A Gringa No Brasil

I recently attended my regional safety and security meeting with all of the other volunteers from the department of Francisco Morazán. There’s nothing like a meeting with Juan Carlos, Peace Corps Safety and Security Coordinator, to make you fear for your life.

The meetings are held annually to go over the Emergency Action Plan and review crime statistics and other safety related issues. We mostly go over incidents that have happened to volunteers, but Juan Carlos likes to throw in some other scary stats like the fact that there are 16 homicides every day in Honduras. It has one of the world’s highest (if not THE highest) per capita murder rates. Congrats, Honduras. Detroit ain't got nothin on us.

Luckily, I have yet to be a victim of a robbery or assault. My site is very safe, but since I visit Tegucigalpa quite a bit, I figure it’s only a matter of time. It’s less scary if you expect it, right? Or at least that’s what I’m hoping. And it’s not just the gringos that are being targeted. I could ask any Honduran friend and they would have at least one story of a time they got mugged in Teguz.

While I’m not quite as paranoid as Juan Carlos, I do heed most of his advice. If I’m in Teguz, I travel with as little money as possible. If I’m traveling with more than $20 or need to bring a credit card, it gets hidden in my bra. I try to avoid carrying anything valuable with me other than my cell phone – no computer, no camera, etc. – and if I have to make an exception, it gets buried deep in my bag and/or wrapped up in clothes. While on the bus, my bag always stays on my lap or in between my feet. If there’s no room and I have to put it up on the rack, I make sure I stay awake for the whole trip; otherwise someone is likely to pick it up and walk off with it while I’m dozing.

Once in Teguz, if I’m carrying anything valuable, I usually take a taxi to get wherever I need to go. Otherwise I’ll walk, only as long as I know the neighborhood. It’s only about a mile from my bus stop to the Peace Corps office, and it’s an area that I know well so I’m comfortable going on foot. At night, though, several volunteers have been assaulted near the PC office. It gets pretty sketchy after dark and is known to have a lot of tranny prostitutes hanging around.

Teguz can be pretty dangerous, but San Pedro Sula is even worse. There’s a lot more gang activity there, which leads to a lot more assaults on public transportation. In Teguz, all of the bus companies and taxi drivers pay a “war tax” or “impuesto de guerra” so that the gangs will leave their vehicles alone. If they don’t pay, it’s understood that their busses/taxis and all passengers will be held up at gun point. In San Pedro there’s a war tax as well, but I guess the gangs there don’t respect it as much as those in Teguz because whether or not you pay doesn’t seem to make a difference. I don’t usually travel through San Pedro, but if I need to, it’s always in a direct bus that doesn’t stop in all of the suburbs and slums along the way where most of the gangs reside.

Despite the ridiculously high crime rates in this country, I usually feel safe, or at least safe-ish. After so many safety and security meetings during training, I’ve come to accept it. I’ll take precautions, but I’m not going to freak out every time I step foot into the city. Gotta stay positive.