“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking all over others to get it.” (Criss Jami, Poet)

Bicycles are part of my way of life and I have spent lots on buying, maintaining and securing them. More recently, in addition to helping get me fitter, explore and socialise, biking has made it possible to get into work without the COVID-19 exposure risk of pubic transport as well as enabled me to support my workplace’s services to vulnerable people by whizzing around South London to drop off urgently needed quality of life items.

Well, my support to those vulnerable people has been kicked into touch and my fitness regime forcefully limited to pounding pavements and indoors workouts by people who want for free what others get through sacrifice.

Shortly after arriving at work on Friday 21 August 2020 the expensive lock securing my bike to a rack was cut through and £1,200 of equipment disappeared. It wasn’t an opportunistic theft; it was planned. The two men seen too late by the office security staff would have needed a device to cut through my lock. I thank God my colleagues saw them too late to intervene because I suspect the implement used on the lock would have been used to resist capture.

My bike was insured and my experience of a similar crime at the same place ten years ago suggests it will be replaced in about three months. Not insured are the capabilities that came with my bike. While waiting for the insurance claim to be processed, I can only hope those vulnerable people do not in the interim need my cycling effort as desperately as they have done so many times so far during the pandemic lockdown.

The thieves will probably sell the bike for a lot less than it is worth to a person more interested in a good deal than the reasons behind it. May a thousand camels be relieved of the discomforts of diarrhoea over their heads. That would be #KarmaThroughCamels.

© Othame Kabia