This is a true story.
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What do you see in this picture ?
If you are like 99% of people I know, you may interpret this picture as a feel-good picture of a man cracking jokes with tourists. This is Rome. A city that looks and feels like a living museum. Every street corner seems to have a historic monument. It’s an amazing and enchanting place!
And, you are right. In fact, he is not only cracking jokes with them, he is offering them free gifts - bracelets and trinkets - gifts that he is going to give away to the tourists as a show of kindness.
You refuse but he walks up and ties it on your wrist. “Take it, my friend, this is for you!” In fact, he will not only tie you a friendship bracelet, but if you listen to him for at least 15 seconds, he will want to offer you a second and then another. It’s all for you to keep. And all he wants is for you to be happy. He has had a tough life and he sells items on the roadside to help his young family who live in poverty. Chances are, you’ll be at a point now to feel obliged to give him ‘something’. By human nature, we are too prudent to simply take (forced to receive rather, in this case) items for free.
“No, sir, please … don’t bother,” says he.
“Let me give you something …, ” you say, feeling even worse at this point that you are receiving “gifts” from someone who is exponentially more needy than you.
So you take out your wallet. At this point two things can happen -
The first, and I hear this is the most common - he will demand money and you better pay up. You’ll suddenly become aware that he has friends all around. You didn’t notice them because you were too lost in your feel-good moment of helping this fellow. But they are there. I realised this once I reviewed some videos I had taken and observed many - many other tourists being approached the same way.
The second - and the one I can relate to is the following. I’d add that this may be an exception, but this is exactly what transpired -
As you open the wallet, in a swift, completely unexpected, chilling, moment, he will snatch everything out of your wallet - EVERYTHING - the cash you kept on your way to the Colosseum from the hotel, US Dollars, Euros - everything. Gone. You stand there - trying to process what just happened. After two seconds, you ask him to give it back and he starts screaming that you are taking his money!
There are tourists all around you. But you are not getting it back. He will keep the money and he and all his friends are ALL armed. A second ago he was a kind-hearted, jovial, cheerful fellow with a difficult life trying to share happiness with the world. A second later - you are staring into the face of a vicious and angry man - his eyes have turned red - his voice has changed, the smiles are gone. You’ve been brought back to reality from a utopian world!
This ‘scam’ is apparently known as the “African Bracelet Scam”. This site on Rome Vacation Tips explained the factors that make this one of the most successful scams anywhere - “
This scam works by preying on the natural human instinct not to be impolite: not to brush off a friendly greeting, not to drop an unwanted gift on the ground.
You’ll pay dearly for being compassionate towards someone and you’ll regret it. That gift is something way more sinister in disguise (See the comments to this post from so many other readers who have experienced the same situation)
Many of the individuals are Africans from war-torn countries who take a dangerous trip to Europe. Countless stories in articles such as, One Migrant's Harrowing Journey From Senegal to Italy, talk of the harrowing tales. Unfortunately, the actions of a few leave a stigma on the entire population from the respective countries. Based on the comments, it also seems that these scams are perpetrated by organised groups based in Italy, not just migrants.
These incidents also raise an ethical dilemma. If you call the cops the individual might get deported back to where he came from and might not survive. If you don’t, he would continue to scam other tourists. It’s a hard choice that you have to make in that brief, fleeting, animated moment!
Several commentators have also mentioned being forced to wear the bracelets and in one case with the other person brandishing sharp object. Once they put it on your wrist, they oftentimes do not let go of your hand until you pay them.
As you may observe from the comments, these incidents are not just common, it is the — norm — believe it or not. If you visit any Roman site, you’re bound to be approached by someone with bracelets in a majority of cases. Every traveller to Rome should be aware of this and avoid becoming a victim.
Please help spread the awareness by sharing this post with friends and family! Thanks for reading!
-Raj Dasgupta
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