This is the first question that my neighbor asked me after I told him that my house had been broken into (for the fourth time). And for those of you who know me, you can probably guess, that I was mad. Infuriated, more like it. I got back to my house on Saturday night, after having spent the day planning soccer in another town. We left town around noon, and arrived back at 10pmish. I had a particularly wonderful day, because the town where we played happens to be the site of another volunteer, who had 2 other volunteers visiting her for her town's annual Fiestas. I got to spend the afternoon with the 3 of them- and we all went to the rodeo together that night. It was incredibly comfortable to have some cultural companions to pass the day with, and on the ride home I was content. Not just happy, but the kind of settled, luminous feeling that I can only describe with the assistance of my hands. When I walked into my house, I almost immediately noticed a hole in the screen by the back door. After that it was like one of those puzzles in the newspaper, where two drawings 'appear' to be exactly the same, but there are really 10 differences and you have to find them. Except in real life, with each difference that I found I got madder and madder. Someone had gone threw my jewelry, emptied my coin jar, and so on and so forth. I went from hiding spot to hiding spot, checking on my valuables. Speakers, still there. Computer, still there. Ipod, camera, still there. Wallet, much emptier than before. Bummer.
So the only thing that was stolen was money, and not even all of it. But the sizable majority for sure. Frustrating. Violating. I hate knowing that people are in my house when I am not.Going through my things. It is so disrespectful.
So I have since spoken with a few community members, fixed a few holes, and expressed my sentiments. There is a general consensus on who is stealing from me, after all, in a town of 50 people, there is not much that goes by unnoticed. The man who is highly suspect, is in his mid-40's, he doesn't work, he lives with his sister and her family, and he is generally known as 'not being all there.' He has a history of stealing small things from houses (including people he is related to) in order to buy cigarettes and presents for his mother. I also believe that he is convincing a kid to do the actual breaking in, because he is too large to fit through the hole that was open. There is a 6th grade boy who was caught breaking into the town store a while back, and he is also highly suspect. He comes from the poorest immigrant family in town. They live in a house with no water or electricity. He is extremely intelligent and his smart ass ways rival my own. I also think that my dog would have made a huge racket if someone tried to break into my house. But since I live on school grounds, she is used to seeing the kids running around the house during the day, and I don't think that she would bark if a kid was around the house.
I remember before I joined PC, I sat down to have coffee with an RPCV and chat about her experience in Zimbabwe. It was exciting listening to her stories (I know now that its easy to fantasize/romanticize lives we are not living). I remember asking her all kinds of questions about safety, and she shared that her house had been broken into once or twice. The way she talked about it surprised me. She seemed so disconnected from 'having her things stolen.' It was more a story integration and respect. I didn't really understand what she was talking about. I get it now. Its not what was stolen, its about so much more.
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