I live in South Africa, the rainbow nation; where people are friendly and welcoming; where you can go from city to bush in a short drive and you are treated with the utmost respect if you are foreign.
But I am also aware of the murders, HIV and have a personal experience with being robbed.
I have only been robbed once, one time that shook me. I blame myself for being a stupid 17 year old, walking in dark alleys at night who had the nerve to where my moms most prized possession ( "borrowed" ) and remove my cell from my pocket to check the time. As I looked at my phone, I felt like I was in the movie "
Final Destination", I saw someone rob me right there. Seconds later he pounced on me. I have always thought I would start yelling in this situation, but I was surprisingly calm. I thought 'this guy must be joking', until her ripped my moms 9 carat gold necklace off of my neck. He then asked for my cell phone as he tapped the gun on his thigh. I just looked at him, despondent, and leaned back every time he reached for my back pocket where in instinctively replaced my phone. We had a little dance there for a second while my brain was trying to make some sense of the situation.
When he realized I was not giving in, he put the gun against my left temple and said "
If you don't give me you phone now, I am going to kill you".
I just stood there in shock while he reached into my back pocket, grabbed the phone and was gone in an instant.
I just stood there for what felt like forever, trying to understand what had just happened. I went home and said a word to nobody until the following day. My mom was mad as hell. Firstly because she did not like my friends who left me to walk home all alone and secondly because I had lost the one thing her deceased brother had given her.
What was strange is that I seemed to have a feeling something was going to happen. A female friend of mine had walked me most of the way home that night and for some reason was carrying three family member's cell phones. Just before I got robbed, I said to her "
Annie, turn around here and go home. You have your dad, brother and your cell phones and I don't want you to get robbed. Don't worry about me. I have a golf ball at the end of my umbrella and will hurt someone who tries to rob me"
If I only remembered that a few minutes later...lol
Fast forward to last night:
I was home yesterday because I have a horrible flu. For some reason, A and I had a four hour nap each in the day, something I never do. The day went well and I had some fun playing soccer with L when he came home from Pre-School. The evening was pleasant and hubby and I were just relaxing while A was showing us how well she learned to crawl.
Later in the evening I kept nagging hubby to get done with his work and come to bed. I am still not sure why I wanted him to come so urgently but I eventually resorted to telling to come and work in the bedroom.
Well at 3am, my friend, S, IM'd me to say she was awake and her daughter K was giving her hell. I read the message rolled over and realized hubby was not in the bed anymore. I heard him snoring in L's bedroom and figured that L had woken up again.
Just as I closed my eyes to fall asleep again I heard banging on the front gate.
I started yelling for hubby to check what was making the noise and as he opened the window a woman started yelling, "
Open the gate, there is somebody in your yard!".
Hubby and I both jump into action, him opening the front door, me making sure the kids are alright. The neighbor was standing on the wall with a light and the lady at the gate was yelling "
They tried to break into your house!".
Within seconds, two cop cars pull up. I am still standing in the bedroom at this point and then hear something in the roof. I immediately let hubby know and like a movie the cops are over the wall, guns in hand and running around the house to check for anybody. Well it seemed the neighbor scared them off. He said he heard someone jump into the yard and immediately checked it out with his huge spot light.
To think I have been fighting with this man for the past few months about the noise he makes in the middle of the night. He is an insomniac and works on cars in the dead of night. If it was not for his spotlight, I don't know what would have happened if these people got in.
Thank God for good people and that my family is safe. I think now it is time to move to a place where there is at least some security because I don't know what I would do if something were to happen.
Pic Courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk/.../crime/theft.shtml
