Living with Fear in my Hometown. I've lived in San Salvador most of my life. San Salvador is a small city located in a small country in the center of the American continent. We've got a nice weather most of the year. Like most of the countries, there are pros and cons about living here. One of the worst things is the gang bands. These are groups of young people, most of them teenagers, who live out of crime. They use drugs and weapons and their main target is small businesses. I've done everything to avoid problems with these people. From studying at home to giving away food and money to their members. On day I had to go visit my grandma because she was feeling sick. It was a normal day. I remember it was 10:00 AM in the morning. I didn't want to take the bus, so I walked all the way to her house. I stopped in a small store to get some snacks. All of the sudden, three guys appeared and started to ask me questions. I didn't want problems so I decided to smile at them and answer all of their questions. Suddenly, one of them pulled out a gun and started to wave it on my face. I thought they were gonna kill me, so I started to pray in silence. They dragged me to a lonely place, and I saw people shut their doors and windows. Everybody knew something bad was about to happen. In the end, I managed to convince them I wasn't doing anything bad. I begged them for my life and they eventually let me go. That day I had to go back home with several bruises and a pain in my leg. I haven't seen my grandma for the last year or so. Because I'm afraid to go to that place and find these people again. I've also been robbed 4 or 5 times in my lifetime. I've seen dead bodies on the street and heard gunshots near my house. For all of these, I prefer to stay at home on weekends. And I live in fear even in my own house. I still don't understand why all of that started. Many people say it's because of the past war. But, even sociologists have a hard time trying to explain the reasons of all this violence. I think life would be better if we could just get along well with everybody. If we could feel compassion for others.