Living with Fear

We all do to some extent—fear of accidents, making faux pas, forgetting something important, fear of the unknown. Sometimes I think Guatemalans have become quite skilled at managing fear in their lives. Newspapers both serious and the so called "yellow" mags have daily or weekly crime countdowns.



On a trip to Antigua yesterday I had three conversations with different drivers (taxi and bus) and all talked about armed assaults that they or their friends had experienced. The conclusion seemed to be you have to always observe your passangers carefully and if for some reason you don't guess right you have to give them everything without a fight. As one man put it: "We can always replace what is material". I wonder to what extent fear here or in Canada is based on what is material.