The End of Innocence

Every so often, I hop in a taxi only to be regaled by the driver with tales of the safety and security of Jordan. I hear about how a visitor is potentially able to leave his luggage on the side of the road and no one will touch it. The visitor can return hours later to find his possessions unharmed and exactly as they were left.

Every time I hear such stories, I have to stifle a laugh. People with such grandiose misconceptions of Jordan are obviously living in the past. I would never presume to leave anything of value sitting around where others might make off with it. Why? Because that is exactly what would happen.

Some friends of mine have a new baby, so they purchase a nice, rugged, Jeep-brand stroller and had it shipped over from the United States. They went out for a walk a month ago and left the stroller in their yard for a few minutes when they returned back to the house. Now when I say "yard", I’m talking about a walled courtyard that is at basement level. You actually have to walk through a gate and down a flight of steps to get to their yard, which is what someone did in order to steal their stroller.

Since such a stroller is extremely rare in Jordan, I assume that the thief has two options. He could sell the stroller to some unsuspecting buyer in exchange for some extra hubbly-bubbly money or he could present it to his wife or family member as a gift. Either way, I assume that if my friend ever saw this type of stroller being wheeled around Amman, he would probably assume that it was his and most likely be tempted to pummel the truth out of whomever was steering it.