Help yourself ...

One of my Ugandan colleagues, who has a great sense of humour, told me this joke the other day:

In Japan they invented a machine that catches thieves;

 They took it out to different countries for a test.
 In U.S..A, in 30 minutes, it caught 20 thieves;
 In UK , in 30 minutes it caught 500 thieves;
 In Spain , in 20 minutes it caught 25 thieves;
 In Brazil , in 10 minutes it caught 6,000 thieves;
 In Ghana in 7mins it caught 20,000 thieves,
 In Uganda , in 5 minutes the machine was stolen without trace!!!

Over the past few months, I have been hearing stories about friends and colleagues being the victims of theft far too often for my liking. Friends have lost cameras, money and even a full size, desk top computer, including monitor and all the paraphernalia. Laptops, phones and i-pods are easy pickings for these urban predators. It is unsettling to have to put so much time and effort into safeguarding my belongings - carrying my handbag everywhere I go, finding safe hiding places for anything of value every time I go out and the constant locking and double locking.

I understand that times are hard right now. Last month, inflation hit an 18 year high of 18.7%. Wages have not risen by the same proportion. However, these facts do not make the victims feel any less violated. Most of us don't have any insurance here, so once something has been taken, it is pretty much gone forever. 

To be honest, it's getting beyond a joke.