LetsFetz
January 19, 2003, 05:43 AM
Hi everybody
... I continued lingering here after TFL closed and was/am happy to see that not much has changed ... good to see you all and a (late) happy new year.
We had quite some interdependent events during the last two weeks and I thought I share them with you.
Burglaries in this our little town usually occur in streaks and are executed periodically by determined gangs, sometimes from out of town, sometimes from inside. One can usually observe the route through the suburbs and thus predict where they'll be tomorrow.
For the last two weeks, the suburb next to ours suffered heavily from armed robberies with casualties on the victims’ sides. On Thursday they had eventually entered our part of town and the news on Friday morning had it that a 28 year old house owner was shot six time by some BGs sitting in the bushes opposite the house. His wife had heard something like a ladder being leaned against the wall and asked him to check it out. He took his gun and went outside. By the time he reached the gate they started shooting, hitting him six times. One bullet went through his hand into the lung. He’s alive, but lying in ICU.
Saturday night we were eating out and returned home at about 23:30. Entering our suburb but still far away from our house, we observed quite some military commotion and searchlights scanning the bushy hills. Approaching our home the commotion became gradually denser and I remember myself looking up and saying: “Please don’t let it be our house – again”. Two houses down from ours, the street was crowded by neighbors, cars from three different alarm response units, a military vehicle and ONE POLICEMAN! How the military got there, I can only guess – the base is close by and I suppose they all listen on the same frequency.
The story was, that they had broken into one of the houses close by and opened fire when discovered.
The road was blocked and we got out of the car to inquire what had happened. The hills around us where full of searchlights flickering and filled with voices calling to each other. Two shots fell and minutes later a couple of military guys came down with one of the BGs. We were to find out the next day that there were eight BGs in all and the priority right now was to find the one(s) with the gun(s). So they started the “interrogation” – right there on the spot and with everybody participating. Trust me, you haven’t seen anything like that before unless you have maybe been in one of the crisis areas of Africa. The last time I saw something like this was when I flew for the UN in Angola – and I’m talking about black-on-black. These guys fell nothing for each other and you could see the frustration built up during the past two weeks unravel upon this one sorry BG. The military as well as the response units know exactly, where it hurts without being easily recognizable afterwards – provided he’s so lucky to end up where BGs usually end up and not in some hole in the bush. Boot heels to the stomach, kidneys and liver, rifle butts to the ribs plus a hailstorm of kicks to other “parts” for good measure. Once he passed out, they waited patiently for him to recover to escort him to one of the cars (under more beatings), where he was chucked in the boot like a piece of meat.
Mind you, the neighborhood watch left nothing to complain either. I don’t think I saw anybody without at least one gun. Semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and handguns, you name it they wore it. And the police (man)? – Indifferent. The assembly resolved, when a radio call came in that they had found another one on the other side of the hill. Screeching tires, people running to jump on any car, the mob moved out to continue the search.
By three in the morning they had six of them – one died in a shootout.
Me? Arguably strange, but I feel good about it. Maybe I’ve been here too long and seen too much. Anywho, I feel that these guys were not from the poor ‘we-have-nothing-to-eat’ league, but were professionals with the intention to brake in, steal AND kill. They had raided the suburbs around us for the past two weeks and the first casualty was already too much. They had to be stopped – and this night was the night. Imprisonment for such guys does not last long enough here and doesn’t leave them with a memorable enough impression. I’m grateful for the efforts of the response guys and the military and I’m happy to see, that the neighbors are wide awake and ready to do what’s necessary.
BTW, the police did not manage to show up with even one car during the entire search that lasted for four hours. Shows you how much we need stand-in support.
Cheers and beers
LetsFetz
... I continued lingering here after TFL closed and was/am happy to see that not much has changed ... good to see you all and a (late) happy new year.
We had quite some interdependent events during the last two weeks and I thought I share them with you.
Burglaries in this our little town usually occur in streaks and are executed periodically by determined gangs, sometimes from out of town, sometimes from inside. One can usually observe the route through the suburbs and thus predict where they'll be tomorrow.
For the last two weeks, the suburb next to ours suffered heavily from armed robberies with casualties on the victims’ sides. On Thursday they had eventually entered our part of town and the news on Friday morning had it that a 28 year old house owner was shot six time by some BGs sitting in the bushes opposite the house. His wife had heard something like a ladder being leaned against the wall and asked him to check it out. He took his gun and went outside. By the time he reached the gate they started shooting, hitting him six times. One bullet went through his hand into the lung. He’s alive, but lying in ICU.
Saturday night we were eating out and returned home at about 23:30. Entering our suburb but still far away from our house, we observed quite some military commotion and searchlights scanning the bushy hills. Approaching our home the commotion became gradually denser and I remember myself looking up and saying: “Please don’t let it be our house – again”. Two houses down from ours, the street was crowded by neighbors, cars from three different alarm response units, a military vehicle and ONE POLICEMAN! How the military got there, I can only guess – the base is close by and I suppose they all listen on the same frequency.
The story was, that they had broken into one of the houses close by and opened fire when discovered.
The road was blocked and we got out of the car to inquire what had happened. The hills around us where full of searchlights flickering and filled with voices calling to each other. Two shots fell and minutes later a couple of military guys came down with one of the BGs. We were to find out the next day that there were eight BGs in all and the priority right now was to find the one(s) with the gun(s). So they started the “interrogation” – right there on the spot and with everybody participating. Trust me, you haven’t seen anything like that before unless you have maybe been in one of the crisis areas of Africa. The last time I saw something like this was when I flew for the UN in Angola – and I’m talking about black-on-black. These guys fell nothing for each other and you could see the frustration built up during the past two weeks unravel upon this one sorry BG. The military as well as the response units know exactly, where it hurts without being easily recognizable afterwards – provided he’s so lucky to end up where BGs usually end up and not in some hole in the bush. Boot heels to the stomach, kidneys and liver, rifle butts to the ribs plus a hailstorm of kicks to other “parts” for good measure. Once he passed out, they waited patiently for him to recover to escort him to one of the cars (under more beatings), where he was chucked in the boot like a piece of meat.
Mind you, the neighborhood watch left nothing to complain either. I don’t think I saw anybody without at least one gun. Semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and handguns, you name it they wore it. And the police (man)? – Indifferent. The assembly resolved, when a radio call came in that they had found another one on the other side of the hill. Screeching tires, people running to jump on any car, the mob moved out to continue the search.
By three in the morning they had six of them – one died in a shootout.
Me? Arguably strange, but I feel good about it. Maybe I’ve been here too long and seen too much. Anywho, I feel that these guys were not from the poor ‘we-have-nothing-to-eat’ league, but were professionals with the intention to brake in, steal AND kill. They had raided the suburbs around us for the past two weeks and the first casualty was already too much. They had to be stopped – and this night was the night. Imprisonment for such guys does not last long enough here and doesn’t leave them with a memorable enough impression. I’m grateful for the efforts of the response guys and the military and I’m happy to see, that the neighbors are wide awake and ready to do what’s necessary.
BTW, the police did not manage to show up with even one car during the entire search that lasted for four hours. Shows you how much we need stand-in support.
Cheers and beers
LetsFetz