The 154th Episode : Japanese are sitting ducks
[September, 1999 Bogota, Colombia]
Next place to visit was Bogota, the capital of Colombia. When I presented my business trip plan to the company, the president called and said to me “Are you going to Colombia? Do you need to visit them now? Is that alright (on security)? When you’re there, don’t be in the suits and ties but in T-shirts and jeans. Don’t go around here and there…” Many cautions and instructions flew me from arrow to arrow.
I knew what he wanted to say. Bogota, the capital, was said to be one of the most violent city with high crime rates in the world in 1990’s. And Colombia was famous for its kidnapping of Japanese people. Japanese people were thought rich and the target of the kidnapping for ransom by many guerrillas. They could get the ransom easier than from the other countries’ because Japanese government/companies gave the first priority to human lives. The president’s concern was not to be able to pay the ransom even if I was kidnapped!? Did his words mean the company wouldn’t guarantee my life!?!? (lol)
The crimes by guns are daily occurrence also here in Colombia. The Colombia national football team was favourite for the championship of FIFA World Cup USA ’94, but they had eliminated in the group stage due to an own goal. And such an incident happened as the player who put in the own goal was shot down by a deadly bullet on his return home. Colombia is a major football nation. In football, they say the muzzle of the gun is sometimes pointed on the referee when the supporters disagree with the judgement.
The security was indeed so bad anyway. Not that I was without anxiety, but it was the rare country I could have little opportunity to visit. Since I would have the action all the time together with the local people, our distributor, I hoped no problem with me. Had this feeling been the most dangerous of all…
I managed to persuade the president to get his permission.
