 |
"I like the respect that comes with being Osama," Aguirre says. |
CAIRO — Osama Bin Laden has never lived in Colombia, but still he brings law and order to one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Bogot?, its capital and most populous city.
"I saw pictures of him in magazines and on TV. I let my beard grow and people would say to me, 'You look just like him, just like Osama'," Fernando Aguirre, a citizen cop, told the Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday, October 19.
For 13 years, Aguirre has been patrolling the streets of Bogot? central neighborhood Santa Fe, one of the capital's most dangerous slums.
He used to wear a black balaclava and a black uniform, leading a Rottweiler on a leash, earning himself the nickname "the Ninja."
But after seeing Bin Laden's pictures following the 9/11 attacks and noticing the resemblance he decided to change his costume.
"Sometimes when I see his image I think he's my father," jokes Aguirre, who was born to a Saudi father and a Colombian mother.
He has since grew a long grey beard and started donning a turban and eyeleted cloth.
"People respect Osama more than the Ninja," he laughs.
Aguirre recalls that he once shaved off his beard and returned to his old appearance under pressures from his angry mother.
"I still went out on patrol but people didn't seem to respect me as much.
"I lost a lot of points because of that, so I grew it back."
Safer
Aguirre, who cooperates with the city police, claims he has single-handedly captured two hit men and 10 thieves.
Cops who patrol the dangerous neighborhood reluctantly admit his contributions.
"Yeah, he helps sometimes. He beats up the thieves, then calls us over to deal with them," says one policeman who declined to give his name.
"And he guards the shops and brothels."
But Osama's contributions are valued by the neighborhood's residents and shop owners.
"People feel safer when he goes on patrol so I like to help out when I can," Pablo Ortiz, who runs a small cafeteria off the neighborhood's park, told the Christian Science Monitor.
Prostitutes often pay him to walk them home at the end of the night.
"I will never get rich doing this," says Aguirre.
"But I don't care. I like the respect that comes with being Osama."
|
