Security Breach

(Please do not rollerblade and skateboard at the same time)

I was just sitting there, minding my own business on Platform 1, waiting for the train towards Kalk Bay. I looked up and saw a young South African man throw a water bottle violently towards someone I could not see and run after them. A few minutes later this young man, a much younger boy and a very old man with a temper came back to the platform and yelled across the tracks to the security officer on the other side.

"This guy just stole money from him!" said the elderly man in regards to the South African.


"Sorry, that is not my platform," was the reply, "You have to go get that guy." He pointed to the security officer sitting alone down the staging area, away from all people, obviously pondering to himself and dosing in and out of sleep. The safety of the awaiting passengers clearly not on his mind as I had watched him move away from people repeatedly for the last 20 minutes.

The youngest of our conflicted group went to fetch him. I watched as the security officer stood slowly and, with obvious hesitation, walked towards the other two men trying to sort out the justice of the matter. It was as if we was wearing a security officer's outfit as a costume and actually had nothing to do with safety at all. Once he reached the group and the scenario was replayed again, the Platform 2 officer jumped off his platform, onto the train tracks, ran across them and jumped back up to our Platform. So much for the previous boundary remark and so much for the example of safety.

I doubt anything was solved within our quintet. At one point I saw some money being thrown at someone, but, again, with such violence that the victory was probably not sweet.



Just before all this I had been standing against a column when a man walked up to me and said, "Sister, there is some money there," and pointed to the ground. I replied, "Oh, it is not mine," and listened as a collective gasp from all other awaiting passengers rose. Another man walked up and took the coin from the ground. I could almost hear him thinking, "Well, if you don't want it . . ."


. . . An hour later . . .


I was waiting at the train station to ride back to Muizenberg from Kalk Bay when I saw a man standing on the wrong side of the yellow line that marks the safe zone away from oncoming trains. The security officer at this station, on the appropriate platform, made a motion with his hands indicating that the man should move away from the line before the train came. The man made a sarcastic motion back and yelled something about not understanding sign language. The security officer motioned again. The man flailed his arms about. The security officer motioned. The man wiggled around in rebellion. I then thought to myself two things: 1) this flailing man must be bored and I wish there was a way to engage him in the rest of the world so he had something more constructive to do then mess with a security officer at a train station, and 2) the security officers in South Africa obviously have no authority and are there to make tourists and unknowing citizens feel better. It really is like they are wearing a costume.