From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

Since we’ve been staying with Nancy and Abelardo (Nancy is the sister of Daniel who we met through the warmshowers network in San Diego), we learned about a new terror that families here have to live with.

At any time, you could receive a phone call telling you that your child has been kidnapped. You’re scared and not thinking straight, and you say your child’s name. The kidnapper asks for your address, telephone numbers, and then is able to cut off your phone lines so that you can’t reach anyone except him. He also asks who else lives in your home and what kind of car you have. And then money comes up: the kidnapper wants a ransom for your child. You do everything he tells you to – you comply with every demand – because this is about your child, your own flesh and blood. You panic, you don’t know what to do. And just then, your kid comes home, safe and sound, and finds you in a total state of panic and tears…

Yes, you got it – it’s a complicated form of extortion. If you’re not prepared when you answer the phone to give a fake name for your child, then you end up giving these “kidnappers” important information which they can use against you, either right then or later. But if you remember to give another name, and then the fake kidnapper repeats it, saying “Oh yes, we have your child X,” then you know you should hang up on him right away.

These kinds of threats happen frequently in Mexico City, and sometimes they even go further. Last August there was a high profile kidnapping that scared a lot of families: a child of an upper-class family really was kidnapped. The father had just sold his franchise, and the kidnapper demanded a ransom. The ransom was collected, but the “deliverer” took off with the money and the child was killed. They found his body two months later.

Why are we telling you this, when we are on the trip of lifetime and when every day we meet wonderful new people? Well, because we want to show you that not everyone in the world lives as peacefully as we do in our very privileged countries. And sometimes we take for granted the value of living in security.

Sara