The Artless Dodger

Last week, some scumbag(s) broke into our house and stole my laptop and Jamie's camera. We were home at the time, sleeping. The only windows we had open were in our bedrooms; everything else was locked. They took out the screen in our bedroom, quietly slipped past us while we were sleeping, went into the living room and took what they were after, then went back out through the bedroom window.

The dog that hangs out around our house was in heat and had been attracting a number of male suitors, all of whom had been barking like crazy all week, so they were of little help in alerting us to intruders. Not surprisingly, when we reported the break-in, the police were also of little help, and the best they could offer in terms of consolation was to tell us that this kind of thing happens all the time, especially to Americans. They also said that around Christmas, they tend to see a significant increase in the number of break-ins, so we should watch out.

They did say that every once in a while, the stolen goods are recovered, but it sounded like they were just as surprised as the thieves must have been. In any case, Jamie and I have taken a more proactive approach by putting up flyers all over the place, offering a reward for the safe return of our stuff. Several people have taken the tear-away phone numbers, but we've only gotten a couple of phone calls, none of which have yielded any leads. We've also taken to locking our windows at night, forfeiting a basic liberty that I'm not at all happy about having to give up.

It's a small island, so in theory, our stuff couldn't have gotten too far. However, in talking to other people who have had things stolen (I personally know of at least five other expat instructors at the college whose laptops have also been stolen since they've lived here), there seems to be a correlation between a regular increase in the number of break-ins and the arrival of a ship at the port. In other words, it's likely that these scumbags, who are probably kids or teenagers, steal stuff out of people's houses and then sell them on the ship right before they head back to Japan. It makes sense. In fact, there was a ship that came in the day after we were robbed.

It's sad to say, but it seems that if there's one thing that globalization and capitalism have taught the youth of Micronesia, it's to covet what they cannot afford. According to the police, in this case, it's likely booze, which was probably purchased after they unloaded our stolen goods for a fraction of their actual value, with no consideration whatsoever for their personal value. That's right. Every piece of writing I've done, every song I've written and every picture we've taken in the past several years is probably worth no more to these assholes than a bottle of bottom shelf liquor.