COSTA RICA, THIS STORY IS TRUE

Anti-Gringo discrimination
is rampant in Costa Rica

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I am really fed up with the discrimination here against Gringos in Costa Rica. Most Ticos really hate us here. Discrimination is as rampant in Costa Rica as it is anywhere in the world. The Gringos are at the bottom of the list. Below the Nicas and even below the Caribis.

Yes now I hear the gasping of the readers. Such a tabu subject to be spoken in public. It is as a secret as the everyday talk in the living rooms of most households in Costa Rica. Just as it is very true in most houses in the U.S.A. Now that my Spanish is getting better I hear the comments from the Ticos.

There is a real RACIAL PROFILING going on here on a daily basis. From the police, restaurants, pulperias, and the attitudes of MOST Ticos. YES, MOST TICOS!!! THIS IS A SOCIAL FACT. My friends actually admit this fact. One aspect of the racial profiling is the idea that all Gringos are filthy rich and don't need their money. This is a form of FISCAL PROFILING. It is OK to steal from them. I worked very hard for 35 years in the USA for 10 to 12 hours a day to get what I manage to keep, after taxes and other scam artist in the U.S.A.

And my experiences in their court systems. There is no justice for a Gringo in the court system here. I have been a domestic violence victim in family court. Fiscales, and penal courts hear from false denuncias. In most cases, you have no chance of winning. It is very hard to find a Tico to be your witness. And they do not like to talk bad against other Ticos. And there is a stigma if a Tico helps a Gringo. I won't even go into on how the lawyers take your money without any intention to carry out their services. My Tico friends actually confirm that the condition really exists.

I hear and see it at the colegio with my own kids. There, too, are the talk, harassment, and even fights stemming from the bias and discrimination. It has been tough for my kids being the only white Gringos in the whole colegio. AND I wanted to build my kids some character? I tell them now, "You know how Chris felt in 'Everybody Hates Chris'?". I saw it, too, as a young boy in a predominately black and hispanic middle school.

I also understand that discrimination is a natural human behavioral phenomenon. It has been evident throughout human history. It is more prevalent with the ignorant

Steve Meno
Coronado, Osa.