Colombia – Critical Social Problems Part 1

Moving to Colombia?

If you watch commercials on any of the local television stations, listen to sports radio, watch the Travel & Living channel advertisements on cable television, you can easily prepare to move to Colombia despite its well-deserved reputation for violence, kidnapping and drugs. . traffic. This is not to mention the ongoing civil war between the Colombian government, paramilitary forces like the AUC, and guerrilla forces like the FARC. Let’s not forget the appalling murder and crime rates.

However, after considering posting “20 reasons not to move to Dubai” on an ELT online forum, I thought I’d try a post with a similar topic dealing with various aspects of Colombia. Now don’t get me wrong, I have lived in Colombia for the last 12 years teaching English as a foreign language with my Colombian wife. I pay taxes, health insurance and retirement through the Colombian systems. I still live here and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, but it is exactly this familiarity generated by many years living and working here that allows me to write about this country.

Here are the top five of my 20-item list and a short comment:

1. In many areas there are NO or very few government services.

The streets are riddled with potholes and the roads are often a mess, but you can drive.

During peak travel periods, multiple delays, massive traffic jams, and overloaded transportation systems and facilities are common places.

2. The climate, although tropical in most areas, can vary to extremes.

The summer months of June through August can be brutally hot in some areas and unusually cold in others. You will need a sweater or jacket in Bogotá and air conditioning in Cali, Cartagena and other cities.

3. There is the constant threat of earthquakes.

Most of Colombia, from the Pacific coast to the central highlands and beyond, has experienced devastating earthquakes that can strike at any time of the day or night. I have experienced severe morning tremors that cracked walls and roofs fell to nightly earthquakes that rendered buildings uninhabitable and caused the seemingly supernatural glow of earthquake lights to appear around the city of Cali.

4. There is a constant threat of volcanic eruptions.

Several of the many volcanoes in Colombia are in an active or semi-active state. The most notorious of them is the Galeras Volcano, located next to the city of Pasto populated by more than 400,000 people, in the southern part of the country. Evacuation warnings and “threats” have become so common that residents barely pay attention to them until ash and gas erupt from the blackened summit. The worst catastrophe in Colombia was the destruction of Armero, an entire city of more than 23,000 inhabitants, practically all dead in one night, buried under a landslide caused by a volcanic eruption more than twelve meters deep. Other Colombian volcanoes include Nevada Ruiz, also with recent eruptions, and Purace.

5. Sometimes there are frequent power or water outages.

We are dedicated to collecting and storing rainwater. That way, when the water supply “fails” or goes off for whatever reason, we still have some water available for washing, bathing, cleaning and cooking. Sometimes outages are announced. Sometimes they aren’t, catching the unsuspecting off guard. These “no water” periods can last for hours or days; sometimes you never know.

In the second part of this multi-part series, we will continue to examine what I believe are the 20 most critical issues with Colombia that keep it a “third world” country. Your comments, opinions and comments are welcome. See you in the next installment.

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