Matt, sorry dude, I know it sucks. I have never personally been the victim of a crime like this. But my brother-in-law has been robbed at knife-point twice and at gunpoint once. My sister-in-law was robbed twice. A cousin of my wife's was raped by a taxi driver one night. Many of my friend's have been robbed by groups of thugs threatening a beating.
I don't know how I've been so lucky personally, but I'm now knocking on every piece of wood I can find.
An acquaintance of mine is a Welsh cop here in Buenos Aires (the only foreigner who is a cop in the Buenos Aires according to him). He has some pitiful stories to tell about the police here. He's a crime scene investigator and has seen it all.
A friend of mine is a retired cop from Ft Lauderdale, Florida. It's not a big town, about 200K population - admittedly that swells 3-4 times that size during Spring Break. He was telling me that Buenos Aires (Capital Federal) has fewer cops patrolling the street than Ft Lauderdale. Imagine that.
Another close friend of mine lives a few blocks away from where Matt was attacked. On Uriburu at Las Heras, right across from the mall that's being renovated. Since they started the renovation, they have closed down most of that block on Uiburu and Junin (the other side), turned the lights off at night, put up barricades in front of the face of the building. There are a few cubbyholes where apparently homeless adolescents and young adults are hanging out, drinking beer, and generally being a nuisance. They have turned into estacioneros - every time I want to go park in front of my friend's apartment building now I am accosted by these guys. I asked the security guards that still patrol around the outside of the mall to keep an eye on these kids and I was told they couldn't do anything - they are outside the mall and they are only hired to protect inside.
There used to be a lot of cops in that area too, but since the mall has shut down, they have pretty much gone to other corners.
I know a couple, friends of mine also, who just moved into the area right there next to the British Embassy. My wife and I went to dinner at their apatment just a week ago. Such a peaceful, idyllic area right in the midst of a pretty noisy area. Scary to think how sinister even that area can be.
The government of Argentina needs to think more about its actual population and the safety thereof and less about how to line their pockets with money. With no discouragement whatsoever, when the kids know that there are no cops and even those that are there aren't enough to keep the streets safe, they will walk with impunity.
I don't know how I've been so lucky personally, but I'm now knocking on every piece of wood I can find.
An acquaintance of mine is a Welsh cop here in Buenos Aires (the only foreigner who is a cop in the Buenos Aires according to him). He has some pitiful stories to tell about the police here. He's a crime scene investigator and has seen it all.
A friend of mine is a retired cop from Ft Lauderdale, Florida. It's not a big town, about 200K population - admittedly that swells 3-4 times that size during Spring Break. He was telling me that Buenos Aires (Capital Federal) has fewer cops patrolling the street than Ft Lauderdale. Imagine that.
Another close friend of mine lives a few blocks away from where Matt was attacked. On Uriburu at Las Heras, right across from the mall that's being renovated. Since they started the renovation, they have closed down most of that block on Uiburu and Junin (the other side), turned the lights off at night, put up barricades in front of the face of the building. There are a few cubbyholes where apparently homeless adolescents and young adults are hanging out, drinking beer, and generally being a nuisance. They have turned into estacioneros - every time I want to go park in front of my friend's apartment building now I am accosted by these guys. I asked the security guards that still patrol around the outside of the mall to keep an eye on these kids and I was told they couldn't do anything - they are outside the mall and they are only hired to protect inside.
There used to be a lot of cops in that area too, but since the mall has shut down, they have pretty much gone to other corners.
I know a couple, friends of mine also, who just moved into the area right there next to the British Embassy. My wife and I went to dinner at their apatment just a week ago. Such a peaceful, idyllic area right in the midst of a pretty noisy area. Scary to think how sinister even that area can be.
The government of Argentina needs to think more about its actual population and the safety thereof and less about how to line their pockets with money. With no discouragement whatsoever, when the kids know that there are no cops and even those that are there aren't enough to keep the streets safe, they will walk with impunity.
