Medellin, Colombia
Back in 1998, I went to Medellin, Colombia, to adopt my son. We had to stay there for a while to finish all the legal paper work. But Medellin wasn't a safe place then. There was a big drugwar going on, even though Pablo Escobar, the big drug lord, had been dead for a few years. We felt scared and couldn't move around freely.
In 2014, I went, for the first time, back to Medellin and was surprised by how much safer it felt. Sure, there were still some areas where you had to be careful, but most people were really nice. Because it was the 25th anniversary of Escobar's death, I decided to visit Barrio Escobar. It's a neighborhood where Escobar had built 500 houses for poor people. It made me think about how complicated his legacy was, but also how resilient the community is.
It is estimated that the drug lord Escobar was directly responsible for 8,000 murders. While the majority of Colombian residents consider the violent era with Pablo Escobar as a dark chapter in their history, there are still individuals, both young and old, who idolize and idealize Escobar and deny that he was a criminal. Escobar indeed provided various amenities for the poor.
However, what I wonder is why so many young people in this neighborhood still adore him, considering they weren't even born when he died. Is it because their parents and grandparents uphold this adoration? These admirers affectionately refer to Escobar as "Pablito," the one who built their homes in Barrio Escobar.
Pablo Escobar was killed in his hometown on December 2nd, 1993.
Today, Barrio Escobar is a popular tourist spot, especially after the success of the well-known series "Narcos".