{"id":924,"date":"2016-09-28T22:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T19:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=924"},"modified":"2017-10-28T22:03:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-28T19:03:27","slug":"face-to-face-with-a-theif-yemen-through-the-eyes-of-an-american-boy-40-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/face-to-face-with-a-theif-yemen-through-the-eyes-of-an-american-boy-40-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"FACE TO FACE WITH A THEIF,\u00a0YEMEN Through the Eyes of an American Boy, 40 Years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflections by Stephen Coats based on the memoirs of Nancy Coats<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I will never forget the day when I was only 5 years old and I tried to look an alleged thief in the eyes as he evaded my gaze, shackled and chained in the back a police pickup truck.\u00a0 Almost something out of an old cowboy movie, the memory is a vivid picture in my mind.\u00a0 After a two-week search, this perpetrator had been arrested for breaking into and robbing our home in Sana\u2019a, just a year into our adventures of living in Yemen.\u00a0 Much like the shame I felt when I got caught propping up glass shards in the middle of street, this man was in a terrible position and I could not help but feel compassion for him. I also felt fearful, knowing that someone had forcefully invaded the security of our home.<\/p>\n

My mom recounts the details of the robbery in her memoirs from Friday, August 10, 1977. We had been worshiping at our small international church service that morning, and had arrived home to a fresh crime scene:<\/p>\n

\u2026We walked in the door and Tim [my older brother] went to get a drink, and the refrigerator was open.\u00a0 I walked in and saw it, and the freezer door open as well. \u00a0I ran to the bedroom and sure enough the robbers had gone through our bedroom shelf and taken about 100 Yemeni Rials\u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026They came in through Sara\u2019s [my older sister] window.\u00a0 They chiseled away the stone below one of the metal bars and then slipped it out and crawled through.\u00a0 They really only messed up our bedroom and didn\u2019t take any of the small appliances, only money, our Mother Theresa Rials, and my Grandmother\u2019s watch that I brought along for a spare in case mine quit.\u00a0 My jewelry is mostly costume stuff and they didn\u2019t take any of it, but threw it all over.\u00a0 They ripped open every box and then dumped things out.\u00a0 They found my purse in the dining room and took the money I had in there, too.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

About 2 weeks after the robbery the police came and brought some watches for us to look at.\u00a0 They had Grandma\u2019s watch.\u00a0 There was an inscription on the back so it was easy to identify.\u00a0 They had the alleged thief chained in the back of a small pickup truck.\u00a0 Seems they had caught him and got back some of our belongings.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

bedroom window<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The next morning, we had to go to the police station to confront the alleged culprit.\u00a0 We gave them our list of stolen items again and they were going to look for the rest of them.\u00a0 It was kind of eerie.\u00a0 While we were in the captain\u2019s office, they brought the alleged robber in and sat him down and asked him about the other things.\u00a0 He had shackles on his feet.\u00a0 He looked absolutely miserable, such unhappy eyes, but not really repentant.\u00a0 Rumor has it, it was customary for the authorities to cut off the hand of a convicted thief, but we\u2019re not sure if that did happen to this man, and we never did see our money again\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As I reflect on this event, I realize that there are good and bad people in every community.\u00a0 Thieves are universal, and will often do drastic things to get out of desperate circumstances.\u00a0 I thank God nobody got hurt. \u00a0The Yemeni authorities worked efficiently and professionally to resolve the issue quickly.\u00a0 As American foreigners in Sana\u2019a, we stood out as potentially easy and lucrative targets.\u00a0 The Yemeni value for honor and justice became clear to me as a child\u2014that an alleged criminal must come face to face with the people he victimized!\u00a0 This leaves me to wonder:\u00a0What do immigrants living in this country perceive to be important values reflected in me, and in my community?<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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