Who still considers Europe to be one of the most civilized places on earth should give this idea a second thought. Go to Schiphol airport. And you’ll find yourself trapped in a war against all. This time we aren’t fighting for survival. It’s about being the first to enter the plane.
Wait a sec. In some way, this battle seems pointless. Didn´t we all get an assigned seat when we checked in? Whilst I am waiting in the launch area for the gate of my KLM flight to open, I see the line in front of it getting bigger and bigger. A man shouts he is an elite member and that this is unacceptable (standing in line). Some women use their fifteen-year-old daughters as shields to move up the line. “Sorry, I am with a child.” Others push and pull for the sake of it. When the voice-over politely requests everyone to sit down so that parents with little children and old couples can pass, nothing changes.
It doesn´t get any better on the flight either. New fights about drinks, snacks and who should be served first. I hardly dare to ask for a glass of water. Once everyone has had enough peanuts, diet cokes and cheese sticks, a crying baby becomes the start of a new quarrel. "Can´t you shut his mouth and pinch his nose or put her in the toilet or something?"
Some people warned me about living in Quito. About the high crime rates. About the possibility of being kidnapped by the FARC (or was that in Columbia?). But when I got out of that plane and was welcomed with kisses and tight hugs of my Ecuadorian host mother, I finally felt safe.