An uneasy calm

This morning was to be market day with Millie. Our destination "market 2" was not someplace I had ventured far into on my own... it looked confusing and a likely place to loose my wallet. Getting to watch a local in action was an experience I was looking forward to. On our approach we noticed police roadblocks which had Millie calling our little adventure off, explaining that this likely meant there would be trouble. The city has apparently decreed that this market is to be moved into a newly built facility, much to the ire of the merchants and hawkers. Drat.

This afternoon occasioned me in the same neighborhood, to pick up my newly re-repaired sandals. Curious, and noting that there looked like no immediate likelihood of danger, I wandered in. The place certainly held a bit of the chaotic flair common to markets, but many of the stalls were unoccupied. I`m guessing that there were those who expected trouble and packed up and went home.

The roadblocks were amply manned by burly, serious looking police. Some held clubs but side arms were thankfully holstered and there were no rifles in sight. Groups of police were pocketed around the perimeter of this sprawling multi-block squared expanse. Large trucks were being allowed to do their work, taking down signage and digging up areas of road on the periphery.

There is a determined expectancy hanging in the air. Large piles of rocks dot the market, placed within easy reach, the main outward sign that there will be resistance to this forced move. In a rather eloquent statement of defiance there is a group of older men out on the street with tape measures, chalk and white paint, and they are busy outlining sidewalks in what I guess to be an effort to give a more permanent and civilized look to the market.

It is plain that there is a confrontation in the making, but there is no explosive nature to the air. Doesn`t look like it is going to be pretty when it happens though. I of course had left my camera in the hostal, not wanting to tempt fate... and thus have lost the opportunity to add a visual element to my observations.

Sigh.