Round 2: Ander vs the Pickpocket
Trip Start
Sep 05, 2007
1
16
Trip End
Feb 13, 2008
New Delhi, India
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
After my last theft experience, I always travel on the bus with my backpack on frontwise, and my cell in my hand in my pocket. On this day, I was following these rules, and at the same time listening to music through my cell radio. I took my hand out of my pocket for maybe 5 seconds, to undo the zipper on my lower pants pocket, to get money out to pay the conductor. Suddenly, I noticed the radio had stopped. I immediately straightened, first patting my pocket, then checking inside. No more phone. I looked around, somewhat wildly. At least five men were within arms reach of me, all staring straight again, looking perfectly normal. Since I had discovered the theft within seconds, I knew one of them had it.
This is where most of you will say 'obviously, just get some other person to use their cell to call yours, while watching and listening. As the thief hasn't had time to shut off your phone, the sound of your ring or his attempt to hide it will give him away'. Of course, this is what I should have done. But it's difficult to think so clearly in the pressure of the moment, when confronted with half a dozen possible thieves and in a moving, noisy bus. What I did do was take the first suggestion my harried brain offered up, which was to start yelling 'who has my phone?!' in Hindi. Hmm, right, I can just see the thief saying 'Oh, here it is! It must have disconnected itself from your headphones, jumped out of your pocket, then landed in my inner jacket pocket, all without me noticing. Here you go...'
After a few seconds, I noticed a guy moving away from me, towards the front of the bus, so I caught up to him and accused him of taking my phone. I patted him down and checked his bag, but no cell. I checked his friend, too, then returned to my first spot near the back of the bus. I told the conductor what happened, but there was nothing he could do. I asked people if they saw anything, but either they hadn't seen or they weren't talking. Finally I had the idea to have someone call my phone, but by now the thief had had ample time to shut the phone down, so no ringing ensued. Belatedly, I noticed that the man who had been seated on the exact opposite side of the aisle from where I had been standing had gotten off the bus at the last stop, now a kilometer or more behind us. I briefly thought about jumping down and running back there to see if I could find him, but since he knew I was alerted, he wouldn't have remained there. Bye bye cell.
The cell was a good one, but since I won it in a contest, I wasn't terribly upset about the loss. The only thing that stung was the loss of all my pics and videos from Goa/Mumbai and Agra, but since I already took the best of these for the blog, even that loss isn't so bad. Still, it wasn't a good start for the day. I've taken what I've learned, and, for your amusement and education, condensed it into a few rules. Of course, implicit in these rules is the assumption that you actually want to leave your room to see things and expose yourself to a pickpocket situation. Also, panch means 'five' in hindi.
PANCH PRECAUTIONS for PREVENTING POSSIBLE POST-PICKPOCKET PAIN.
1. Don't appear to be rich. Pickpockets pick their marks based on a probability of how much value they can likely steal from him/her. If you look rich, to their mind you no doubt have a pile of cash, an expensive cell, and maybe a diamond ring in your pocket. If you look like a grungy, penniless student, with barely enough bread to keep yourself among the quick, pickpockets are less likely to target you. Good strong BO helps, too.
2. Avoid crowded areas. Actually, in real life, getting your pocket picked doesn't happen like in the movies (thief meets mark on an open street, bumps against him. 'Oh, I'm ever so sorry my good man. Toodleoo!' Then makes off with mark's wallet). No, 99% of pickpocketing happens when you're jammed in a market, bus, or some other place where physical contact with others is unavoidable, hence the theft practically unnoticable.
3. Don't take anything with you. Obviously, if you have nothing to steal on you, you can't lose anything. Practically, however, you need to bring money, keys, clothes, etc with you. But you can minimize possible damage. Bring only the money you need, leave your camera and cell at home, and don't wear expensive watches or jewelery.
4. Put your valuables out of reach to a thief. Since most people will want to take their camera to see sights, or their cell to phone their girlfriend while standing on the Eiffel tower, suggestion #3 is often not possible. So try to put your goods out of reach. This seems obvious also, but it's difficult. Tricks like putting your stuff in your backpack, then wearing it in front of you, or using a hidden belt pouch are a good start, but nothing is perfect. A Brazilian friend told me a story about a friend of hers who was riding on a bus, his backpack on front wise with his valuables inside. He was distracted at a stop by a sight out the window (probably of a girl, this was Brasil, after all!), and found when he returned his attention to inside the bus that the guy who had been sitting next to him had used a razor to slice the side of his backpack open. His camera and wallet were gone, as was the guy who had been sitting there. Sometimes thieves work together, sometimes they just take advantage of a distraction. But don't think your stuff is completely safe, no matter where you've put it. The best place is in your hand, where someone would have to physically rip it out of your grasp, risking instant identification and a possible beating/lynching by an angry mob.
5. Don't feel too bad if/when your stuff is stolen. Maybe I'm just putting this rule in out of self pity, but the truth is, these guys (or girls) are good. Pickpockets who get caught are too busy trying to regrow their thumbs to think about continuing in the trade. Whether they are stealing for a living or just for kicks, the survivors are both talented and experienced, and if your stuff is taken despite your precautions, try not to feel stupid or take it personally.
That finished with, my trip to India is also drawing to a close. The past few weeks have been busy, but with nothing spectacular to report. Last week, I visited the Women's Care home project, where women addicts and their children are housed while going through rehab. On friday of this week, I'm scheduled to go visit the transgender (TG) project. TGs in India face quite a stigma, they are unable to work at normal jobs as they can in other countries. The project is attempting to slowly overcome these barriers, while trying to give the TGs options other than theft or forceful begging. At least, that's my understanding of it.
This will probably be my last entry from India, unless something so momentous occurs that I can't wait till I get back to Canada to report it. Next entry from Edmonton, I hope.
