Abunai…

Brussels is a mad place. Not what you’d expect, I bet, but hear me out. I’m talking about crime. Now of course crime is endemic to any big city –or let’s say capital city, because Brussels is a village compared to Tokyo or New York. And it all depends on where you go and when, even with whom. So if you’ve ever been there and had a good experience, then I’m happy for you. And if you haven’t been, don’t let me put you off. It is possible to spend time there without losing any limbs or personal belongings. But I’m starting to feel slightly troubled…

Basically, there’s often trouble when the year’s drawing to a close: people get desperate right about that time. Last year dozens of cars got their windows smashed in our street, bags got snatched, pockets got picked. My mum and I were extremely lucky coming home from shopping one day. We saw two guys walk towards us and we both had the same thought –bingo! here we go– when suddenly a man left the mosque across the street and shouted a friendly greeting. The men turned a corner and were gone. Thank the stars my mum’s on first name basis with half the neighbourhood. A while later though, she wasn’t as lucky. Sitting in the passenger seat of my dad’s car one day and waiting for the lights to change, her door was flung open suddenly and her bag snatched right in front of her. It happens, we all said, though she was left quite shaken.

The trouble now of course is that, on top of being November, the economy’s gone haywire so this sort of thing is only getting worse. A friend of mine just treated her mum to a weekend in Brussels and spent half a day at the police station making a statement after her mum’s bag was stolen. Lovely. And then there was yesterday.

Our neighbour’s teenage son was mugged at knifepoint, managed to escape when a passer-by jumped in to help (this is rare, by the way), but was then chased all the way home by the mugger who’d fought himself free. A well-positioned patrol car made all the difference and the guy was arrested on the spot. When faced with my neighbour and her son he said, I’m really really sorry, but my wife and kids need to eat. He wasn’t a thief at all, and the knife he’d used was an ordinary kitchen knife, apparently. Imagine it. Then, the same night, the father exited a nearby train station and got pepper sprayed and robbed. He started shouting and running and, in a funny twist to the tale, was picked up by three massive Lebanese guys. Actually he flagged them down and asked them to call the police. Police? They sniggered. Won’t do you any good around here, but hop on in and we’ll find those muggers. They didn’t, in the end, but you have to appreciate their enthusiasm.

Joking aside, this is all pretty scary. I’ve spent time in many places, as you know, but little old Brussels is starting to sound like the wild wild West compared to some of them. I’m quite worried for my folks, and I’m no longer feeling all that relaxed about going there for Christmas…