Tourist killed in Plaza San Martin

[allcraz]

On top of all this...just went on Infobae where at the top of the page it says "Alerta Otro ataque a un turista en Capital Federal: ahora ocurrió en Figueroa Alcorta y Austria, en el barrio de Recoleta, anticipó C5N"

I was confused at first because I thought, "Wait, it happened in Plaza San Martín," but now I realize they are talking about yet another incident today.

 

[Gringoboy]

A tragedy.
I can't remember how many times I've visited that memorial out of respect and taken photos, later wandering around the Plaza without a care in the world.
My heart goes out to his family.

 

[CarverFan]

allcraz. I went to the site but couldn't find this new incident. Can you please post a link?

 

[allcraz]

It was just an alert in red at the top of the page and now I see it's gone. ??

 

[allcraz]

Found this: http://www.minutouno.com.ar/minutouno/nota/159725-asaltan-a-otro-turista-en-la-zona-de-recoleta/

 

[nikad]

On top of all this...just went on Infobae where at the top of the page it says "Alerta Otro ataque a un turista en Capital Federal: ahora ocurrió en Figueroa Alcorta y Austria, en el barrio de Recoleta, anticipó C5N"

I was confused at first because I thought, "Wait, it happened in Plaza San Martín," but now I realize they are talking about yet another incident today.

That area is not safe to walk around unless it is a bright sunny day in the afternoon with lots of people around. THe thing is that Villa 31 got so big that if you cross F. Alcorta and go behind the railroad the Cilla is already there. And I do not think people from the Villas are all criminals and evil beings, but Villas are definitely a good place for criminals and narcos to hide behind the real poor.

 

[Crema Americana]

If Villa 31 shouldn't even be there, where should these people go? There really isn't an easy solution. If the government tries to help these people get ahead, then everyone comes out to complain that their taxes are going to a bunch of "lazy people" and "imigrantes negros de mi*rda". (Read the comment sections on Clarin.com, Infobae, etc.) If the government does nothing to help these people, everyone is shocked when one of them -- likely unemployed, no education, etc. -- decides to steal or kill. The government is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't.

I will never accept that poverty gives one the excuse to kill or harm others. I lived in poor areas where people might not have many material goods or clothes, or not much to eat, but they kept their front porches clean, heated their water in the sun, and treated each other like human beings. Stealing a camera (and killing the owner) isn't the same as stealing a loaf a bread because they're hungry. There's poor and then there's criminals. They are not one and the same.

I agree that the vast majority of villeros are good and hardworking people... they just lack education and opportunities due to their situation. There's also quite a few that don't know the meaning of work and even if given the chance, wouldn't know how to take advantage of it... preferring instead to take from someone else. Of course the problem isn't easy to fix and every country and government struggles with that fine line between order and compassion... we all have our opinions on where that line should be drawn.

What I meant by my comment was that this villa miseria shouldn't have been allowed to have started in the first place. The land isn't theirs, and the size and proximity to the city center is dangerous to the locals who live there and the tourists who visit that busy part of the city. You have luxury hotels looking down a villa... a villa that was allowed to spring up by a government that seems to be sitting on their hands. If the government is going to be damned either way, they should do something. Take one action or another, either clean it up (a tough police presence and make them live under the same rules the rest of us live under) or give them alternate housing in another area with benefits and focus on the children. What's sure not to work is doing nothing and letting criminality take over.

 

[sesamosinsal]

I will never accept that poverty gives one the excuse to kill or harm others. I lived in poor areas where people might not have many material goods or clothes, or not much to eat, but they kept their front porches clean, heated their water in the sun, and treated each other like human beings. Stealing a camera (and killing the owner) isn't the same as stealing a loaf a bread because they're hungry. There's poor and then there's criminals. They are not one and the same.

They are not the same, but they are inextricably linked. Someone who has nothing compared to some that have everything, coupled with no opportunities to get ahead themselves, is more likely to commit acts like these. It is not poverty itself that causes crime, but inequality. Look at the Roaring 20s (high economic growth for a few, high inequality, high crime) in the United States versus the Great Depression (higher levels of poverty across the board, lower inequality, less crime).

And not that it proves the point, but it is ironic that this happened in an area where the most expensive apartment in the city is located...alongside one of the most poorest areas in the country.

What I meant by my comment was that this villa miseria shouldn't have been allowed to have started in the first place.

Well, that's easy for us to say. My grandfather's parents lived in a shack that was much smaller than many of the homes I visited in Ciudad Oculta and Villa Soladti. Of course, my grandfather and my father had an opportunity to get ahead, whereas most of those children in Villa 31 will spend their whole lives singing songs on the subway and juggling balls in the streets for coins. My grandfather was able to move out of the shack. Will these kids ever have the same opportunity?

 

[BROOKLYN]

they should just build housing projects away from the city, give them section 8 , benefits, food stamps. hey thats what they do here in nyc!

 

[scotttswan]

problem is they got rid of all the trains so many villages no longer have a direct link to the cities and thus the villages die slowly and the people migrate to the city.