Being burgled in Zambia

What happened?

On Sunday 12th Jan, between 9.30am and 4.30pm, our apartment was burgled. We went out for the day just to do things like food shopping, go for coffee and relax by the pool at the backpackers hostel in town. Tom wanted to watch the football, and I wanted to rest, as we’d had a full-on week at work and then a huge day exploring Botswana the day before. 

When we got back to the house, the front gate was still locked and secured with two padlocks. We entered as usual, and Tom went to unlock the front door, only to find it was wide open.

When he looked over at me and said, “We’ve been robbed”, I laughed; I thought it was a joke. In moments my laughter turned to tears as we took in the scene that awaited us.

The front door had been forced open, the lock broken, and inside was a mess. Everything had been tossed around, the beds had been flipped up, our clothes were all over the place, cupboards and wardrobes were broken, their doors swaying on their hinges, and even food had been pulled out of cupboards and left in disarray. My stomach dropped as I could see immediately that our laptops and my camera were gone.

I took a video of the apartment - I knew that the police and the insurance company would want to see it. I was in shock and disbelief when I realised they’d eaten some of our food whilst there - crumbs and wrappers were all over the table. Then, we sat outside the front waiting for the owner of the apartment to arrive; when we called him to explain what had happened he couldn’t believe what we were saying. A burglary in broad daylight in that neighbourhood was unheard of. He took us straight to the police station where we made statements. 

A few hours later, CID arrived and we all went back to the apartment together for them to survey the scene. Within an hour they had established that the perpetrator had either jumped over the wall to gain entry, or had a key to the main gate. That created a list of suspects: the gardener being one. Either way, the perpetrator had then used a small axe to break the lock and force the front door open, and another metal pole to break open interior locked doors. 

It appeared that they’d targeted us–being Westener’s in a local neighbourhood made us stand out, and we had developed a routine of sorts, where we’d be working during the week and exploring on weekends. The perpetrator must have watched us leave, knowing we’d be out for a good amount of time. 

Insurance: will it cover our losses?

The quick answer is no. 

The first thing most people have said to us is: “Hopefully you have insurance!”, and of course we do, but having insurance doesn’t guarantee a pay out. Every insurance company is different, and even though we paid a huge amount to insure our long-term trip with our gadgets, the insurer is asking for all sorts of things. 

We knew they’d want a police report filed and a copy of the crime report, which we sent them within 24 hours. We knew they’d want proof of the forced entry, so we recorded a video and sent them still images showing the broken locks etc. We are pretty savvy travellers, and we thought we’d have everything to hand should something like this happen.

What we didn’t expect was for the company to ask us for receipts and proof of purchase for every item that was stolen. This is impossible for some things, such as the clothing, my backpack, and toiletries that were taken. It’s also proven impossible for my laptop, which I bought in store in the U.K. four years ago–since which we have lived in about 100 different places. Who knows where that receipt is. And bank statements may be helpful here, but we’ve changed banks twice in that time, so no longer have access to statements.

I guess my point is that having insurance won’t necessarily remedy the issue. We should get some money back for the stolen camera, but that’s about it. So we’ll still have lost around 2000 pounds worth of possessions, and we’re out of pocket from buying new items to replace the stolen items; headphones, smartwatches, laptops, charging cables, bags and clothing.

As well as this, we’ve had to stump up for more things we didn’t budget for, such as alternative, more expensive accommodation, having to buy more food as around 50 pounds worth was stolen, and having to purchase a local SIM and data so that we can get back online for work. All of these things add up, and have stretched us to our limits at a time when we already had some unrelated financial problems relating to our rental property in the U.K. 

Security: could we have done more to protect our belongings?

Truly, the answer to this is no. We left our belongings in a secure, locked apartment. Unless we had carried them around with us everywhere, which would have been bulky and drawn attention, as well as being near impossible, then there’s really nothing more we could have done.

Some of you reading this may be thinking, “You could have avoided Africa, it’s dangerous there”. But I’d argue that burglary happens every day, in every city, and every country. We couldn’t have avoided Africa forever, being who we are, it was inevitable that we would come here sooner or later. And it is just as likely to have happened to us in the U.K. as it is here.

The various stages of emotion

My initial and overwhelming emotion was shock for the first 24 hours after the burglary. I couldn’t believe it had happened. When it finally set in, I felt a maelstrom of emotions: anger, upset, disbelief, loss, violation, isolation, loneliness, sorrow, vulnerability, and pain. 

I soon realised what this truly meant. My laptop contained my work, around 50% of which wasn’t backed up, and that was a huge wrench for me. I’ve lost literally half of a book manuscript I’ve been writing, several other book ideas and proposals, as well as all my content for when I do public speaking events. Learning that lesson the hard way, I suppose; my work will be backed up from now on. 

But the thing that hurt the most was waking suddenly in the night and sobbing, with the realisation that other things, irreplaceable things, were on my laptop too. Things such as Tom’s speech from our wedding, the folder with all our wedding planning documents in, photos that we aren’t sure are backed up, Tom’s speech from his dad’s funeral, and a million memories that cannot be replaced. That sort of realisation can shatter your heart. 

The sense of isolation I’ve felt this week is unparalleled. Being in a foreign country with no-one other than our partner makes us quite segregated as it is. But after an incident like this, I’ve felt more alone than ever. The phone calls I’ve had with family have helped to stem the tidal wave of emotions, and hopefully more calls with family and friends this week will help too. Having multiple viewpoints on something like this is invaluable.

An overriding emotion that I haven’t been able to shake this week is feeling violated. A burglary feels personal. Not only were we probably targeted, but the perpetrators went through every single item that we own. They went through our paperwork, our books, my birthday cards, my journal (the tie keeping it closed was ripped off), our underwear, our toiletries, our food, and more. 

They touched our belongings–probably with their bare hands, as fingerprint technology hasn’t reached Livingstone, Zambia–smearing their grease and sweat over them. By touching those items, it feels as though they’ve touched me personally. I feel dirty. I feel as though I want to throw everything in a deep clean wash.

But I know that even if I threw everything that they left behind away and replaced it, that feeling would still be with me. Getting rid of it just isn’t that easy. 

Moving forward: coming to terms with what happened

In an effort to move forward and not get stuck in the moment, we moved accommodation straight away. We couldn’t stay in the apartment as the doors and locks were broken, but even after the owner fixed the locks and doors we didn’t want to.

Not only because we felt unsafe there, but because the memories of what had happened would surround us there. We’d be kept company by the emotions of anger and upset every day. I knew that the first step to moving forwards was to try to accept these new circumstances–something we could only do from somewhere else.

We went out and bought a few items to replace the stolen ones, so I’m now the owner of new headphones, smartwatch, backpack and tiny mini-laptop which was new and cheap and is enabling me to get some work done. Tom got a second hand laptop which is slow but steady–and like a tortoise, hopefully it will help him win the race against his deadlines. These devices have helped enormously, as it allowed us to get our heads back into our work, and away from our loss. 

The police, although helpful and kind, providing us with a detailed crime report very quickly (we’re on Africa time, after all), haven’t got anywhere with the investigation as yet. We have accepted that we won’t get any items back, and it’s unlikely the perpetrator will ever be identified. It’s the only way we can process what has happened and move forward without hate in our hearts. 

We are grateful that we had our passports and phones on us, and that we weren’t home when the burglary happened. We have our health, our employment and our freedom to be thankful for, and we know that whoever did this must have been desperate, and in a less fortunate position than we are. 

In the words of Dory on Finding Nemo, “It’s time to let go!”. 

We appreciate any positive thoughts you’ve sent our way this week–keep them coming! 

Jess