RIP Wallet

My amazing traveling luck has finally run out. After visiting nearly two dozen countries in my life over weeks and months without incident, Cape Town has defeated me within a month. We were wandering the streets at my first World Cup event, and I felt someone pulling on my bag. Unfortunately, by the time I pulled it bag, he had managed to open it, grab my wallet (which I stupidly had EVERYTHING in) and take off. Luckily, I had only $40 or so with me and I have some great friends here who can cover me until my new cards arrive. Still, I am a little sad at my loss. Not because of the physical aspect, but because I have to admit that Cape Town has won. ;)

I did expect some level of crime here in Cape Town, but I didn't really expect it to touch my life the way that it has. Over this first month, I have come to realize that Cape Town is never a place I could live for a long period of time. This isn't because it isn't beautiful - it is one of the most picturesque cities I have ever stayed in. There is so much to do here, and the people I have met are all so warm and so lively. The reason I couldn't live in Cape Town is because I would never be able to settle somewhere where you never really feel completely safe.

I am living in a southern suburb of the city called Observatory. It is kind of a hip, student filled area with a lot of bars, restaurants and young people. Unfortunately, Obz has the reputation of being a bit of a tough and dangerous place. Though this seems to have been curbed a lot in recent years, all of the houses have high walls and gates around the property. Our loft has two security doors just to get into the building, not to mention the lock on our apartment and on each of our rooms. We also have 24 hour security. Also, walking after dark is really not an option. It is winter here, and the sun goes down at 6PM. After that, unless you are walking in a large group or taking a cab right outside the gate, going out is not really an option.

There have also been some pretty sketchy occurrences here. Another girl who was here on the same internship program as Dez and I was shot in the face with a pellet gun while she was running. No one saw anything, and it is kind of assumed that it was an unfortunate accident resulting from some kids playing in the area. Still though, she has lost all vision in one eye and had to return home after only a week in Cape Town. A bartender from the hostel I stayed at the first night I was here was stabbed to death several blocks away while trying to collect money owing on a bar tab. Another house which is filled with interns about 10 blocks from where I live has had about 4 attempted break ins in the past month, despite the walls around the property and the metal gates on the doors and windows. Thankfully, all of the attempts have been unsuccessful.

The most shocking example of the violence in South Africa which I have experienced is the assault of one of my colleagues by a train station security guard this week. She is a refugee here in South Africa, and this attack apparently had xenophobic motives. After noticing that she was a foreigner with a first class train pass, the man started verbally abusing her, and telling her that after the World Cup, South Africa is going to see a return of the xenophobic violence experienced here in 2008, and that all refugees and foreigners from other African countries are going to be chased out. Following this, the security guard attacked her. Thankfully, she is ok. She is still waiting for doctor's reports and x-ray results, but it could have been a lot worse. She seems to be quite shaken up by the incident, and to me it seems like a sign of terrible things to come. There have been whispers about an uprising that will take place a month from now to chase out the foreigners. It has even been reported in some papers and online. Yet, it doesn't seem like anyone is really preparing or taking serious steps to stop it before it gets started.

Despite all of this, I haven't really felt personally threatened during my time here. I am not scared to walk to the train station and take the train to work on my own in the morning. Wandering the city on my lunch hour doesn't seem hazardous in the least. It seems as though for the most part, the people I know here feel the same. It's weird how you can be shaken by these types of events and yet not really fear for your own safety.