If you are looking for some happy go lucky piece of writing from me here about my travels, then I would invite you to move along. This topic I am going to attempt to write about was a surprise and a harsh realization for me. This learning was accompanied by many tears, exhausting me one afternoon after being explained from a local friend their experience of fleeing from their home in Lima, out of fear for their lives. There were pieces put together for me from different events, places, and people… from back home in USA, Colombia, and Peru.
… and then I was invited to go to the Place of Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion and a lot came together for me. I felt sad, ignorant, heartbroken, angry, and frustrated with the patriarchy and toxic (machismo) masculinity. Inside this memorial, wave after wave of emotion washed over me, I felt small, a foreigner/gringo, helpless. I felt the pain, grief, and tears of the people I know from South America and the ones I don’t know from the pictures and in their stories on the walls. I didn’t want to carry this around inside of me and thought I needed to write some of this out and see where it might take me.
There is a lot of information surrounding Peru’s political structure, economy, coca production, domestic violence, crime, and all the individuals and families and how they are affected by all of it I am going to do my best to give the most simple and complete picture from the perspective of the human condition, which is the most fascinating for me.
First, I am staying in a building in Miraflores, Lima, Peru where down the block, two truck bombs exploded, each with over 1000kg of explosives on 16 July 1992. There has been an ongoing internal conflict in Peru between the government and a guerilla group called the Shining Path. At the same time there was a Revolutionary Movement to rival the Shining Path. All this took place between 1980-1997, not all that long ago. The stories can get a little convoluted but that is the short of it. The sad part of the story is between 50,000 and 70,000 people were killed during this internal battle inside of Peru. The bloodiest since the Spanish occupation.
Second, after hearing a lot from locals about their first-hand experience with domestic violence, I had to ask the google baba guru. Up came a website with this information… “One in three women in Peru will likely suffer physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes, according to the United Nations. Violence against women is the most widespread form of violence in Peru, and it occurs across regions, income levels, education levels, and age groups”
Third, there is a significant amount of street crime that people are concerned about. Mostly directed against women, glittered tourists and people distracted by their cellphones. It’s something the local government is aware of, and they have street security on almost all street corners. Not full-on police with guns, but security who are connected to the police by their radios. This is not something I am particularly concerned about for myself yet; I try to have good situational awareness and I don’t wear any jewelry nor are any of my clothes of the Gucci or Armani variety.
Fourth, Covid protocol. Everyone wears masks here mandated by the government and people don’t make an issue of it. It does not seem to hinder anyone’s personal freedom. They even want you to wear masks outdoors on the street when there aren’t people around. You cannot get into any grocery store, market, mall, or the movies without proof of vaccination. I don’t have an issue with any of this at all. It’s a way people can protect themselves and others in the spread of this virus. Sure, I do find some of it over the top sometimes but, deep down I know that is why their covid levels are lower than most. Their health care system is free and aren’t as sophisticated as the ones back in USA and I think that has something to do with it as well.
What a dose of internal conflict, eh? It for sure is different than the endemic mass shooting problem, what happened to the native population in north America, the taking away of women’s sexual and reproductive rights, and the libertarians who think mask wearing is against the constitution back home in the USA.
This is only a small slice of what others had to pay, as a price for our/my freedom?
What does freedom mean to you? Freedom means…
- To ability to travel freely around the world, un-incumbered!
- To be able to lovingly stare at a mango to see its ripeness and see all the colors of the fruits at the local markets.
- To watch your children dress themselves in all the colors of the rainbow and see them happy and be free with all their choices.
- To tell lies to the police security to try to get inside where they do not want you to belong!
- To look at people in their eyes when they tell you their feelings, emotions, and share their tears so you can take them all into your heart.
- To be free to retire to another country, not because you speak the same language but, because the people there make you feel at home and happy with yourself and your choices.
Take that all in!
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