Crime and the city
Last night, a Kuensel intern was attacked on the staircase of the building she was staying at Olakha. She was on her way home from office. The attackers, two of them, strangled her and tried to snatch the laptop she was carrying in her backpack. Fortunately, her taekwando skills outdid them as she kicked herself to safety.
While the intern is recovering from the trauma, it is a good time to reflect on the issue of safety in the capital. It is not rare anymore to hear of people getting mugged, a number of apartments being robbed at a time, and cars being vandalised almost everyday. It is very common to hear of people returning late from office, party or gatherings being stopped on the expressway by groups, usually young people, and sometimes even getting stoned.
What does all this reflect?
It certainly does mean that Thimphu is not safe as it used to be. While we are still called the land of the peaceful dragon, people might be a little surprised at the amount of violence and crime we see with increasing regularity in the capital. Fights, scuffles, robbery, mugging and vandalism are not even newsworthy any more.
The casualty ward of the Thimphu referral hospital is busy treating people, especially youth, late at night, while the city police station is even busier dealing with young men, who are brought in reeking of alcohol, and often with stronger substances in their pockets. Some of these fights have resulted in deaths in the past, a chilling reminder that the safety issue is getting out of hand.
Lured by the false promise that the capital city offers better opportunities, there are many young people, who live in the city, but are without a decent means of livelihood. The unemployed youth population is compounding the problem. Thimphu city has expanded and so has the target of miscreants. The law keepers cannot stretch their hands to cover the fast growing city, and many parts of the city are vulnerable to those trying to make a quick buck.
A problem could be the change in the so-called community value that made Bhutan unique, until we started living in an urban setting. The living environment has undergone rapid change. Today, it is no exaggeration to say that many Thimphu residents wouldn’t know who their neighbours are. Therefore, we have instances like when the door of the apartment next door is being broken down in broad daylight, people thinks that their neighbour, whom they have never seen, is repairing the door.
The Bhutanese value of neighbours helping each other in times of need, inviting each other for tea or a cup of ara is fast disappearing in urban Bhutan, where time is dictated by work and money.
Kuensel Editorial 20 July 2011
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