Strangers in the Night

Last week we woke up in the dark…our power was off. At first we thought our electricity had run out, as have been running a dehumidifier 24/7 since our flat was mildly flooded during the Mother of all Storms…but we still had enough left on the meter. (Yes, electricity works differently here than in the States.) I waited until the bewitching hour was over and WhatsApped (is that an acceptable verb now?) our Growing the Church group to see if their power was off as well…but then it came back on again…so, we thought no further on the subject.

But last night, we found out what had really happened. As you can see from the photographs, our block of flats has an electrified fence all around it with electric gates that work with remotes.

Louise at the main gate...the infamous power box is behind her.

The security camera that revealed all...

But, that did not stop two possible gang members from getting over it. It’s not hard to see why…there is a tree right next to a street lamp…even I, admittedly with some difficulty, could get over there. Apparently, one of our visitors scaled the walls of the building itself and attempted to enter our neighbour’s flat via their porch…but our neighbours woke up and foiled whatever plans he may have had…they sleep with the porch door open as they, like us, are on the second floor.

From the video footage they could see that the other visitor walked around the base of the building and then towards the gate where he found the main electrical switchbox and…yes, you got it…turned off the mains. Why this box was not locked remains a mystery, but there you have it. He then got over the electrified fence without any discomfort to him or his friend.

Gang activity in our area has apparently escalated of late and we have been warned to become increasingly vigilant. This is so sad as leads to profiling. For us, the only way forward is to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of whether they are digging in the trash or dropping their children at the school across the road off in a Mercedes Benz…but to be wise and not put ourselves in harm’s way. So, no more late night strolls unless we are in a group…sigh…this world needs Jesus…

Our flat is in the centre on the second floor...the neighbour's porch is to the left in the picture...it is relatively easy to scale that wall because of the wood slats.