Do fears of crime in Argentina reflect reality?

[Moxon]

Buenos Aires is no safer, or no more dangerous than virtually anywhere in the world these days

No safer than Somalia? No more dangerous than Switzerland, Japan? Come on, this is a cop out, say something instead of this relativistic madness.

 

[Joe]

None of us want to be the proverbial "Ugly American" by insulting their host country. A sentiment I can readily understand. Any foreigner who meets an Argentine and then proceeds to lecture them on crime, dog poo or how bland their food is, is indeed being extremely rude and insensitive.

But hopefully this forum is about exchanging real information, correct information - not for demonstrating our political correctness...

 

[Liam3494]

I am not saying that BA is less safe or more safe than Dublin, or Somalia - what I am trying to say, obviously not very well, is that there is a danger of over-stating the position in BA, and putting people off.

Anyone with any sense will know that in any city in the world, there are areas that are unsafe compared to others. Geneva is no different to London, Paris to Tokyo... In general, there are, also obviously, some places worse than others. The point I am trying to make, as someone who is learning to love BA as a newcomer, and admittedly not yet in permanent residence, is that I genuinely believe that the paranoia that relates to security here is self propagating, and that anyone reading some, and I stress some, of the posts here would fear that the whole city/country is lawless and nobody is safe - anywhere. I don't believe its that bad by any stretch of the imagination, but as I stated before, if you have been a victim, then you will have a different perspective, but that goes for being a victim anywhere.

I have no political agenda to play in lecturing anyone on crime, but as Joe says, this forum allows us to express views, information, ideas, and the title of this thread has provoked a very interesting debate, and a range of views....

Now, don't get me started on dog poo! That is a debate I can lecture on - and if the health issues associated with feces is being rude - then I will be rude in doing so!

 

[Joe]

I don't think we are doing anyone a favor by suggesting that the crime in BsAs is "more or less" the same as Tokyo. That is simply preposterous. We are doing a disservice to newcomers by propagating such a myth, People come to this forum to get information, including what reasonable precautions to take. A young Japanese women in Tokyo may feel very comfortable walking home at night dangling her new Nikon SLR on her shoulder. I would suggest that she needs to readjust her perspective for BsAs.

 

[Liam3494]

Joe - That is NOT what I am saying - And anyone who walks ANYWHERE dangling their Nikon is being stupid. What is being said, is Take Normal Precautions - Be sensible, and BsAs is not as bleak as some would portray it to be.

 

[BlahBlah]

Joe - That is NOT what I am saying - And anyone who walks ANYWHERE dangling their Nikon is being stupid. What is being said, is Take Normal Precautions - Be sensible, and BsAs is not as bleak as some would portray it to be.

In the first world you can walk around with your nikon, besides maybe from some area's and tourist-traps.

This is just not the same in BA

 

[Liam3494]

BB - I stand by what I said - We will just have to beg to differ -

 

[BlahBlah]

And how long is your experience in BA?

 

[TomAtAlki]

Gilson Jorge, a Brazilian student of international relations, got a time-lapse image of the Argentine mood between his first visit to Buenos Aires in 2003 and his return this year to start his master's degree program.
“People appear to be much more afraid now than they were before,” Jorge said. “Now, people look scared when you walk up to them in the street.”
To Jorge, the fear seems overblown.

Who cares what "Gilson Jorge, a Brazilian student" has to say. I haven't read this whole thread so this may have been said already but I really dislike the media interviewing "the man in the street" and somehow saying that it means something.

When I first came to BA in 2006 store doors were locked (you had to buzz to get in) and women clutched their purses tight in while walking in the streets. When I was back the beginning of this year most stores had their door unlocked and open and most women just looked normal walking on the street.

Just my opinion.

 

[HDM]

So much of what is posted here is based on each individual's perceptions, experiences, history, and fundamental approach to living, that I cannot imagine how one could generalize from it.

I have lived here just about seven months, and during that time I have not felt threatened or insecure, anywhere I've been, at any time of the day or evening ... I am infrequently out and about late at night, so have no experiences reflecting what the city is like at those times. I lived in South Africa for a few years, and during that time there were four overt attempts to break into our house, I watched a car jacking that involved AK-47 assault rifles and left two dead, two of my friends were mass-robbed in the restaurant of a 4-star resort by a gang of six men with assault rifles -- a security guard outside was shot dead, major shopping malls were guarded at each entrance and exist by teams of professional guards carrying automatic rifles, and I cannot count the times that I felt a threat requiring me to act specifically. Yet, in practical terms, I was not robbed and I was not hurt during those years.

This is not to compare South Africa to Argentina, but to make a point about perceptions. Ask this same question to me when I lived in SA and you would get a wildly different answer from the one I offer here. My experiences were different. I do not know what life here was like in the weeks, months, years, or decades before I began living here; this is nothing more than a report of my experience since the beginning of January.

I have stated this before and will repeat it here. I find BAires to be a safe city with a pleasant, comfortable lifestyle, especially when compared with other cities of comparable or lesser size that I do have less comfortable experiences living in. If the time comes when someone sticks an AK47 into my face and robs me, then I will reevaluate that opinion. I would probably also be a little peeved if someone ruined some piece of my clothing with mustard or fake bird dookey, but that hasn't happened to me.

I utilize no different habits or precautions living in BAires than I did in NYC, DC, LA, London, Berlin, or Paris. I am significantly more carefree here than I ever was in South Africa.

Agreeing or disagreeing with this means nothing more than working from a different set of experiences and different assumptions about living one's life.