Issues on Crime

Great continents deal with great problems. Continental Europe is no exception. In the Zürich airport in 2005, my bag with a laptop and documents got stolen. Similar things happened to my friends and acquaintances at the same airport.

As I was explained then at the police station (which, by the way, was not so easy to find), buses from neighboring countries come in the morning, 'craftspeople' go in the crowd, and in the evening they go back with all their takings. My case was the fifth or sixth one that day. There were no CCTV cameras in the airport because the owner was an advocate for no surveillance society. At least, that is what they told me at the police station. The parking area near the car rental is especially dangerous, because usually, when you're busy with paying you pay less attention to your stuff. I hope the situation has changed since then, but it was too bad about the laptop and documents, since I had to replace them later.

In Cyprus, people still often leave their cars unlocked with AC running when they go shopping, for example. There is a local joke. A luxury car is standing unattended with the engine running. The owners' friends and acquaintances quietly move it forward a hundred meters…

In 2003, when we were paying rent on a house, the agent put the money in the front seat of his car and went in the house at our request to see why the conditioning did not work. To our exclamation that the car was unlocked (besides, the glass could also be broken), he replied with a smile, 'What could happen to it? Do you really think someone can just steal it here?' We ended up standing on the porch and keeping an eye on his money while he was fixing the AC.

After joining the EU, the crime situation deteriorated, growth in prosperity always costs something. But still, the crime rate in Cyprus remains the lowest one in Europe. Everything is different here. If you remember that you've left a side door wide open, you finish your business and then hurry up to your home to close it.