A Different Kind of Lock-in
Posted by David Caldwell - Mexico
Events of March 30, 2011
As director of RYCCA*, my job entails many dangerous activities, such as filing papers and pursuing bureaucratic paths. The government offices in downtown Morelia, which I was visiting to make updates to their computer system, were as packed with people as usual. The bright yellow-over-white painted buildings are built to reflect the sun, but the heat of day has a way of making itself felt. As I sat in the hard plastic chair, waiting for our number to come up (I was accompanied by Pepe, the RYCCA president, and Ale, a board member), I wasn't expecting to spend the next four hours locked in the building.
Outside, the usual street noises were overtaken by megaphone protests. A group concerned that they were not being treated fairly was doing a march on same the government office where we were trying to conduct camp business. The guards quickly closed the doors, large wooden ones reminiscent of the The Two Towers. The Hacienda (IRS-like) had changed several laws affecting the protesting groups interests; hence the protest.
Pepe had just stepped out, getting some papers from the car. Floods of people pushed on the doors, trying to break it down; guards braced the doors with seven pipes and three huge beams. Now you would think that there was a measure of panic inside. But no. The secretaries kept typing as if it was of no consequence. The people kept waiting for the screen to show their four digit number; the one they had already waited for so long. After a half hour the guards ordered us away from the windows; all of us, men, women and children, moved to the back of the building, where we stayed for hours.
No one really complained. The guys in the office took off their ties so that they couldn't be easily recognized as a target for the protesters just in case the doors didn't hold. People responded calmly; they seemed more worried about my opinion of Mexico being negatively effected than about the protesters breaking in. Finally there was relent and those who had been our captors let us out, apologizing to each of us as we walked out into the street.
No harm, no foul. However, God has a way of shifting our perspective on the inconvenient in our lives: as a result of the protest, the office workers allowed for a “pass” for a paper-work glitch that would have otherwise caused much delay in the process which we started that calm and cool morning..
*RYCCA is a Spanish acronym that stands for Retreats And Camps With Adventure
(Arranged by Caleb Caldwell)