Colombian fear and paranoia syndrome

Sadly I have reached the conclusion that the Colombian population suffers with what I have named the “Colombian fear and paranoia syndrome” (CFPS).  It is a syndrome characterized by a extreme paranoia that everybody is “out to get you” and fear that chances are that the worst that can happen, might very likely happen, therefore it is very important and necessary to take all the possible steps to avoid it from happening.

Take for example, the simple act of taking a taxi. There is a whole huge set of rules and precautions that one must take before and while taking a taxi. You can take the risk of stopping a car on the street, like we do in north America, but that is considered risky. The safest way is to call the taxi from your home. The company will then give you the license plate of the car and a password, which is the last two numbers of your phone. So, when the car arrives he will ask you for the code and you get in.

During the taxi trip, I have been told (by several people) that it is advisable that you call somebody from your cell phone and tell him/her what time you will be expected at your destination. This way, if you don’t show up when expected they know something is wrong and it also tells the driver that it is not a good idea to kidnap you because somebody will miss you right away.

I have also been told you can’t give the taxi drivers large bills, because they often have false bills and will give you those for your change. Talking about false bills, it is very common for people here to actually check if a note is false or not when you pay something.

I have found a taxi driver that actually has a seat belt that works on his back seat and that drives well. So I call him directly to pick me up and with that, I thought I could dispense with the CFPS for a while. One day he was caught up and couldn’t pick me up. Worried that I would have to risk getting a cab from the streets, he reviewed all the “taking cab” rules with me on the phone, including the rule “mirrale la cara” (something like look into the driver’s eyes and decide if he is nice or not).

Everyday I learn some new rule directly derived from CFPS. Today I learned that when you are in the car you don’t leave your purse on the seat, visible to somebody outside. They can break a window to grab it or something like that. You also always lock the door.

Other rules include, carrying change handy, so that you don’t show anybody how much money you have. When paying with credit card, I always have to show them a piece of ID, write down the number on the receipt, sign AND write my phone number.

To sum up, here everybody is assumed guilty until proven innocent. You can’t trust anybody and you can’t help anybody. You always have to assume the worst, and hope for the best. I can only imagine what has taken place here that has transformed the conscience of the Columbian people into this state of constant alertness and fear.