Published on 10/14/2006

In my neighbourhood, where I have grown up in an atmosphere of friendliness and affection, we greet each other every time we meet and love to chat a little. One night, we were all awakened by shouts and screams. Outside, two police vans flashing their sirens had just halted. It was the first burglary which sent shivers down our spine.

Sams had just discovered that their new Television set was missing, so they called the police. All the inhabitants in the vicinity began to keep their doors closed. However, Mr. Harry became the victim of a burglary a week later; his wife’s jewels and two thousand in bank notes were gone. All the neighbours became united, and more soft-spoken, and mounted their own guard although the police now regularly patrolled the area.

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I found out that my neighbours became friendlier and met more often to discuss village security problems. Safety precautions became the concern of not only the adults but children more frequently rang up their friends in the neighbourhood just to chat about anything. Whenever we had to attend a wedding in another village, we kindly requested Sams and Harrys to keep an eye on our house and to ring us up on our mobile phones. We watched theirs whenever they were away. A common bond had grown among us.

When Mr. Dickson behind our house lost his sports bicycle from his yard some two weeks later, the feelings of the people living there became unusually stronger than ever. A meeting was held in the volley ball pitch on a Sunday evening. The village police inspector attended. The police gave valuable guidelines for safety precautions. They also described rather graphically how robbers go about thieving and promised to have more regular patrol and question the whereabouts of strangers in the neighbourhood.

Two days after the meeting, a siren woke me up, like the other neighbours. A stranger was seen loitering in the area. When two other strangers joined him, the neighbours who had noticed them grew suspicious, so they gave the alarm. The police immediately responded to their call and arrested them for tight investigation. The strangers spilled out the names of the two others who were their accomplices. They had committed a number of burglaries in the village. The villagers met again and discussed other safety precautions and they set up a committee to raise funds to install video cameras in strategic places without deranging our privacy.

Next morning, the theft victims were called in a meeting at the police head quarters. Some of the stolen goods were recovered. The burglars would be tried and they risked long imprisonment. The incidents brought cohesiveness and friendliness among the neighbours. We learnt the benefits of mutual care and consideration.

459 words.