Is Argentina safe?

[Lunico]

Escapee,

If you ever come out to LA, I'll make you an honerable Mexican. That happens to me here all the time. LOL.

Lunico

[Hojo]

I can't walk 50 meters without bumping into one to three police men.

What is up with that? I guess I feel safe, but should I worry about the police?

Pop till you drop,

Hojo

[Escapee5150]

I am sitting in a restaurant drinking a coffe, then 6 Cops surround me. Out of no where. And on my last night in BA. They tell me to come outside. Everyone is watching. I am watching like it is on TV and how could this be happening. What is happening? What the heck did I do? They made me spread eagle and searched me, very rough in the crouch area by a big guy in a bullet proof vest. They all had them as usual. They pulled out my video camera out of the pocket of my leather jacket. I said "solo tourista, que pasa?". The one girl policemen saw the camera and looked to the other cops and said "no", and knodded her head "no". They then pulled out my other camera. Then another cop said "toda bien", I said "porque?", he said "routina". I said "routina?" He said "routina." So I walked back in the restaurant, threw my cameras on the table, and fell into my chair, in a somewhat freaked out state. They never did explain, but I met someone earlier that day that seriously asked me two times if I were carrying a gun, because I was carrying the video camera in my hand, in the pocket of my jacket. It did look like it could be a gun. So that is what the cops were tipped off about. I did it so people would not see my camera. You know. To be safe. Wow. I was really safe. I had six officers surrounding me. What could be more safe than that?

[VaqueroNY]

Does being in Boca at night qualify as a good idea?

These are people who go to Puente la Noria. By themselves!

[El Perro]

Not if Dickie Button is there!

[Norman Stormin]

I think its important to stay out of the parks late at night.

Starfe

An exception might be the rose garden in Palermo near the Embassy!

[Starfe]

Does being in Boca at night qualify as a good idea?

I think its important to stay out of the parks late at night.

Starfe

[Timba8]

And three were held at gunpoint a couple nights ago in Boca.

Does being in Boca at night qualify as a good idea?

[Bacchus9]

Well it's clear now why DH is living at the Mansion and out of town, even though he may not be being raped as often as he liked in the past.

I lived in Manhattan for 11 years and the rule as previously mentioned is keep your head up and always look like you're going somewhere, stay alert and steer clear of dodgy situations.

I do think Buenos Aires warrants concern even though I've walked all over Centro, Barrio Norte and Recoleta all hours without incident in the past year and a half. Inside has proven to be where the problems are. Since we're talking about living here, the relative experience of other dangerous cities isn't so relevant. Where you are is where you're at.

I just read a poll today in Nacion, around 50% of the population's main concern is lack of security. No other public concern came close. I've known a number of chicas who have been shown a weapon and held up, some in broad daylight. I've witnessed several broad daylight street thefts and maybe most menacing of all is simply crossing the street and wondering if you're going to get taken out by a bus, taxi or flip motorist or motorcycle playing chicken with your carcass.

There are the dark looks on the street that have always made me wonder who if anyone would come to your aid in a tight situation. Try approaching a cop and asking for assistance. Giving it doesn't seem to be their first impulse.

There's an unwritten rule that tourists are left alone to protect the bread and butter tourist trade, but I've seen first hand closing ranks against an outsider and you don't want to be there.

Speaking the language helps because it takes you out of the helpless category and people are more likely to think you'll understand what's going on.

In the end, stay alert, it's a great adventure but not a free ride in my humble opinion.

[Rockin Bob]

Seems to me Buenos Aires is a lot safer than a lot of places.

This drugs in the drink thing is a lot more common in Brazil. In Fortaleza it happens all the time, the girl slips something in your drink, you go back to the apartment, and wake up two days later and everything you have is gone.

I myself got pickpocketed the other day on the subway. 30 something pesos, 12 bucks.

Taxi drivers are a problem. You might find the meter ticking away at double speed. Or you'll pay him and he'll switch the bill and hand it back to you, saying you gave him counterfeit money.

To borrow a line from Hanibal Lechter. You need to trust your instincts. At the first hint of danger, you're outta there. Immediately.

In seven years of living in Brazil, I lost about 200 bucks to thieves, tops. What I gained from seven years in Brazil: priceless.

[Dickhead]

In three years living here I have been drugged 56 times, robbed 103 times, raped on numerous occasions, and even defecated on. And I met a guy who knew a guy who told me about a guy who heard about a guy who lost fifty centavos in a pay phone booth. He went to the office of the phone company to try to get a refund and they locked him in a closet and anally raped him with a broom handle, or maybe it was a utility poll.

But seriously, I have ridden the long distance buses many times and I can tell you that sometimes they ask for ID and sometimes they don't. There is no consistency at all.

[Escapee5150]

I think the best way to avoid being preyed upon in Buenos Aires or anywhere else is to avoid appearing to be easy prey.

I was so sick of dining alone mainly. The night that I was robbed that I might as well have had a neon sign saying "please rob me".

No more though.

Being able to speak spanish changes a lot.

The whole thing involed a lot of luck on their part. It just would not be duplicatable. They got really lucky. Like a 1 in a 1000 performance.

[Escapee5150]

Two others were robbed in their apartment and aparantly tiedup.

I met a girl that that happened to. The guy had a gun too. Tied and robbed.

[Escapee5150]

Never had a single problem here in 5 years and I can be quite careless in a daredevilish sort of way when drunk and sometimes sober. All of your tales, especially the part about being drugged and robbed, only exist in newspapers and far away places in my world.

I wished. Why would I make up a story that would nominate me for the royal dumbass award. It happened. Unfortunately. I lost $1700 U$S. I had just gotten $1000 AR out of the ATM, then they followed me to the restaurant. The guy asked me the time like he was not interested in me and that was a key move he made. Then he heard my accent and said "a donde sos?" I said from Dallas, and he said, "oh my sister is from Dallas". She came over and pulled out here driver's license and it said from "Plano, TX", a suburb of Dallas. She said she worked for the Dallas Morning News Latino Section. Their story was really perfect, they executed very well. I was already a bit drunk. I don't drink wine, and I thought it must be the wine making me feel so relaxed.

Plus, it is actually very common. Never drink anything in S. America unless you open it, or it is served by a restaurant. I knew that, but I was there with them when the waiter brought the wine. They used distraction techniques like the girl hitting on me.

I slept for 18 hours and woke up with everything gone.

It took me a week to get over the drugs and I still had to be here another 3 weeks. But being BsAs, I was panicking that I had to leave in only 3 weeks.

And thanks guys for not harassing me about being such an idiot. I truly was, but I was lonely and just wanted to speak some english with someone. I had been there two months and was bored, and therefore, let my guard down. It's back up now!

That same trip, I also got hit by a car in Rio. HARD. VERY FRICKIN HARD. I landed hard on the hood, rolled up on to the windshield, flipped up into the air, and did like a triple luts (it was actually a single) hit another car that was parked, and landed on my feet, like a frickin cat. No breaks. Not even any bruises. But my bell was rang hard. I thought I was for sure dead. My last thought was "well, I had a pretty good life". I was happy about that last thought. And then BLAMMMM. I did not get hurt because I made an athletic move in the last split second and turned away from the car, so the bumper hit the back of my calve, and then my butt and shoulder hit the hood, which molded over the engine like cellaphane - I could feel all the engine parts through the hood. The hood gave in which cushioned the blow. I rolled up on to the windshield, and then when I slid off the side of the car, the side mirror also gave way and bent like nothing which was more cushioning. The mirror is what spun me around for my single luts.

Very lucky. I could not believe I was perfectly ok. Although a bit wabbly, dazed and confused. I told some guy that I knew could not understand English, that his country was a P. O. S. Straight to his face. He agreed.

That was a tough trip. 2005 sucked in general.

But in BA, getting hit by a car or taxi is the easiest way to die. They will drive right by the curb. But you can get mugged and robbed. Or in my case, drugged and robbed.

I talked to a guy tonight that said they were drugging people on the long term busses to other cities. Now they make you show ID and write down your DNI number, and the crimes stopped.

Be careful out there.

[VaqueroNY]

Having a sense of personal awareness and personal security is important in any major city; unfortunetly several American students here just don't grasp that concept and as a result have become victims.

Even in the good areas it just might be your luck: One of my female classmates got mugged one night after class on Zabala about 2 blocks from Cabildo. Two others were robbed in their apartment and aparantly tiedup.

And then you have the ignorant ones who ride the colectivo at peak times and get pick-pocketed, one girl lost $300pesos (a fortune to us college students) and 2 others had wallets stolen. And three were held at gunpoint a couple nights ago in Boca.

A lot has do with having both common an street sense.

VNY