it was funny because I live in a desert. I opened my eyes and it was raining IN MY ROOM. Water was POORING down from a ceiling vent flooding the room. My big backpack just happened to be under it....Ya. It was a stellar day. Carlos was awesome. He climbed up on the roof and from what we can tell, fixed it. Mr. McGuyver, I salute you!
7.)The bathroom is located at the back of the apartment through the two bedrooms. So you have to walk through BOTH bedrooms to get to the bathroom. This can be pretty inconvenient for both or all parties when the bathroom needs to get used especially at night, which brings me to my NEXT point:
8.)The bathroom light and bedroom light are WIRED TOGETHER. That's right. At ll or 12 or 1am when you wanna go to the bathroom, guess what. Everyone get's rudely awakened by bright light (unless you want to feel around the bathroom in the dark and possibly run into some cockroaches with bare feet...no thank you.)
Now. I don't want to end this entry on a bad note. There is ONE good thing about this apartment...YOU CAN FLUSH TOILET PAPER DOWN THE TOILET! (Unlike the rest of Mexico). And while it may seem that I complained a lot...in reality I do love the apartment, most of the time, for all its little quirks. They do make life interesting and me laugh. So there you have it, a little slice of what life is like living in Mexico.
others, not real enough! (I am currently listening to music with
headphones to drown out the sound of the fussy baby that's been driving me
BATTY not quite next door, more like in the next room that's connected by a
permanently open window...Her name's Julia too. Poor little Julia is never
quite happy and always getting scolded in Spanish. I think I was the same way
when I was small.) Oh well.
So I guess that's a good enough intro for the place I've been living for the
last month! Now, in all due fairness, Canaantzi did do his ABSOLUTE BEST to
find the nicest, most affordable apartment for him, me and Carlos, his buddy.
He searched high and wide and COMBED the city, but there's just not a lot available here and then you have the added difficulty of making sure it's in a good neighborhood so you don't get accidentally sprayed with bullets! (But that's my next entry). All things considered, he did a fabulous job. There's just a few quirks with this apartment:
1.)The fridge is on crack and adding to the drug problem here. It freezes
everything solid then proceeds to thaw and flood the kitchen floor until we give it another hit...Occassionaly we've got rivers and lakes we have to paddle through to be able to cook!
2.)The apartment that it is ajoined with literally is ADJOINED. There's a
window in our kitchen and BEDROOM to the other apartment. We can shut the one in the kitchen but the one in the bedroom is the issue, really. It's a HUGE window, from floor to ceiling, covered by a thin, white curtain with smaller windows up top, one of which is missing the glass...so it's open. Now, this window opens up into the other people's KITCHEN which is really just wonderful. Most of the time our bedroom smells like frying meat. It's really spectacular when we're in bed at 11 or 12 and someone walks into the kitchen for a late night snack or glass of water and TURNS THE LIGHTS ON because guess what...OUR BEDROOM GETS FLOODED WITH LIGHT. Randomly. Whenver. All through the night. It's great when our neighbor invites his buddies over and drinks all night...they're constantly snacking and talking in the kitchen making for GREAT sleep-background noise.
3.)This brings me to our neighbor, lovingly dubbed "The Monster Next Door."
This may not be a fair nickname because the landlady really did say he was a
nice fella...I just haven't really seen much evidence of this. When I first
heard his voice I was like "What the fu...."? He had a deep voice that
sounded like Arnold Schwartzenegger who was all stuffed up. Supposedly he
speaks in Spanish but Canaantzi and Carlos can't ever understand a word he
says (due to the windows we hear everything that is said loud and clear).
Um...CREEPY. Then I saw his face and understood why his voice sounded like
that. I don't know what's happening, if he's got cancer or something else,
but it's unfortunately very badly disfigured-both of his cheaks all the way
down to the jaw are puffed out and it looks like his nostrils are embedded in his face...Hence the muffled wierd voice. So. There's that.
4.)The shower that thinks showering JUST YOU is NOT ENOUGH and insists on showering the whole room. Really, it's a problem of the shower curtain--we need to buy a REAL one and a shower nozzel that isn't ALSO on crack. Regardless, whenever you take a shower the whole room ends up showered as well and mopping up the floor is a necessary evil. (All I can think of is those cockroaches scuttling over the floor all night...ewwww). It's really very nice.
5.)The cockroaches the size of mice. I don't think I have to say anything more on the subject except for the fact that I am CONVINCED, for better or worse, that I am, IN FACT, The Cockroach Whisperer. When I talk, they listen. It's been a mystical experience.
6.)The faulty pipe of the water tank located on the roof that occassionaly floods THE BEDROOM. Last week I woke up to the sound of rain and thought it was funny because I live in a desert. I opened my eyes and it was raining IN MY ROOM. Water was POORING down from a ceiling vent flooding the room. My big backpack just happened to be under it....Ya. It was a stellar day. Carlos was awesome. He climbed up on the roof and from what we can tell, fixed it. Mr. McGuyver, I salute you!
7.)The bathroom is located at the back of the apartment through the two bedrooms. So you have to walk through BOTH bedrooms to get to the bathroom. This can be pretty inconvenient for both or all parties when the bathroom needs to get used especially at night, which brings me to my NEXT point:
8.)The bathroom light and bedroom light are WIRED TOGETHER. That's right. At ll or 12 or 1am when you wanna go to the bathroom, guess what. Everyone get's rudely awakened by bright light (unless you want to feel around the bathroom in the dark and possibly run into some cockroaches with bare feet...no thank you.)
Now. I don't want to end this entry on a bad note. There is ONE good thing about this apartment...YOU CAN FLUSH TOILET PAPER DOWN THE TOILET! (Unlike the rest of Mexico). And while it may seem that I complained a lot...in reality I do love the apartment, most of the time, for all its little quirks. They do make life interesting and me laugh. So there you have it, a little slice of what life is like living in Mexico.
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