Skip to main content

Robbery, Violence, Reality...and Manners...

Beautiful Bordeaux

I am really angry today...

After having my son brutally bashed two years ago in Bordeaux on the last evening of our mother/son road trip in France by people who only wanted his money and didn't get his passport,  but in doing so crushed three vertebrae at the bottom of his spine the night we were due to fly home to Australia...

...to today in Australia where I too have been the victim of thieves...or a thief.  But unlike the situation in France, when my son was the victim of probably illegal migrants who needed money I was the victim, in an affluent suburb, in a regular supermarket, of someone who just took my wallet from my handbag....my credit card was "hacked" within the 30 minutes in which I realised I had been robbed.

Our world has been traumatised in last few days by terrorist attacks in three nations on three continents...our values have been assaulted by the horror of these circumstances. Additionally, at the same time, one country has had its banks closed because of its economic circumstances; other countries will be today bearing the repercussions of that situation.

There is no correlation between the situation which is occurring in Europe with the insurmountable, ongoing tragic migrant situation,  the global economic chaos which is reigning, and the robbery which I encountered today....my annoyance is irrelevant and inconsequential compared to the plight of those confronted by such terrible circumstances.

We are so very lucky to live in our country...why make it unpleasant?  Why not extol the virtues we have, and live in peace with one another.  As  Confucius said " All people are the same, it is their habits which are different..."

To the person who took my wallet, I hope you truly needed the few dollars which it contained...the credit cards no longer have value.

Comments

  1. Well said! Hope there are no lasting repercussions.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your comment Gaynor...I don't think there will be lasting repercussions, just a lot of inconvenience...new cards, drivers licence, etc....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Villefranche-sur-Mer...a ville and its food....

Villefranche...the restaurant strip beside the water (Photo LP 2013) After four weeks in Villefranche-sur-Mer,France, I have settled in and feel a little like a local.  My regular contact with the people in the little boulangerie, the nearby small supermarket, the butcher,  the Tabac and the small shops I pass each day on my way to and from  Institut de Français  has resulted in a familiarity which I would not have expected.  The regular " bonjour, ça va?" as I pass, or when I visit the market each Saturday morning, has made me feel at home.  When I have mentioned  that I am a student at the Institut the local people immediately smile and encourage me to speak in French, which was awkward in the beginning but as I have improved my confidence and my ability to speak in their language, these "locals" have encouraged me with their compliments, week by week. I am going to miss each and every one of them when I leave. My first meal inVil...

Bare Breasts, Betel Nut, Weetbix... and Yapese Manners

(Artist: Tommy Tamangmed. http://www.yapeseart.com/) And so, yes, I have returned. The time came for me to leave the “remote” islands of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia and the tiny nation of Palau and return to western “civilisation”. It has taken a few weeks to readjust to the pace of “modern” life having experienced the tranquillity of living in a mobile phone/ television free environment. The concession of extremely slow and eventful internet connection seemed incongruous in these places of ancient yet vitally living culture. My spirit is uplifted and my sense of pride in the human ability to share kindness and show good manners has been restored. Arriving in Yap in the early hours of the morning was exhausting. A tiny airport, tired passengers, equally tired immigration officials but then the first of many Yapese warm and ready smiles in the arrival hall as I was given a beautiful lei by a young girl wearing only a lava lava and a wreath of flowers artfully draped a...

Bali…Bogans, Tattoos and the Ugly Australian…

Balinese temple (photo LP 2010) I have returned in the past few days from a holiday in Bali, Indonesia, with my sister.  Unlike my trip in 2010 when I stayed more remotely in the north west at Pemuteran  and  the north east at Amed, this visit was to a five star resort in Legian. What a difference!  The streets of Legian were very busy, the locals almost outnumbered by the Australian tourists.  I heard very few languages other than “Aussie” spoken and it reminded me that when I travelled with my French boyfriend to the northern part of Bali, I was told by the Europeans I met that they tended to avoid the tourist hubs of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak because of the loud, rude and crude Australians…yes a generalisation about the Aussies, but unfortunately, as I was to learn, a correct one. A friendly local trying to sell us a toy (photo LP 2012) It is difficult to write this post without appearing a “snob”.  But having canvassed my ideas wit...