When we first got here there were three constant things that people would tell me:
1) eat street hawker food - check
2) go to the malls - quadruple check
3) beware of purse snatchers - unfortunately, check
As of last week I can check off being a victim of a purse snatching attempt. I was walking home from the metro station, on the same two minute route that I always take, and on a very public and busy street, when two men on a speeding motorbike approached me. That's how they do it here, one guy drives while the other sits in the back and sees what he can get away with. It's a major problem here and whereas before it was common at night, it is now far too common to occur during broad daylight.
I've seen bikes on sidewalks before so I simply I thought that they were making a u-turn from the adjacent one-way street and I took steps to the side to get out of the way. But, within seconds, I felt and saw the guy sitting on the back pull my hand-purse, let go, and then speed away. I didn't realize what had happened until they were gone. I was in shock. Never in my life have I experienced a violation like that. Thankfully there were two women behind me who witnessed it and had it not been for their post-attempt company I don't think that I would have kept my calm the way I did. What was most troubling was how casual the encounter had been: the guy went for it but when he realized that I wasn't holding my bag loosely enough to snatch it easily, they continued on ... perhaps to the next victim. No big deal, just another afternoon and another drive-by.
Once at home I quickly locked the door behind me and started to process what had just happened. My mind started racing with questions like "how will I ever feel safe walking to the grocery store/metro/anything again?", "what if they had taken my bag, all of my things are in there!" or "why are we even living in a place where this sort of thing happens???"...
After a while I pulled myself together, thanking my lucky stars that it hadn't been worse. I've heard awful stories of women being dragged on the ground or getting their arm slit with a knife. I was unharmed and still had my possessions. I was one of the lucky ones.
I didn't leave the apartment until the weekend with Joe's company but now I'm feeling better and all the more wiser. Unless I'm taking a taxi door-to-door I shouldn't carry any unnecessary things, always use a cross body bag, keep phone and cards in my pockets, and don't wear anything so bright that makes me a quick target from afar. All very simple things but I absolutely hate that I even have to think about them. I hate that I have to be on guard walking down the street, clinching my bag. And I hate that I have to be mentally and physically prepared to react should anything happen (again).
It's a shitty way to feel when you walk outside and unfortunately I can't see any obvious actions from the local government to prevent it. They post up signs to "be careful" but how about having some security on the streets so that it doesn't happen in the first place? I have yet to see ONE police officer since we've moved here. Coming from a place like London where even though it had its own problems with crime, there was at least the backup of CCTV everywhere and there was always a cop nearby. In LA, well...I never really worried about anything, even when I lived near Skid Row. There may have been a lot of crazy drug addicts but they were harmless to people outside of their circles. Here you have multiple problems with street crime focused on women: motorbike purse snatchings, parking lot assaults, and street junction thefts where men on motorbikes break car windows and steal purses from the passenger seats during a red light. I mean, really??? What's even more sad is that it's all so common that some people have an "it is what it is" reaction to it. Take this story for instance. A girl gets attacked (and cut up) at a mall parking lot and the management says it happens everywhere and that it's not serious. Excuse me??? It totally is serious! {Sigh} I should stop before I get really carried away as I think I've made my point.
The thing is, Malaysia is a beautiful country with beautiful people and things to offer but if it wants to be the tourist and industrial draw that it's trying to be then those in charge need to get these problems under control. Women need to feel safe. And personally, I need to hone a different set of street smarts and be brave. There's too much good here to let a few a-holes get to me.
KL seemed to be all about contrast - modern skyscrapers towering over old rain trees and state of the art shopping centers next door to traditional street hawker stands. With cold and gloomy skies lurking outside my London window right now, the image of a sparkly new pool couldn't be any more different. An entire new world awaits. A very hot and humid one in fact. Just as I had curated a great little collection of wool and cashmere sweaters it's time to trade them in for cotton tops and linen dresses. Definitely not complaining though because as a So Cal girl I'm happiest in sandals and denim shorts anyway. It felt strange to show my shoulders and legs again after months of hibernation and I couldn't help but wonder if it was okay to do so. Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country but the difference is that everyone is free to practice and express as they wish. That means that a woman won't be (our shouldn't be) chastised for not following the hijab dress code. Nevertheless, I'm used to traveling to places where it's one or the other so I wasn't quite sure what to do when I turned a corner and realized that I was the only female in sight not covered from head to toe. Going to the mall reassured me that I was going to be fine - I could have been in LA with hundreds of fellow flip flop, tank top, wearing peers! It was definitely the place to be. Shopping centers are a BIG DEAL but I'm pretty sure it has more to do with the omg-this-feels-so-good air conditioning than anything else.