Safety

Everyone seems concerned about my safety and it’s a legitimate concern I think in a country where poverty and machismo are a fact of life and I stand out as a non-native. The majority of women and taxi drivers I met here have given me lectures on how I shouldn’t be afraid but that I need to be careful. One taxi driver wouldn’t even let me and my friend out until my brother and sister were in sight of where I wanted to be let out at the entrance to my neighborhood

Security is nearly always an issue when you travel but in some countries it more of a concern than in others. According to Lonely Planet, “Statistically, Managua is the safest Central American capital (although, considering the competition, this is no great achievement)”. (76) In my mind, Nicaragua is a bridge between the southern and northern regions of Central America. The north (Guatemala, El Salvador etc.) is characterized by high crime rates and poor economies while the southern nations (Costa Rica and Panama) have lower crime rates and more thriving economies. Nicaragua, caught in the midst of this, has the economy of a northern Central American nation but the crime rate of a southern nation. In fact, Nicaragua is generally considered the second poorest nation in the Americas. On the bright side, the gangs of Nicaragua are relatively inexperienced are not connected to the larger, more organized pan-American gangs that exist in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

If one watches the news here, one will end up convinced that this country is full of murderers and thieves. While there are a handful of them, they don’t make up the majority. But a recent set of robberies in my neighborhood have reminded me to be careful. In the weeks before Semana Santa or holy week, people are out looking for easy ways to get cash and in one week alone, there were four armed robberies in my neighborhood.

As a chele (gringa), it is obvious that I am not Nicaraguan and so it is assumed that I have money. In other words, I am a target for theft. (I have actually never felt threatened other than in an isolated event by one overly persistent man in a club.) But to reassure you all, I have compiled a list of measures I take to protect myself:
1) On the bus:
A) My cell phone is tucked into my underwear (upon the insistence of my mother)
B) My money (I never carry more than $5 if I´m going to school) is put into a school notebook, not a wallet.
C) My backpack is always carried in front of me
2) General traveling:
A) I never go anywhere alone at night
B) After about 8:00 pm, I always take a taxi
C) Only on Wednesdays when we have a late class, Emma and I walk home from the bus stop in the dark.
D) In general, I don’t go many places alone, school and places in my neighborhood excepted.
E) I have become an expert at ignoring catcalls (I don’t even flinch even if they are made 1 ft. from where I´m standing)