"He begins with work, because that is where his life once felt predictable. Before everything changed, he ran a small recycling company in Medellín. He collected cardboard, plastic, and metal, the materials most people never notice. What others discarded, he turned into income and routine. His days followed routes and schedules, shaped by the quiet satisfaction of building something honest in a city where stability is never guaranteed."
"Armed groups demanded a "vacuna", an extortion payment imposed not because of wrongdoing, but because James existed and progressed. He explained what he could not change. The business barely survived, and there was no extra money to give. He believed reason still mattered. It did not. Extortion does not always arrive with shouting or weapons. Sometimes it arrives calmly and repeatedly, teaching the body to anticipate danger long before anything happens."
James lives in Paris but wakes at night with vivid memories of being kidnapped and shot nine times in Medellín. He once ran a small recycling company, turning discarded materials into income and routine. Success brought visibility and extortion demands from armed groups, straining the business and eroding safety. The kidnapping arrived during an ordinary workday and transformed daily life. Fear settled into his body, making sleep light and attention narrow. Distance preserved his life but did not erase memory. The experience centers on survival, restraint, and the persistent proximity of danger to death.
Read at Psychology Today
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