Luck of the Irish

Unfortunately, this week I had my first encounter with Cape Town crime. In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, I went out on Long Street to an Irish bar called Dubliners. I was having a really fun night, most of my roommates were there, the bar had live music, there was a ton of people there… that is, until I felt someone zip open my clutch (which was around my wrist). I instantly noticed that my phone and change purse (which held my UCT ID, debit card, and cash) were missing from my open clutch. I scanned the crowd around me but the bar was so crowded that it was impossible to tell who had taken my things. I looked around on the floor, reported it to the bouncers, cried to my roommate (yes, it was sad) and left the bar. When I got home, I immediately called my mom, told her what had happened, and had her cancel my debit card. (Thank you, Mama!) I was so upset that night because I felt that there wasn’t much I could have done to prevent this, I was just unlucky. I had my clutch around my wrist, I physically felt it being opened, and there was nothing I could do. It all happened so quickly, I really wonder how skilled this person was at robbing people. While I was standing outside of the bar before going home, a girl approached me and told me that she had had her things stolen from her twice and both times they had taken the money and emptied the rest in the bathroom. For this reason, I decided to call Dubliner the next day to see if any of my things had been recovered. I was shocked when they asked me if I was an American student and if I had lost my phone. My roommate Brad took a cab with me to recover my things. When I got there, they told me that someone had tried to use my debit card at the bar, and for two reasons they had known it was not him. This person was an idiot. My debit card has my picture on it, and my name is Marina, an obviously feminine name. In addition, Dubliner has a policy where in order to use a credit card that doesn’t require you to enter your PIN, you must provide additional proof of identification. When the bartender realized that this wasn’t me, he confiscated the card and somehow managed to get my phone and change purse back from him as well. Overall, I lost about $25 and a UCT ID valued at around $6. Without a doubt, this is not something that happens often, I was extremely lucky. I know this form of petty crime can happen anywhere, from Madison, Wisconsin to Cape Town, South Africa. To be honest, this is my absolute first experience with any form of “crime” or “danger” in Africa, and I would say that two months in, it is a pretty good place to be.