Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
The Reasoning
Barcelona is one of my most favourite cities. It was one of the first trips I made when I moved to Europe and I am still impressed at the city's food, architecture and happy people. There's something about the wide streets, Med climate and the lovely bay that makes me feel relaxed, happy and carefree.
What really bugs me about it is the city's complete disregard for visitor safety, and by that, I mean the stories of petty theft and muggings that related whenever I mention Barcelona to anyone.
First things first. I do not deny that tourists are often sitting ducks for pick pockets and muggings. Tourists tend to stand out with clothes, cameras and loud voices. So too do businessmen who attend for conferences with laptops and mobile devices at the ready. OK.
What I don't agree with is the blase' attitude of the city itself to this problem. Barcelona doesn't seem to want to do anything about this reputation. Which puzzles me.
Every year post Mobile World Congress (MWC) , there's another round of stories about suits, journalists, and stand hands who are pickpocketed. A quick search on the web brings up a heap of articles and news reports, including the most recent coverage of a Windows prototype phone "removed" from a Telstra executive's pocket. Even more scary is the stabbing report which without the event being in town would never have had international coverage.
Wouldn't it make far more sense to actually tackle this problem? Make the town safer, get rid of this reputation? Take Las Ramblas. This is a very popular tourist area, and a high pickpocketing area. Everyone seems to be aware of it, but very little is done to address it - where is the police prescence? On my trips there, I've been very aware that there are few to be found.
Given the HUGE amount of money MWC ploughs into the town, how hard would it be to double the police prescence around the Fira, central town and Las Ramblas? The international attendees who go home with stories of theft and crime? It's such a shame.
The point of this blog is to publish stories of pickpocketing and muggings in Barcelona in the hope to:
What really bugs me about it is the city's complete disregard for visitor safety, and by that, I mean the stories of petty theft and muggings that related whenever I mention Barcelona to anyone.
First things first. I do not deny that tourists are often sitting ducks for pick pockets and muggings. Tourists tend to stand out with clothes, cameras and loud voices. So too do businessmen who attend for conferences with laptops and mobile devices at the ready. OK.
What I don't agree with is the blase' attitude of the city itself to this problem. Barcelona doesn't seem to want to do anything about this reputation. Which puzzles me.
Every year post Mobile World Congress (MWC) , there's another round of stories about suits, journalists, and stand hands who are pickpocketed. A quick search on the web brings up a heap of articles and news reports, including the most recent coverage of a Windows prototype phone "removed" from a Telstra executive's pocket. Even more scary is the stabbing report which without the event being in town would never have had international coverage.
Wouldn't it make far more sense to actually tackle this problem? Make the town safer, get rid of this reputation? Take Las Ramblas. This is a very popular tourist area, and a high pickpocketing area. Everyone seems to be aware of it, but very little is done to address it - where is the police prescence? On my trips there, I've been very aware that there are few to be found.
Given the HUGE amount of money MWC ploughs into the town, how hard would it be to double the police prescence around the Fira, central town and Las Ramblas? The international attendees who go home with stories of theft and crime? It's such a shame.
The point of this blog is to publish stories of pickpocketing and muggings in Barcelona in the hope to:
- draw attention to these incidents
- give tips on how to avoid being mugged
- highlight a pickpocketing incident and areas to avoid
- items taken
- police procedures/insurance you will need
and to highlight just how many people have been affected.
Ultimately, the blog will be populated with news articles and emails from readers who have had this happen to them. Email your stories to: iwasmuggedinbarcelona@hotmail.com
Muchos,
Ivana B. Safe
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