It happened on Friday last week. I was sitting on one of the benches in the pre-boarding hall of the Mariscal Sucre airport, on my way to Guayaquil, accompanied by eight other people who had the same destination. Personally, it’s been a while since I’ve been to that city. The trip that was scheduled a few months ago was canceled because of the constant murders, robberies, attacks, because of the violence in Zone 8. But since there is no deadline in life or a debt that is not paid, I was there to drink coffee and talk with other travelers.

It was obvious, how could it be otherwise, that the conversation would revolve around security. The people gathered were from various cities and we all wanted to know what was happening in as many places as possible. After the stories, many of them with similar nuances, others that are really confusing due to the level of violence, it is possible to have an approximate picture of how we face fear. This time I leave you with four stories, from Quito and Guayaquil, with the corresponding actions of the citizens.

1. On a layover on the way to Ecuador, after some inconvenience due to a transfer, the airline offered a direct flight to Guayaquil. The flight, as explained, was supposed to arrive at 02:30. Almost none of the passengers who wanted to go home or had work commitments were interested in landing at that time, so they decided to relax a bit and wait for the flight that arrived in the afternoon.

2. This was a conversation between two people who have dogs and have to walk them every day. One of them lives in the González Suárez area and the other in La Concepción. They agreed not to go out for a walk for more than 18 hours. None of them have a mobile phone, but they have something valuable: one wears a watch that she would not be sorry to lose and that she knows she can hand over if someone attacks her, so as not to injure her; the other admits that she has between 10 and 20 dollars which she is willing to give without objection.

3. In the El Recreo area, businesses close at 6:00 p.m. Bar owners do not want to risk being robbed. They already had bad moments when they started extorting them by paying a fee to supposedly guarantee their safety. They contain this last problem with a neighborhood organization and a warning posted in several streets that any caught ‘vaccinator’ can be burned (lynched).

4. Due to manpower issues, one of the attendees had to travel on Avenida Simón Bolívar and then take the Pan American Highway and head towards the Sierra Central Provinces. He usually did this around 04:00, but due to the outstanding issues he had to address, he decided to leave at 03:00 and take the usual route. This time he had company: four trucks were going at high speed, accompanied by two 150 vans, without license plates and tinted windows. And another slightly smaller car that stopped next to him and signaled him to slow down. The protagonist was no longer traveling at that time. This story will continue. (OR)