My worst day in Sierra Leone
By David Krueger
Sierra Leone had been going so well. I had been doing so great. Life was good. Aside from feeling a little sick my second week here and the Spider Wars in Kambia, there hadn’t really been any serious problems.
Then I came home Thursday night.
I walked through the gate to the house I was staying in, walked up a staircase and unlocked the front door. As I walked toward my room I saw the door cracked open. I was fairly certain I closed it when I last left and as I got closer I saw that the door had been broken open.
The weapon of choice, a crowbar, lay on the ground by the door. It earned its rest. It looked like it had been worked pretty hard.
The door handle had been broken off. It was replaced with a giant hole. The padlock above was bent and finally gave way after what I’m guessing was an unwavering attack on it. The frame of the door was destroyed, and a pile of wood, dirt and rubble remained on the ground. Along with the crowbar.
All at once I felt a number of feelings. I was mad, sad, worried, confused and scared to name a few. Thankfully, both of my suitcases remained in the room. They have locks on the two pockets that have anything in them. All the extra pockets’ zippers had been opened and searched, as had the drawers near my bag.
Nothing appeared to be taken, except for the cheap case for my camera, out of the room. For that I’m thankful.
What I hate is that it ushered in a new, unsafe feeling that I hadn’t really felt yet in Africa. I had begun to feel so safe in Salone. I wasn’t getting stupid or careless. I still lock my suitcase when I leave, and keep my most important items with me at all times. I pay attention to my pockets when walking around in crowded areas. I thought I had begun to have Freetown figured out.
I wasn’t overly concerned for my safety. Like I’ve mentioned in almost everything I’ve written the kindness and hospitality in Sierra Leone is almost overwhelming.
Unfortunately, so is the feeling after a break in.
I know crime happens everywhere. It occurs in Sierra Leone, the United States, and every country in between. But there’s such an unsettling feeling after a trespasser puts so much effort into breaking into your residence.
It sounds weird to hear after all of this, and looks weird to write, but I’m incredibly lucky. Whoever broke in didn’t take anything but the camera case, worth about three U.S. dollars. While discussing the situation with the rest of the house, we figured out that another resident had come home about five minutes before me and heard someone upstairs. He didn’t think anything of it and went to his room.
However, it may have been enough to scare the intruder into taking off. After this chat I realized I may have even passed the person while walking back to my room. That was a pretty eerie thought.
It turns out another resident had lost his keys earlier in the week. That made it possible to get through the gate (which locks) and through the metal front door (which also locks) and to my room. The burglar didn’t have a key for that, but apparently they didn’t need one. They had a crowbar, and they knew how to use it.
This isolated incident, which occurred exactly three weeks after I arrived, in no way ruins my trip to Sierra Leone. It ruined my day obviously, but it could have been immensely worse. My pants and socks could have been taken. Picture a reporter walking around in a white t-shirt, tennis shoes and his underwear. Can you imagine getting interviewed by him? It’d be an experience you never forgot, that’s for sure.
I like to look on the Brightside of things, which I think will help me in this particular situation. I thank God that my housemate got home when he did, and foiled the invader’s intentions. I’m going to keep locking my stuff, and make sure that I am as safe as possible for the final two months of my internship in Freetown.
Right now, I am staying at an undisclosed location while the door at the residence is fixed and all the locks, including the gate, front door and all bedroom doors, are changed. I don’t know what it’s going to be like going back there, but I’m sure Thursday’s invasion will always be in the back of my mind.
However, if that’s the worst thing that happens during my three months in Salone, I still won’t have a hard time declaring the trip a success.
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