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Friday, November 14, 2008

An Abrupt Morning Wake Up

So, I live in an apartment which is usually safer than living in a house alone on a compound. At least that is how people generally think here- that thieves don't want to break into a place where there are many people. From my experience this has been true. I know I feel safer living in an apartment.
However, this morning in woke up to load thuds and shouting over my head. Something was going on in the apartment over me. The guy there was shouting for the guard. Everyone ran outside to see what was going on. That's the first rule of mob justice. Everyone runs to the scene.
It seems my upstairs neighbor had walked down the hill to pick up something to make for breakfast and returned to find a man in his house. One of the neighbors recognized the man as her cousin. It turns out that the man was high, lost and had entered the wrong house.
Now the debate was what to do with him. When a thief is caught here a mob will usually beat him severely or even to death. The neighbor began begging for her cousin's life.
I'm glad forgiveness was the order of the day. I don't like thieves but I also don't like watching someone being beat to death either.

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