Cape Town at nighttime

Very nice shoes…

I met her on a rainy Sunday night in the city center of Cape Town. She begged for some money. Was it because her brown eyes looked a little sad at me, or because of her thick belly by which I noticed she was pregnant? Or was it maybe because I just had visited church, that I ordered some food for her at an eating place? She was immense grateful. “Thank you so much! You are such a nice person”, she said. I felt awkward. She continued: “You take care. It’s very dangerous here. There are some people who want to rob you. They’re paying a lot of attention to your shoes. They ask what size you have and if you could lift one of the leg of your trousers so they can have a proper look. When you’re willing, and bending over, they take your wallet out of your pocket.” Politely I had listened to her, said goodbye and continued on my way.

During that week I was in the city center again. It was late, few people were on the streets. I walked on the pavement under wrought iron balconies supported by columns of the Victorian buildings at Long Street. The double parked cars gave this place some extra cover. Suddenly out of a dark niche there was a bunch of even darker guys. There was about five of them. “Hey man, what a nice shoes do you have…”, it sounded. Before they even could finish I said: “I’m sorry but I know that trick already”, and I crossed the street, leaving them dazed behind.

A few weeks later I met Antonio in a hostel in Johannesburg. He told me he had been to Cape Town as well. “Shit man, they stole my iPhone. What happened? They started asking about my shoes…”