Here's Another Crime Story.

[kerriem]

DO NOT TRUST ANYONE! NO EXCEPTIONS! My Argentina friends will back me up on that.

What a sad way to live! Of course people here can be trusted, some of the nicest things that I've ever witnessed have happened here. Yes, there are some people who do dodgy things, but that is not exclusive to Argentina. I've been robbed in Australia, I've had friends robbed in France, Italy and the UK. Bad stuff happens to some people some of the time but it doesn't mean that we should tar all inhabitants of the country with the same brush.

 

[mariposa]

We have three sets of absolutely wonderful (Argentine) neighbors. They all have keys to my house. They are 1000% trustworthy. They are our family. They look after the place when we are out of town. When we are in New York we leave a debit card with one of them so she has access to our bank account and can pay bills (like, the occasional repair guy, or our housekeeper) when needed. We have been doing this for years. Our wonderful housekeeper who has worked for us from day one has keys to the house. I trust her totally. I could not live in an environment where I can trust no one.

 

[sergio]

"The U.S. was founded by people fleeing so they could practice their religion. Argentina was founded by pirates!" So I passed that to another Argentina friend and she laughed and said, "Yes and they are still here; they just came ashore!"


Yes, but many of those who came to America were the religious folks who were part of the crazier religious sects of Europe who came to do things like burn their woman as witches... Let her know also that England emptied its prisons, sending most to Georgia and South Carolina... I suspect a few pirates swam ashore, too.... So, for every Lord, Lady and entrepreneur who came to America, there was a boat load of crazies....

The Quakers who founded Pennsylvania were pacifists, persecuted in England. They were well respected for their total honesty and integrity. The penal colonies you mentioned existed but not all settlers in those colonies were criminals!

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

What a sad way to live! Of course people here can be trusted, .. snip

I hope that works out for you.

No one would ever get the keys to my house here. Ever. And that is completely against my nature. I'm from Alabama. We never lock our doors. Company just walks in and sits down at the table.

When I arrived here in 2006 I was naive. I thought people could generally be trusted with a few bad apples for exceptions. As with many other expats I got trained on how Buenos Aires operates. I can count 4 different instances of people I know either pretty well or very well who said the exact same thing you guys are saying. "They were like family." "We were invited to their wedding." 'We went on vacations with them." "We gave them a debit card to look after the property." etc etc etc. And they got taken. One of them for an estimated $80,000US. That's an expensive friend.

Are all Porteños like that? Do I have great friends here? Yes. Is anyone getting the keys to my house? No.

 

[mariposa]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]We have three sets of absolutely wonderful (Argentine) neighbors. They all have keys to my house. They are 1000% trustworthy. They are our family. They look after the place when we are out of town. When we are in New York we leave a debit card with one of them so she has access to our bank account and can pay bills (like, the occasional repair guy, or our housekeeper) when needed. We have been doing this for years. Our wonderful housekeeper who has worked for us from day one has keys to the house. I trust her totally. I could not live in an environment where I can trust no one.[/background]

I cannot imagine having better friends or neighbors anywhere in life or anywhere in the world!!! These people, our trusted friends,have kept us going all these years, and they will be our friends for life. Not sure; are they a random selection of Argentines (or of humanity??) Or just the usual assholes?? Who cares?

What i care about; I think there are lot o really decent people out here, and I am, lucky enough to have met of some one them.

 

[Crema Americana]

I don't think anyone's saying there aren't good trustworthy people, but you have to be careful. I've had things pilfered enough times to have broken my trust and comfort when it comes to leaving acquaintances/strangers alone with my things. And you not only have to take the individual into consideration, but their friends and family as well.

We had a woman admit in an interview that her son was in jail for stealing. Yea. She might be on the up and up, but I wouldn't risk letting her case the place so she can go home and tell her family about it.

Sorry for your experience, arlean.

 

[arlean]

You all are great! Hahahaha, dirtboy, I laugh about cleaning your weapons. I thought of that and I may have mentioned I'm certified to teach several firearms classes including home protection and pistol. But if I had a pistol here, for example, I was in Montevideo and they would have stolen it. See? How do you avoid that?

One of my Argentina friends is way more paranoid than I am. He told me to get a firearm but not through the police. In other words, illegally. I'm not planning to do that, of course, but just passing on the mindset of people I know. I hear people here rant about Americans and firearms, but I realize, for the first time in my life, that a woman alone and her children are just plain victims if they have no way to protect themselves.

I have never been in this situation in my life. I learned to shoot a .45 automatic when I was 12 - quite accurately, and have never been afraid in my home because I'm always equal to the biggest man . . or two or three. At about age 15 we had what I will call an intruder (nothing was locked back then) who would not leave. He first asked directions and we told him. But then he didn't leave. He sat looking at all of us kids (my cousin and I were caring for our younger siblings.) It was scary. My cousin knew where the pistol was and that I knew what to do with it and she casually got it, hid in in the folds of the skirt she was wearing, walked back to me and when she handed it to me you should have seen that guy make a hasty exit. Who knows what the story would have been for us kids, alone in the country, without that .45.

My Argentina friend tells me it is doubtful that I, a foreigner, would even be approved by the police. He has told me some horrible stories of things that have happened here (I could tell you a few about Miami, though, I grew up there!) Again, this man is a fantastic person, but he does seem a tiny bit paranoid. Right now I'm cautious and aware of when my neighbors are here and when they are out, but not really fearful. But I do plan to stay in S. America and I plan to fix things a LOT more secure than they are here. Thanks so much for ALL your input. I plan to put it to use. Fahrenheit, it sounds as if you were home with your child. That is scary just to think about.

 

[arlean]

My Argentina friends keep warning me about my tendency to trust. I think they would agree with GS-Dirtboy. One told me lately if you have known someone two or three years and never saw them do anything questionable, then you can begin to trust them. But the majority of advice I am getting is to not trust. And I LIKE to trust people, I LIKE close relationships. I come from a country where, traditionally, you wanted to be known for your honesty and for keeping your word. Although I like it here and I am not critical--as many of you know that have read my posts--people here don't care about keeping their word. How many times have I been told "I will be there at 11 to fix that" and they don't even call. That is breaking your word and is basic dishonesty. No effort to be dependable. Again, my Argentina friends say it is going to be that way until I learn to yell. But I don't WANT to yell.

It is great to be here, to work at forming alliances with honest people, but living in a dream world will get us in trouble I think. It is hard for me to change, but I am trying. I think whoever broke in is someone I know. AND someone in the building. And I LOVE the people in my building. That indicates I am wrong about someone. I am trying to adjust to the culture as it seems to be, and not as I want it to be.

Also I'm warned that even if I trust a friend, I still have to be careful what they see or know because Argentinians love to talk and gossip and if they talk about you in their circle of friends, that could be a problem too. I don't find it something I can't cope with. I think that we are so narrow when we have only lived in one country--or at least I was - when my son wanted me to come to Argentine (don't laugh now) I thought I would see Belize, sort of, with bamboo walls and dirt floors, I have told this to people back home who told me they thought the same. Also watching the government here has opened my eyes to things going on back home. It has been a worthwhile education. I am NOT complaining. But I am trying to learn how to live successfully in a different environment.

 

[expatinowncountry]

It is amazing how culture matters so much. In my country nobody would think of carrying or owning arms, except if you live in the country side and you are into hunting. You guys talk about guns as if they were iPads. Allegedly crime rates are higher here than back home but I personally could not live with the idea that I will have to shoot someone any time soon.

 

[arlean]

Expatinowncountry, I'm amazed by you. But I don't criticize you, I know you're stating your conscience and that is valid. I also understand how everything we hear affects our judgment and our decisions. It has happened to me. But I'm trying to look at what you said with logic and not emotion or conditioning.

In my normal environment, if someone breaks in my house and intends to rape my daughter, that man will meet his maker in a hurry. It wouldn't even take thinking it through. When it comes down between my family and them, the perp doesn't have a prayer.

I can't understand anyone who would do less for their family. See what I mean? We are on different wave lengths entirely, you and I. I try to live in the real world, not one I wish for. And not one I am brainwashed into. This Argentina man (a successful, professional guy, not from Boca) has told me stories of people seeing their child or wife raped here in BA and being helpless to stop it. He told me of one case where they had a home invasion, after they went through the house for several hours they decided to rape the young girl. and who knows if they might have killed them all.

There was a firearm hidden, the father feigned a heart attack, through that managed to get the pistol and started shooting. The perps were armed and he himself took some bullets but he survived, though one was in his kneecap. But his daughter was not gang raped. He protected his family! Kudos to that man. I'd do the same and I wouldn't hesitate and I'm a WOMAN! People in my home country are being brainwashed in the same way against firearms. Chicago is a great example. Laws there made owning a firearm illegal, a gun-free zone they called it, and it is the capitol of violent crime in America. Washington D.C. (also gun-free at one time but that has now changed) used to take the prize.

So let's all use our logic. Is that what we want in our country and for our families? I'd say not.