a little excitement

On friday, I was walking right in front of Dos de Mayo Hospital on my way to rounds when a guy grabbed the stethoscope out of the pocket of the white coat which I held in my hand, and booked it away across the street. I ran after him for a few steps, instinctively, and yelled at him, but then sense got the better of me and I stopped. The ladies on the corner who rent cellphones by the minute (cheaper than phone booths) heard my yelling and alerted the police. The thief crossed 8 lanes of traffic and jumped three barriers before falling on his face on the way into an alley. So, the police were able to apprehend him. The cellphone ladies told me that if I wanted my stuff back I better go over there to talk to the police. I could see that the police were going to leave soon, as they were getting him into the back of their SUV, so I too ran across 8 lanes of Avenida Grau - luckily temporarily devoid of busy traffic - and jumped 3 barriers (no falling, though, think I have height on my side). I got there just as they were about to speed off.

I then got into a little negotiation with the Policia Nacional guys, who refused to give me back my stethoscope unless I went with them to file a report. I then faced the uncomfortable choice of riding next to the thief in the back of the car with peruvian cops in charge, or just abandoning a stethoscope which I can ill afford to replace. I'm not altogether always trusting of police (especially in the developing world), and I really don't like being around armed men, so I was quite hesitant. I remember being a kid in Brazil and learning to never call the cops as they would do "worse than whatever the criminals just did". Given the way Peru is today, I decided to risk it, though I texted Colin to tell him what had happened and give him the details about the police station and car so that he could track me down if I disappeared.

The car ride did nothing to reduce my fears as to my left the guy was busy trying to pass his legs between his arms so that he could move the handcuffs to his front. That and he was holding a metal tape measure in his hands. I hugged the right door. At this point they asked me for ID and finally realized I was a foreigner, which changed the whole atmosphere and seemed to invite me to some special treatment (though good or bad, I did not know).

When we got to the police station and they had him empty his own pockets and backpack (not the most professional search I have ever seen), it became very clear that this guy was poor and unarmed (unless you count a rusty boxcutter and a broken bar of soap). At this point I became far more afraid of the two police officers (one with a handgun, the other a rifle) than of the poor wretch who stole from me. Things would not go well for the thief as Peruvian jails are pretty awful - not to mention hotbeds of tuberculosis. Especially bad is that I am not Peruvian and it seems that the sentences are much harsher if you steal from a foreigner (an effort to protect tourists), so he was facing a probable 27 days of jail time. Poor guy had not a dime or any food on him, so he was clearly desperate and I feel for him.

After a couple more hours of Peruvian-paced writing out of police reports (I had to spell out stethoscope for them) and me giving my statement, I finally got back my stethoscope (though missing a diaphragm, largely in good shape). One of the cops in the station offered to give me a ride back to the hospital, but I insisted on taking the bus.

It took me a few hours to try to relax, though eventually after a chat with my parents and a run on the beach, I felt like myself again. At my meeting that night with Bob he told me that it used to be common for police to rape young women in Lima, though he hasn't heard those reports for a few years now. So I'm lucky, and Peru is getting safer. Either way, I'll leave my jacket inside my bag until I get to the ward where I am working from now on.

Lest you be afraid to come visit, the hospital is in one of the worst parts of Lima, where you would never go as a tourist - most middle class and above Limeños never go there. Tourist parts of the city are crawling with tourist police, which do extract small bribes from locals for parking offenses and the like, but are generally harmless/ benevolent. In the parts of town where we live and relax, we are fairly safe (minimum level of security think corner of Tremont St and Mass Ave in Boston) and surrounded by security guards. I even run with an mp3 player on a beach where 5 years ago people used to get jumped for their running shoes. Peru is improving, becoming a lot more stable as its economy improves and the standard of living is shooting up. Let's hope that the momentum lasts during the economic crisis.