Our “word games”

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I must confess that I got a bit of a chuckle from the typo scandal involving the medals at the 2013 Cali World Games. Now don’t get me wrong: I admire all the athletes and the dedication they showed in coming to, and competing in, such an important venue; especially those, who rose above the rest, stepping onto the podium to clinch some heavy metal.

But when so much work has been put into hosting not only a world-class sporting event, and one watched around the world, one would think that a not-so-minor detail as in the engraving of “Word” rather than “World” on the medals would pass through a more rigorous type-o-scrutiny.

As someone who edits and publishes an English language publication every month, I know all too well that spelling mistakes happen, and if one would read every word in this month’s edition of The City Paper for example, you’ll find a typo. And you are most welcome to write to me pointing them out. I like to think, that I take my words not too… seriously.

Beyond the headlines that the 2013 “Word Games” story generated, the scandal tells me a lot about how the Colombian mindset works when it comes to communicating in the world’s most widely-used language. It’s hardly a matter of bilingualism, as one can’t expect a nation with millions of Spanish speakers to have access to English on the street, or more importantly, in classrooms.

It’s about delegating and last minute details. Someone in Cali obviously gave the orders to make the medals and never bothered to check the prototype. Then, a devout engraver, with future medals dangling next to his Bible just assumed that “word” was the same as “world.” He really wasn’t that wrong if inspired by the scriptures and which state: “In the beginning was the Word.”

He obviously got quite an earful from the mistake, which was not really of his making. Brushing-off responsibility can be a very Colombian pastime, especially when more than a spelling mistake happens at the top. In the judiciary there’s a common expression “La ley es para los de ruana” which alludes to how the law is applied harshly to those with the least amount of resources or recourse. Last month, there was a very clear example of this. A young, well educated man was released from custody by a judge on drinking and driving charges after he rammed his Audi at 160 kms into a taxi killing two young women passengers and leaving the driver in critical condition. This story, much more sinister than the Cali “word” game, shows how arbitrary – and tragic – mistakes can be for many.

Someone always takes the fall though, and far too often, it’s not the perpetrator of the crime. During the last month, two of our reporters have been mugged with weapons on Bogotá streets. Fearing for their safety, and in a panic, they handed over their wallets and cellphones in broad daylight without reporting the incidents to the police. When asked why they didn’t head to the nearest police station to report the crime, their answers were quite similar: “Nothing ever happens here, so we didn’t think it necessary.”

As foreigners in Colombia we have a voice, even if far too often few understand what we are saying. This is an issue we see often in media. As an English language publication, there’s a real barrier between what we write, and what often is (mis)understood. I remember far too well a tirade of spiteful e-mails I received from a so-called “doña Clemencita” who, having totally not understood the editorial line of an article we published on one of the last bullfighters in Bogotá, went ahead to smear our name across social media. The article was quite critical in its focus, but she misconstrued our words as an endorsement of animal cruelty. Blasphemy! Of course, she never took responsibility for her words, leaving us with an unnecessary, and tiresome task, of reinforcing our good name.

But there’s a good side to “word games.” It shows that we are not machines. That we will commit mistakes on metal plates and a printed page without the possibility of simply “deleting” them under pressure. And newspapers have to go that extra mile as one can’t recall every issue circulating out there.

Taking responsibility with what we say-and how we say it-is a tradition deeply-rooted in newspapers. Even though “doña Clemencita” gave up writing emails, we are still here and have the honor this month of presenting a man on our front page whose life is all about conviction and personal responsibility. Now, before we post the story of the life of the former M-19 guerrilla Antonio Navarro Wolff, I will double “spell check,” as I don’t want to be the victim of my own word game.

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