It's not all sun and roses....

Safety in Mozambique is the most important thing to me. So when this incident happened a few weeks ago, I was a little bit scared, annoyed, and frustrated. I'll leave the minor details out, but I was walking down the street around 11:15am on my way to the store. I had just gotten off a three hour chapa ride from Maputo and just wanted to get home and relax. I was already irritable because sitting in a chapa for 3 hours isn't a fun experience. Anyways, there's this crazy woman who lives in Xai Xai, or better use of words, she's mentally ill. I think she's a bit schizophrenic, but she's always angry and cussing people out. I saw her up the street and took more caution than usual because she was giving me "the eye." I don't know why she chose me, but she made some gesture at me, then decided to push me against a pole and slap me across the face. I screamed - bc that was just my first reaction - and I immediately started bleeding. She just kept on walking, and a police officer who saw the whole thing, also decided to do the same. Interesting. Glad he helped. Anyway, in the midst of some people laughing, some staring, I went across the street to the pharmacy to get something to stop the bleeding on the left side. I then called my friend Mal to come and meet me bc I needed someone to calm me down. Let me tell you, I wanted to hit somebody - mainly bc nobody in the streets, especially Mr. Policeman, didn't seem to care. Anyway, Mal showed up, we went to file a police report (which was pointless bc police here don't do anything about mentally ill people), and then I went home. I couldn't understand why I was so angry. surprisingly I wasn't angry at the woman bc she couldn't really help what she did - I mean she's mentally ill, but I was upset at the people and how the officer reacted at the police station. its amazing how nobody here cares about crazy Jane and Joe that walk the streets who say and do anything they please. What if that lady hit me with a weapon, or used a knife or something? We think things like this can't happen to us, but they do. I was thankful it wasn't worse than it was. At least she only used her hands.

Anyway, the point of this story is to let anyone know who's reading this and living and working in an environment different than their own - always, always keep guard. I felt I was pretty cautious, but I guess there was nothing I could've done to avoid the situation. Mozambique can be dangerous, depending on where you are and who you're with. I never walk alone at night, never take a chapa alone at night, and am usually always with a friend when I'm walking around the city. Its unfortunate that the police feel they can't do anything to Jane. They say to me, "What do you want us to do. She's mad." For all of you in the states, you're very lucky that if anything like this happened to you, you'd have somewhere to go. For example, back home we have mental hospitals, and while there are some here in Moz in the capital, Maputo, I don't live there. So its a problem when I try to express to the police here that its dangerous for these people to be on the street. Unfortunately they don't understand.

So I've become more irritable here, and I realize that even if its broad daylight I could be in danger. I don't want to scare anyone either, but don't worry. I'm fine now. Today is another day, and well, I'm still here.

Fica bem.