hey hey there

getting straight to the point - i found a reason for serious activism right here in Pana

ENCAPUCHADOS they are calling them because they wear hoods - they mask themselves and carry clubs.  It is after an old tradition - but it is not our regular dudes doing it - in fact, i talked to all the men i know and it's not any of them - even the ones who were in on the vigilante thing are not the bunch doing this... 

we were terrorized last year by Robbers - so they lynched somebody.... but this year it's another element pretending to maintain the "LAW" at night, but using it as an excuse to beat up our people - yah, usually the ones who've had a drink or two and are walking alone - which is not usually me - 

but still - stumbling home a little drunk is a famous pana pasttime and we want to defend it

 

don't we?  i do.  and i don't even go out at night...

 

Armed men in masks is really scary... Manuel Yach, the head of the COCODE Jucanya (our neighborhood government rep) says that even during the conflict, they wouldn't cover their whole face - they had a system of secret whistles to recognize who was with them and who wasn't... and he prefers a system to catch robbers with bells and sirens and all the neigbors run in... i've been at a couple of those, actually - very effective

and usually - honestly - our neighborhood thieves are our neighbors...