Well, now we know

WHAT A DAY!! Actually tops the rest!! If you can believe it!! So I woke up today, did my thing, chi gung, little reading, nap/more energy/chi work. Body's been feeling run down, so focusing a bit on taking it easy, health work.

Got to be 12, the time I gave to Kaps to have some money for me. I started getting ready to go to the police station and then it dawned on me, I don't think I can turn in family. I don't think I can do that to the whole family. 9 kids, Moma, Kaps. If Kaps goes to jail, his whole family suffers, all the kids. A quick consultation with my mom... Maybe the best thing to do is just to report it, and not name a suspect (which is a big thing here).

But here's the sudden twist in the plot... I get a text from Lindsay, and she says, "hey, what's happening? Gotta go to Freetown tonight, you sort out the rest of the week? I'm gonna need my key!" Huh? Plan for the week? When the rest of my money was stolen you told me I could stay there till I left for the plane Sunday or Monday and I could even get a ride half way Monday morning with you... Yeah, apparently not.

So she gets home and says, yeah, I need to take my key so can you find somewhere else to go? What!?! Are you serious!?!? I have literally no money and everyone I know is implicit in this thievery scenario!! And now she walks in and gives me about three hours to get out. 15 minutes of explaining my options, trying to find a solution - of which there were several - but nope, nothing was acceptable. I don't have words to describe my feelings and towards her at that moment. My knight in shinning armor has just stabed me and thrown me off the white horse.

The issue stated was there's only one key to the front door of the two bedroom apartment. We had just been leaving it with the director JMK or Papi (the do everything trusted guy who just brought $1000 back from Freetown on a bus in a bag). But she is all of a sudden not comfortable with this. Not acceptable. I'd be there till Sunday, she's back then or Monday. Nope, not acceptable. Then there is a key for the room doors. She lost the other keys though and had to break in one night. So she can't lock her door. Why not switch rooms? Naa... Not really what she wants to do. I mean not to absurd things, she was leaving with the key, she wanted me out.

I am pretty emotional at this point, not to tears, but a few chokes. How does someone do this? This was the last thing I expected, and the last thing I ever expected a Westerner to do. Shameful. She did seem concerned as to where I'd go though. The chairman was the only option I could think of. She was concerned whether he was trustworthy. I don't know, I thought I could trust her, I thought I could trust Kaps.

Anyway, so I head to the chairman's and sit out front and chat with him for a bit. Good conversation, he says you are staying with me. Yapo shows up and says of course to wait on the police. I go back to Lindsay's, pack my bag, and for the first real time in the trip, I've got my pack on and I'm walking!! Amazing scenario.

I got back to the chairman's and dropped my bag off. I was about to go to the police, but Yapo said, they've got some money for you. Kevin's on his way, shows with 450,000 Leones, just over $100. They owe me $500. But this is a step. This is for the hard drives, almost 2/3 of it. So I tell Kevin, fair enough, I will go to the police and report it, but not give a suspect. He seems happy with this. Kevin is a decent person.

But, I thought, why not get the chairman's advice. He smirks, "if you don't give a suspect, they'll go arrest everyone in the house." What?!? No investigation it seems at first, just arrest them and ask questions later!! Dilemma. The chairman's view is that he's coming up with the money, give him another day... So I am.

But think about all this. After yesterday's post about Africa and the Africans versus whitey and the whiteys. Where are we now? The Brit tosses another volunteer aid worker out on the street with no cash, and the African chairman rescues him. On top of that, the accused African criminal gives some of the money back...

Ahhh... How the world turns....