Job Discussion Forums

[lozwich]

Justin, its from the hyper-paranoid Australian department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Website. You can look up your favourite country at http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/index.html

Its funny though, I can't see the bit where it says all the violence is caused by rampaging packs of displaced Colombians...

[matttheboy]

Quito is, in my opinion, a very dangerous city. It's by far the most dangerous place i've lived in or visited. I never, ever felt truly safe there at any time when i was out in the street. Justin doesn't share that opinion and that's fine. The problem BCW is not that Quito is dangerous, but that you place the blame for the entire mess on the Colombians living there. I can only assume your wife comes from the ruling class as they are the only people who make that racist assumption.

I would assume that if i said that it was the Pakis in England, those N iggers in the States or those fcking drunken abos in Australia who were responsible for all crime you would take offence. What you said was no different.

[boxcarwilly]

My wife's opinion does count as she is the only true Ecuadorian responding through me to you. She is concerned that somebody who was born there and seen the changes needs to be heard. You and I are ousiders now matter how experienced. The story below is about a middle aged lady who was kidnapped, bank account cleaned out and never seen again. People visiting Ecuador have a right to know that this is possible so that that reasonable precautions considering the violence should be taken including avoiding the Country altogether.
You really should get over the Colombian thing as you have blown it up much bigger than my original comment as if that was the only thing I had said; this does not have to be your defining moment. Help people who might be naive about visiting this beautiful but very dangerous place.


La b�squeda de Ann Pope contin�a

Redacci�n Judicial

El rostro de Stefan Pope reflejaba su dolor. El jueves se cumplir�n dos meses de la desaparici�n de su madre Jennifer Ann Pope, en Ba�os, provincia de Tungurahua.

El joven estuvo ayer en la Embajada brit�nica en Quito para hablar de los resultados de la b�squeda. Stefan, en espa�ol, pidi� ayuda: "Todas las personas que conocieron a mi madre la quieren....si tiene alguna informaci�n de ella ay�denos, para que el coraz�n de sus amigos y familiares vuelva a latir".

Stefan y su padre, David, llegaron el domingo a Ecuador para seguir el rastreo. Desde finales de enero, las pesquisas estuvieron a cargo de tres agentes de Scotland Yard y de la Polic�a de Manchester, que hoy abandonan el pa�s.

Ayer los polic�as ingleses presentaron los resultados preliminares de su trabajo. Kevin Duffy explic� que se descarta que ella haya desaparecido por su voluntad. Adem�s, se detect� a una persona de raza negra, quien realiz� varios retiros de dinero con su tarjeta de cr�dito. Ese sujeto fue grabado en el cajero de la agencia del Banco del Pichincha de Santo Domingo de los Colorados.

Tras la desaparici�n de Pope, el 9 de enero, sistem�ticamente se retir� dinero de su cuenta en las agencias del Banco del Pichincha de Ba�os y Santo Domingo. Los egresos fluctuaban entre los 400 y 200 d�lares, hasta que llegaron a 2 600. Entonces, la tarjeta fue sobregirada y se bloque� el cr�dito. Ah� tambi�n se perdi� el hilo que conduc�a al sospechoso.

Por eso, Duffy cree que las posibilidades de hallarla con vida son pocas. David Pope est� consciente de esa hip�tesis. Nadie ha llamado a pedir rescate. Pero "tenemos esperanza. Llegamos a la conclusi�n de que est� viva".

En la �ltima comunicaci�n que Jennifer Ann tuvo con su familia les dijo que hab�a llegado a Ecuador, que estuvo en Guayaquil y luego en Ba�os. Les cont�, v�a e-mail, que su intenci�n era llegar a Quito para terminar su paseo por varios pa�ses de Latinoam�rica. Les dijo que preparaba su retorno, porque extra�aba a su familia.
Esta semana, Stefan y David Pope viajar�n a Ba�os, para seguir por su cuenta las averiguaciones y entrevistarse con el fiscal.


Por su parte, la Polic�a ecuatoriana asegur� que el caso no est� cerrado. Hoy viaja un equipo de investigadores a Ba�os y a Santo Domingo para continuar la pesquisa, sostuvo el vocero Juan Zapata. Seg�n el uniformado, en el caso est�n involucrados agentes de la Polic�a Judicial y de la Interpol. "No podemos asegurar que hay pocas esperanzas de encontrar a la mujer, lo haremos cuando tengamos suficientes evidencias".

La Embajada brit�nica tambi�n asever� que la investigaci�n continuar� hasta tener un resultado. Lo mismo esperan Stefan y David, quienes estar�n un mes en el pa�s.

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[turtlefunk]

Okay....I want to thank everyone for the feedback.

From my point of view, I am with Justin on this one. Safety is all relative. I believe if you stay aware of your surroundings and have a good head on your shoulders then you should be fine. And yes, luck plays a role.

I, myself, was born and raised in a third world country so I understand the struggles in everyday life and the effects of poverty on the local crime rate.

Boxcarwilly - how long ago did you teach at CEC-EPN? and how long did you stay with the program?

[MO39]

I wonder what Boxcarwilly's agenda is. Why is he so eager to let us know about horrible things that have been happening to tourists and others in Ecuador? It sounds as though he's trying to keep people from visiting or coming to live there. The news story about the kidnapping in Ba�os is rather frightening, but I will balance it with my memories of an idyllic week I spent there several years ago. I also remember living in Mexico City during a time when there was a dramatic increase in crime. Friends back home would write and warn me to be careful, especially when getting into taxi cabs on the street. Of course, I took sensible precautions, but nothing bad ever happened to me or to any of my friends, both Mexican and non-Mexican. The moral of this post is ...?

[boxcarwilly]

I taught there for 18 months which is 6 semesters. I know of what I speak. I was there during a significant time in the development of the School.

I honestly don't have an agenda. CEC-EPN is not a bad place and I never said so. When you get to Quito ask the locals, not the gringos, what they think of the Colombians (mostly illegal) living in their country and they will tell you how they feel which I'm afraid will make them "racist" also. I never hung around the gringos (they will be the ones wearing the rose-colored glasses) while I was there and spent my free time with locals learning the language and the customs, particularly the Indian traditions. I don't think you can be warned too strongly about safety while in Ecuador and I'll just sign off on this thread with a simple "Good luck".

For me, this thread is "closed".

[matttheboy]

[Justin Trullinger]

Dear All-
Did anybody ever say Quito was safe? Not me. And my heart goes out to Jennifer Pope and her family. I've been living here while it happened, and have seen the public concern that's followed her case...

But Ecuador isn't the only place where somebody has dissapeared. It's terrifying. But while we're getting terrified, let's not forget that things aren't perfect anywhere. In terms of crimes per capita, does QUito compare to Lima or Bogot�? Would one person's dissapearance even be news in Bogot�?

BCW- I don't really hang out with gringos either. And I've been here exactly twice as long as you were. And I'm here now, which may make my info more current...but even so, we don't need to agree. When I disagree with you, your response appears to be "my wife thinks you're a newbie." Well, my bonafides are all over this board. You can think I'm stupid if you want, but newbie I ain't.

And the fact that I spend a lot of time with Ecuadorians doesn't mean I have to share their racist assumptions about Colombians. I know this wasn't the only thing you said- but you said it. When I was in spain, it didn't put me off Moroco either. There are things you should learn from the people where you are- there are things you should try to teach them. Maybe you should have tried to teach a bit of tolerance, rather than accepting what you heard at face value.

We've got ourselves a beautiful country here. And you need to be careful in it. I would question the idea that that is unusual or unique here.

Regards,
Justin