Sitting here, in comfort and shade, half-way round the world and in another hemisphere, Europe looks quite different, yet uncomfortably familiar.
Spain has suffered an almost catastrophic attack, which nonetheless left many dead and many more injured.
Nothing to do with islam, of course, and that platitude continues to gather corpses.
The reaction among the people here is one of amazement that NATO countries can have so little control of their borders and societies.
The problem is seen very much as a security issue with little understanding of the problems we face.
A largely Christian continent like South America, cannot understand, how an erstwhile civilised and moral group of countries, could so quickly descend into social dysfunction.
But they do not live in Europe.
They do not live with the reality of a rampant fifth column of terrorist enablers and sympathisers, colluded and abetted by a fearful and corrupt establishment.
In this land, where using traffic indicators is considered the action of a wussy, and wearing a crash helmet, a sign of the oppressed, can have no concept of the dread of being called a racist or islamophobe.
For nations uncowed by political correctness, the issue is simple: Our people are dying, and we are doing nothing about it.
But there are many miles between us, and these incidents are seen as growing, but uncoordinated, much as our press would have us believe; the news blackout, it appears, is global, and in one respect, that is not such a bad thing.
For if they knew or asked about the rape gangs and sharia courts, there is nothing that I could begin to say in explanation, save to fall back on that old and trusted response to awkward questions:
Me no speakie da lingo.
