Living in violent times
As the bus hurtled down the middle of the main road from Hanoi to Halong Bay, literally dodging in and out of bikes and the oncoming traffic, one of my South African colleagues compared the roads in Johannesburg.
“On the roads in South Africa, the real difference is the level of aggression. Here in Vietnam you can see people are crazy but not aggressive. It works because people get out of the way for each other. There’s no anger.
“ So what’s the difference in SA?”, I asked.
“ Here’s an example. One of our colleagues was driving and as he stopped at the lights a gun was held at head height against his side window. Forced to lower the window, the gunman demanded the nice gold watch our colleague was wearing. Resisting, he was pistol whipped until he gave in.”
“ Is this common”, I asked.
“All the time”
Another colleague joined in.
“I live in Jo’ Burg. You wouldn’t comprehend the security we live with. A gated community with 10 foot high wall with barbed wire on the top. Armed security guards at the gate, search lights, dogs and CCTV.”
“What’s it like to go out?” I enquired.
“Never on foot, you’d never go on a bike or jog, always in a safe car”.
“And at night?”
“I sleep with a gun under my pillow, because I’ve had to shoot intruders on three separate incidents.”
The roads in Vietnam may be dangerous but the people aren’t was the consensus of opinion.
