So there I was, begging at a petrol station with one of
my junkie friends, Gareth. A pleasant guy. We get along pretty well. He
was robbed 2 weeks ago. He got punched in the eye. It still hasn't recovered.
While we were hanging out, 2 other guys walked up to us
and had a long chat with Gareth. Neil, the leader of the two, came up to me and
asked if I had a knife he could borrow.
In my naivety I asked him what he needed it for. He told me:
I need to f****g defend myself and I might use it to make some money. Now do
you have a Remington knife? I politely said "NO!"
He proceeded whip out a flick knife with a 15cm blade and showed it to
me.
I was pretty scared.
Honestly I was flipping big time scared. There I was sitting
being 'homeless' with two stoned gangsta's who were shifty. And clearly
keen to pick a fight with someone.
Neil had been released from prison a couple of days
before. He had upset some people before he went in. He was worried about a revenge attack.
This guy was making me the perfect target for a local
newspaper headline stating:
Belgian dies in crossfire between gang
members.
These guys see themselves as big time gangsta's. They roam
the streets looking for soft targets. When they find a target, they
rob them violently and sell whatever they can to buy drugs. The night before, these Gangstas told me they had stabbed a Nigerian 15 times to get drugs from him.
Both these guys are nuts... Well that is my analysis. But
you know what stood out more than their craziness and violence? Their fear.
Here are some self confessed criminals with big outer attitudes, but deep down they
are scared and fearful of everything, and everyone.
Fear runs deep. Only Love can overcome Fear. (Tweet This)
While I was genuinely scared of them and on high alert, ready to
run away as fast as possible. I still felt sorry for them. This is not the life that anyone dreams of.
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