That sounds incredibly scary, especially living in the countryside. At least the big cities offer some protection so things don't get completely out of control.

It's crazy living in a place like Argentina and thinking it's bad, and then hearing about life in other Latin American countries and saying: "Wow, we're lucky." And the weirdest thing is that the only news you get even here is how well things are going in Colombia because Uribismo is really good with marketing and cleaning its image to the outside world.

And my boyfriend says the same kinds of things : "Well, it's just Colombia, you know." :D He used to work in the countryside, in a place with both paramilitary and guerrilla presence, so he's seen a LOT.