How I Escaped An Attacker In Mexico

If you travel a lot, I’m sure some well-intentioned person who loves you has told you at some point that it’s “not safe.”

"Don't go to Turkey, it's not safe."

"Don't go to India, it's not safe."

People use to tell me that stuff all the time!

I love that they love me enough to worry.

But I’m so stubbornly confident that there is good and bad everywhere you go, and simultaneously oblivious to danger that their warnings have never dissuaded me from going anywhere (which is probably why nobody bothers trying to talk me out of going anymore).

The thing is, I tend to think that most of the time, you’re just as safe somewhere else as you would be at home...

...as long as you’re not doing something stupid or out looking for trouble.

Sometimes the “stupid” thing isn’t so obvious, though.

If you’re out alone drinking at night, wandering around the streets alone in a strange city, that is obviously stupid, and you should avoid doing that if you want to stay safe while traveling.

Or anywhere, really.

But what if “doing something stupid” can mean something as seemingly innocent as walking home at 8 pm at night during the summer when the sun is just starting to set?

😥

A few years ago, my friends got attacked in Mexico.

It was only around 8 pm. They weren’t out looking for trouble. They were just simply walking home. It wasn’t even completely dark yet.

I saw the bruises on Ellen’s stomach, arms, and legs the day after it happened, and I remember thinking that would never happen to me, because I did what I was told.

I always made sure to be home before sunset...

...because that’s what the locals told us to do to stay safe.

And if a local tells you to do something, make like Nike and just do it.

If they say being on the beach at night will get you mugged, then you'll get mugged. If they say be home by sunset, be home by sunset!

You're way more likely to stay safe while traveling if you do.

My eyes widened in fear and surprise as she told the story of what happened to her.

She was walking home at night, with another girl, Amy, and a man was strangely taking all of the same turns as them while talking on the phone to someone.

They were starting to feel uncomfortable and slightly suspicious that they were being followed.

They started walking all rigid and uptight (kinda like when you’re trying to hold in a fart on a first date because you don’t want them to know the real kind of human you are until at least 4 months into the relationship so that it’s too late to escape).

Just as the fear was rising up in their throats...

...they saw the man take out his keys and start jiggling them around, messing with trying to open up a gate across the street.

Relieved, they relaxed a little thinking “Phew, okay, he just happens to live in the same area that we do. He wasn’t following us.”

So they calmly walked up to their own house and started to open their gate as well.

That’s when suddenly, the guy appeared behind them out of nowhere and grabbed at Ellen!

Amy had luckily JUST slipped through the gate by the time the guy pounced on them,
so she grabbed Ellen and it was kind of a tug-of-war for a few seconds between her and the random creeper dude.

Then Amy smashed the gate right on the guy, and Ellen got loose enough to wiggle over completely Amy’s side and help make sure the gate stayed closed in the guy’s face.

They got away luckily, but not without bruises and marks to prove their story the next day at school (we were studying Spanish in Mexico for the summer).

And then two days later. It happened again. Another attack. 😯 😯

The attack happened with a group of 4 girls this time, which was pretty brave if you ask me.

One guy vs. 4 girls???

If this wasn't a completey horrible true story, I'd say get out the popcorn.

It was almost sunset again. In the Mexican town we were in, there were lots of random alleyways where things could happen and no one would take notice.

They were simply walking through one of these alleyways to get to their next destination when a guy came and grabbed Alli, one of the 4 girls. He slammed her against the wall, put his hand up her skirt and the girls all started screaming and smacking at him with their purses and their fists until he eventually ran off.

But Alli was still incredibly upset and she also had a bruise on her body from the incident.

These incidents both happened only a few days apart, and we had only been in Mexico for maybe a week and half at this point.

It was bad. Real bad. Our program director called an emergency meeting with us and we discussed canceling the entire trip and going home early.

She couldn't believe what was happening because she had been taking groups of students to Mexico for about 11-12 years and nothing like this had ever happened before.

We ended up continuing on with the program...

...but with strict rules and guidelines in place for our safety.

Our director was a woman with an incredibly kind heart. She managed to get funding to pay for all 30 of us to be able to take certified taxis instead of walking everywhere we went.

We were allowed to walk during the day, but in the evening was when we were supposed to use our new taxi budget that she generously offered us.

We didn't know it yet, but somehow, despite safety attempts, my friend Katelyn and I were next on the list to be attacked...

...but it's getting late, and it's getting long so I'll finish telling you about that story tomorrow.

P.S. Thanks @gee1 for the inspiration with Throwback Thursday!