My First Brush with Crime

My first brush with crime was no brush at all, so before you get worried, know that the story heading was just a teaser, and I am safe :) So here's the story.

Yesterday evening I went to spend the night with a girl friend from work. Before going to her apt., we went out to eat with some of her girlfriends and had a fun time (see pictures below), but while we were out, my friend had an asthma attack, so we had to rush home to get her inhaler. When we got home, we found it and her breathing became easier, and after a while, we started to get ready for bed. Well, my friend noticed that her window was opened more than normal, so she closed it, telling herself not to overreact. But the next day, she also noticed for the first time that the security bars had been unscrewed and removed and were lying on the ground outside the window. Apparently what happened was that minutes before we arrived, at least two people were trying to break in, but they were scared away both by our arrival, and also because (we later learned) her neighbors had seen someone trying to climb the fence and they scared him away. Well, my friend and I slept soundly that night, unaware of this whole thing. If I let my imagination explore what might have happened, that’s scary, but in thinking about the timing of things, exactly when she had the asthma attack, and how God’s protection covered us, I’m grateful that nothing did happen. My friend is now having the security bars welded onto her apartment because they were previously only screwed in. She is also having barbed wire installed, but none of this offers the sort of peace of mind that she has lost given that twice before, her previous apartment was broken into. This is the same friend who was the victim of a "smash and grab" where they stole her purse from her car. But, Dad, I am fine :)

While we’re speaking of crime … It is surprising how many of the conversations here revolve around crime. It is as if everyone has either been touched by it or is awaiting their turn. In the States the ice-breaker conversation might center around American Idol, here the common bond that people share is their experience with crime. Recently, when I sat down for a meal with my new friend Katy, who is a native of Tennessee, she was describing what a sad feeling she had when driving through neighborhoods, because all you see are gates and wires, installed to shield against the crime. To give you a visual ... imagine driving down a street in Old Cloverdale … lots of trees and shade, older but pretty houses, sidewalks, and large yards, people walking their dogs, and porches. Here, some of the houses are equally pretty and the city has ample, lovely trees, but if you drove down the street, all your would see is the top half of houses, impeded by green metal gates with pointy tops, wooden gates with coiled barbed wire at the top, and sliding gates that let cars enter and close immediately afterwards. Gates, gates, gates. The more expensive homes have brick walls covered in that stucco stuff, and at the top they have three electric wires that run the entire length of the wall. That security wire runs along the security complex where I live with my host. It's novel to me, but being that Katy has lived in Pretoria for a couple of years, those gates and wires and coiled fencing and what they represent has started to wear on her, I think. Especially when you have known the freedom of walking down the streets in the States without worrying about being mugged, the contrast is especially disturbing. And I think that’s what made Katy sad – how isolated we are from one another and how fear dominates the atmosphere.

In sum, I am safe and sound. No need for worry. All the more reason for praise.
Love you all very much,
Kristian