A Thief in the Night (flight from the flaite)

This post will not make any of you very happy, but I want everyone to know what happened and learn from it. Everyone involved was ok, everything is ok, don't worry.

If you read about La Serena, this is the detailed account of the attack. If you have not, read the La Serena post first. On Saturday night when GThomas and I were exploring the city, we were attacked. We were returning to our hostel after walking around the city and decided to take a slightly different route. We were close to the Plaza de Armas, close to a festival, two or three blocks away, around people, but it was far enough. There is a strong line between the good section and bad, and we crossed it without realizing because it was a well-lit, clean area with cobblestone streets; it was nice. Regardless, we ignorantly turned onto the main drug trafficking route and were walking along when I heard a car. I paid attention to this because I was on high alert mode, because it was night, about 9:30, and there were no other car around. I looked over my left shoulder to see two men in black masks and jackets jumping out of a black SUV at exactly the same time. This image will never leave my head, it was the scariest thing I have ever experienced.

Immediately I knew they were after us, so I yelled to Thomas and began running as fast as I could. We were at a T-intersection, and I ran to the right. After a short distance I knew I was safe because I heard no one behind me. When I stopped and turned around, the men were running back to the car. I watched them drive away and ran back to Thomas, who was in legitimate shock. When I had run away, he reacted slower, not immediately realizing why I was running. He looked at me, then saw the men, and ran to the left. He had what was obviously a camera bag on his shoulder, and was slower than me, so was a very easy target. One man stopped short of him, one approached him. Knowing that he was not going to get away, he stopped, turned around, and gave the man his bag. The man had pulled out a gun and was pointing it at him, but upon receiving the bag turned and ran. I saw none of this, as I was running away.

After the attack I feared they would come back for me and knew we had to move fast. My phone had no credit left (I could make emergency calls, but I did not remember that at the time), and his phone was stolen, so we ran quickly to the plaza, where there were lot of people. We checked out a public map and saw that the police station was a block from where the attack was, but neither of us were willing to go back, so we went to our hostel and called the police from there. Thomas used a phone from other Germans at the hostel to call his credit card company and cancel his cards.

Thomas lost two cameras, one semiprofessional and one compact digital like mine, his wallet with cards, money, IDs, and his phone. But neither of us was hurt. Now it's time for my safety rant. Regarding this specific incident, I believe we both reacted in the best way possible, and that our reactions increased our chances of not being hurt. In this case, running in different directions served us well; it was the only thing that saved me from being robbed too, and increased the chances for both of us. It was also good that I immediately realized the magnitude of the situation, so we were less surprised and were not attacked by force from behind. Also, Thomas did well by stopping before the man reached him, which increased his chances of not being tackled or otherwise forced to stop. Giving up his bag immediately was also good. What was not good was our location. We should have found out where the bad sections were before we went exploring. Also, carrying an obvious camera bag, and having all belongings in the same place, is a bad idea and makes you a target, increasing the chance of you losing everything.

I have some suggestions to avoid situations like this. First of all, travel with someone, preferable a group, especially at night. Always be alert, never take chances. When you go somewhere, ask at your hostel or otherwise where the good and bad areas are so you know ahead of time, because sometimes you cannot tell. Don't make yourself a target. I carry my camera in my pants pocket tied around my belt loop, so it's hard to grab, and it's always underneath my jacket or sweatshirt tied around my waist, so it is hidden. Same for my wallet. I don't often carry a backpack, but I am very careful when I do, and if there are a lot of people around, I carry it in front. Usually I carry a bag with only things I need for class, and I wear it across my body and in front where I can see and hold it, decreasing my chances of a grab and run attack. If you are not easy to steal from, you are much less of a target. I carry money in two places always, in case I have a weapon pointed at me I can surrender money and get away without being hurt and still have money to get home. Also, I am really vigilant, always aware of when I am isolated and around people who might be capable of harm for instance. And I back up everything, my pictures, I have my phone numbers saved on my computer too, photocopies of everything including ID cards, everything is backed up so that if I am robbed it is not a complete disaster. Make it so that if you are robbed, you lose a minimum of stuff. And of course I only carry what I need, and if for instance I need my passport, I carry it in a holder underneath my clothing. I recommend a money belt for below your clothes or in your pants, or something that goes around your waist, that is not visible. Girls can put money in their bra because it is well-hidden. Knowing always that as a foreigner you are a target by default is a good place to start.

In my case, it served well to run away in separate directions because the chances were better for both of us. I would think that running is generally a good idea if you think you can get away or have a place to run. If a weapon is pulled, do what they tell you, give up your stuff, it is all replaceable no matter what it is, it is not worth you getting hurt. If there is a knife pulled you might be able to get away, it depends on a lot of factors, but if it is a gun there is nothing you can do, give up your stuff, unless they try to put you in a car. If you are put in a car, your chances of surviving are not good, so fight them, even if you are hurt you probably have a better chance of fighting in this case.

I don't walk around with fear, but with caution and common sense, and a plan. La Serena is generally very safe, as are most places, you just have to know where not to go and when and take precautions. Chile is not an overly dangerous place; remember that these things can and do happen anywhere in the world. With the precautions I take, I walk around decently safe.

After discussion about how likely it was that the gun was real, Thomas and Dani and I decided that we should walk around with belts full of kitchen knives, water guns, forks, and boiling milk with which we can defend ourselves from flaites. I am quite open to this idea. Stand back, here we come! Don't mess with the gringos; they will throw harmless objects (well not the boiling milk)at you and run away in different directions.