https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/12/two-cyclists-one-german-one-polish-feared-murdered-in-mexico
Holger Hagenbusch and Krzyszt Chmielewski of Germany and Poland were cyclists found murdered during their round-the-world bicycle trip.I never met these men, but I have met many like them in my travels.
Unless I am involved it is sometimes difficult to absorb a tragedy as anything more than a disheartening event. I try not to be indifferent to suffering anywhere. Sitting in the sun with WiFi so dramatically removes me from a distant trauma where I know there is no way I could have prevented it or helped in the aftermath, yet it causes grief. I usually ruminate on the event, try to rationalize it by fitting it into some larger conflict or natural disaster that may be happening in the area, then wait until the next tragedy occurs.
That said, there have been a few distant events that have struck me personally. One being the 2013 Boston marathon bombing and most recent is this double murder in Mexico. I am a marathon runner and have followed the Boston for years. The four-hour group, which was the most effected group are the people I would have been running with had I been there. They would have been the same fitness as me with similar lifestyles and running schedules. I felt that it was my friends being attacked, though I didn't know any of them and was asleep in Alaska at the time. I had one friend running that year, but he was thankfully long finished by the time the explosions went off.
This article about the cyclists enrage me all over again. My US trip in 2012 was rerouted from its original path to Argentina. I would have been traveling through this area following the trail dozens of cyclists have taken before. I don't know the situation, so my guess is that they crossed the wrong people at the wrong time. Again, these cyclists are people like me; they likely have the same drive, curiosities, and fears that I have. Their families likely worried as much as mine, though through a whole different series of circumstances, after my trip I came home.
There are dangers in traveling. They can be minimized through contemplative planning. Being a female who travels alone, I like to believe I have tuned into most of the potentials. Tragedies like Boston and the two men in Mexico don't deter me from traveling. It scares me, but instead of staying put, I add it to my list of answers to the "What If" questions. I have never been able to control fear. My own experience has taught me that my best hope is to redirect it. Instead of freezing I try to force myself to fight and instead of hiding from the unknown, I try to peek around the corner and wave with a smile. Bears excepted.
