By Nike

HAVANA TIMES — Theft has existed since ancient times, in every society and country; ever since Adam and Eve stole the apple in paradise. Today we now live much closer to hell.

In Cuba, during colonial times, there was a very famous thief known as “The King of Cuba’s Countryside.” Why did they call him that, you may ask? Well, because he stole from the rich and gave to the poor, a kind of Cuban Robin Hood. His real name was Manuel García.

From that time until now, there have been many famous thieves adored by this people, without anyone realizing that they have been the greatest thieves in Cuba’s history. They are the ones responsible for the misery we live in.

In these times I have had to live through, there is a wave of robberies in every neighborhood, without exception. If a house shows signs of economic well-being, it’s even worse, but anyone can have thieves break into their home to steal whatever they find and even kill if necessary. They are human scum.

If a house is protected with bars on the windows and doors, it’s hard to get inside, so they just stick their hands through the windows and grab whatever they can. Patios, terraces, and rooftops are also vulnerable.

Two nights ago, I accidentally left the kitchen window open — a huge mistake because it’s as if they’re watching you, and the day you forget: bam! they get you with the belt! As a friend of mine says, it’s a phrase that’s fashionable in the streets these days.

Well, they stole seven eggs, half a bottle of oil, two clay pots with ginger and turmeric rhizomes, two onions, and two heads of garlic. In short, they solved their meals for the day, cleaned out the kitchen counter, and although the window had bars, they stuck their hand through and took whatever fit between the iron rods my grandfather installed back in the 1950s.

But it didn’t stop there. I went out to the patio and noticed a small bowl missing from the wash area — it had maybe three spoonfuls of powdered detergent in it. They also took an old towel and a woven palm bag, probably to carry off what they had stolen.

Yesterday my neighbor called to me over the fence that separates our houses and asked, “Do you know anyone who’s been robbed these days?” I told him yes, me, and shared the story. It turns out he was missing three cans of oil paint — blue, black, and gray — that he had left in the patio because he’s painting. It’s ironic: he’s protecting his bars and yet they still sneak into his patio. Maybe we’ll have to put bars over the patio rooftops too?

We came to the conclusion that the same thieves who robbed my house were the ones who got into his patio, because the timing of the thefts matches. He was furious and told me that if he caught them inside his house, he would kill them. I suggested putting electric current through the fence, even if it was only a few volts… and we laughed imagining the thieves jumping around. It may sound a little cruel, but when someone robs you, you feel awful and humiliated, and that feeling stays with you for a long time.

When I was a teenager, people in this town didn’t lock their gates with padlocks, just a simple latch. Back then, because our household was mostly women, a peeping Tom used to come into our yard — that’s what they call men who like to look at women without actually touching them. Every night the guy would come, and we could hear him walking through the pasageway and patio to peek through the windows.

We got tired of it, and I came up with the idea of electrifying the fence so he wouldn’t come in anymore, and that’s exactly what I did. He never came back to our house. But one day I forgot to disconnect it and suddenly heard a friend screaming from the front entrance. I ran out and removed the wire. The poor man was terrified and told us we were crazy.

I wanted to warn you not to leave anything valuable or important near your windows because in these hard times for Cubans, having anything stolen from you is a low blow.

Thanks for reading me.

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