Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

P.S. On the topic of dogs, there are 8 dogs surrounding our house, the lots are extremely close together, not a single one said a peep!

Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

Sorry to hear about this Zanne, especially as you were sleeping in the house at the time it happened. It just goes to show we have to be careful wherever we are in the world now. At least all they took was a small amount of money and no harm came to you or your family, and no confrontation was had. Have you considered getting a dog ?

Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

Some dogs will only react if their personal space is being invaded, ie they are loose in a fenced yard and somebody is intruding. They tend to be very protective to their own.

Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

Sorry to hear about your burglary Zanne. It's not just the money, its the fact someone has been creeping around your home while you slept which is such an invasion - especially if you have children. Hope you were not too shaken up by it. One wonders what would have happened if you had woken up during the burglary? That happened in a rough area of Manchester UK to a flatmate of mine while I was at University and he woke up and they beat him up! Luckily he was okay but it was a terrible ordeal for him....

So glad you are safe and sound even if minus $150!

L

Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

Sorry to hear that as well Zanne,

The only time (knock on serious wood) that we have ever had a break in was on the only day that my baby sitter didn't come in during our first month in our new home (this was about 11 years ago).

They tried to get into the downstairs door - didn't budge. They came around to the open aluminum slate windows in the kitchen, grabbed a knife that was in reach of the open windown, and popped off 3 of the bottom slates.. crawled through the window. By the time it was over, all my jewelry was dumped out on the counters in my bathroom, dresser drawers open, junk drawers open, they drank 2 beers out of the fridge, and they had taken only a diamond ring valued at 1000.00usd (but had visible flaws.. I had won it in a jewelry store draw in the US several years earlier and never wore it) a couple of jars of coins, a sony walkman, and .. get this.. a cordless power drill - without the charger.

in good bajan saying, there was plenty nuff other things they could have taken, but they got what they wanted and felt they could sell or use, and went on to the next house. broke the next door neighbors sliding glass door with the our same knife, and only took some change and money lying around. Left the very expensive thick gold chain and the US and canadian money that was there. (i'm guessing they thought those items would be too easily traceable, or suspicious).

Did I mention this was in broad daylight, between 9am and 12noon - as both the hubby and I were at work, and the children were at my mother in-laws (because the sitter couldn't come to our house that day - suspicious, if you ask me, but no charges pressed - she doesn't work for us anymore).


No dog, or cats at the time.

But I can tell you, the area in which we live, while it is remote, has a good system of "watchers". if the people in the village behind the "bigger" homes see people they don't know, One body calls the next, who calls the next etc etc.. and by that time everybody knows there are strangers walking around and to be on the look out. even if they aren't going to trouble anyone, you still get the call.

Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

Thanks all, it is something that you just have to get past I guess, so we are. If we had woken, well who knows, luckily the burglar was able to get out, he used a 16ft plank that had been in our yard for sometime to climb up to a 2nd floor window that was open. We padlock our gates on the 2nd floor and luckily the keys were available for him to get out. I still in the back of my mind think that this was someone who had been in the house before or otherwise knew our routine. It's a miracle that my husband who is a light sleeper didn't wake up. The freakiest part is that someone was rifling through my things.

I now know that you cannot underestimate the skills of these thieves. The guy that shimmied up this plank belongs in the circus with the acrobats. The plank was leaned against the back of our house almost straight up.

Sunnie, I did wonder about security and moving to a more remote area, which is really where I would prefer to be anyway. My observations in the countryside are that the people are cut of a slightly different cloth so the network that you describe makes sense to me.

Re: violent crime in Barbados
 

Zanne I will tell you this. Years ago a friend of mine built a house and moved out into the country. She was looking for a part time maid, but refused to go into the closest village area (which she would have passed every day on the way home) to inquire and have someone from there work for her because she said.. "she didn't want the everyone in the village to know about what she had, and did etc."

My housekeeper/babysitter lives just across the cane field from my house, and I couldn't be happier. Why?? Because she has lived in the same area for over 60 years. She knows everyone in the area, and everyone knows her, and she can tell you who belongs and who doesn't.. She and her family are great people to have around.

I agree.. many of the country folk are cut from a different cloth and do feel differently about helping their neighbors when the need is there.