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Back to the filesSECURITY FILE 007 - THE JACKET
Security File 007 - The Jacket
Location: Refugee Village Social Workers' Waiting Room
Shift: Day Shift
Incident Type: Physical Altercation, Alleged Theft
Not every fight starts with a major disagreement.
Sometimes, all it takes is a jacket.
It was a day shift, and my colleague and I were standing by the entrance to the social workers' office. Our post was right next to the waiting room, where residents came to discuss their cases, ask questions or wait for appointments.
It was a fairly normal day.
Until a resident approached us with a complaint.
He told us that another resident had stolen his jacket. According to him, the man responsible was sitting inside the waiting room.
He even showed us a picture of himself wearing the jacket, apparently to prove that it belonged to him.
He wanted it back.
Now, theft was nothing unusual in the refugee village. Missing clothes, stolen belongings and accusations between residents were part of everyday life. The problem was that we rarely knew the full story when someone came to report an incident.
One person would swear something had been stolen. Another would deny everything. Sometimes the evidence was convincing; other times, it was one person's word against another's.
We couldn't simply assume that every accusation was true.
So, in this case, we decided to bring the situation into the waiting room and see if we could establish what had happened.
We told the man to come inside and sit down so we could get to the bottom of it.
He stepped through the doorway.
Then he spotted him.
The other resident was sitting there wearing the jacket.
There was no discussion.
No warning.
No chance to ask questions.
The moment he saw his jacket, he launched himself at the other man with a flying kick.
One second, we were trying to resolve a complaint about stolen clothing. The next, we had a physical fight breaking out right in front of us.
I moved in and grabbed the man who had launched the attack, while my colleague got hold of the other resident. We separated them before the situation could escalate any further.
That didn't mean things were under control.
Both men were shouting at each other, making threats and promising to kill one another. They were furious, and neither seemed interested in calming down.
Unfortunately, that kind of reaction wasn't unusual at this location.
Arguments could go from zero to a hundred in seconds. A disagreement over personal belongings could quickly turn into pushing, punching or worse. And once someone decided to take matters into their own hands, reasoning with them became a lot more difficult.
We kept the men apart while the shouting continued.
Fortunately, a social worker came over and took the case from us. The dispute could now be handled through the appropriate channels rather than becoming a bigger confrontation in the waiting room.
Our immediate job was done.
The original complaint had been about a stolen jacket. The resident had even brought a photograph to support his claim.
But instead of a conversation about who owned the jacket, we ended up separating two men who were threatening to kill each other.
All over a piece of clothing.
The Reality of the Job
Working security in a place like this teaches you that the reason for an incident doesn't always reflect how serious it can become.
A missing jacket might sound trivial. But for the people involved, it can be enough to trigger anger, accusations and violence.
And for us, the challenge is figuring out what is actually happening without taking sides, while being ready to intervene if things turn physical.
That day, we went from standing quietly at the entrance to physically separating two residents in a matter of seconds.
The jacket was the reason they gave us.
The flying kick was the reason we got involved.
Another ordinary shift. Another unexpected fight. And another reminder that you never know what will happen when someone walks through that door.
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