Going to Jail, Justice, and The Truth Shall Set You Free

Our new house in Roma!

Today was a day of craziness, and I am tired, so I will try to succinctly put all that occurred, and somehow convey the weight of what occurred at the same time.

Last evening, surprisingly, IConnect called, and told us they had a modem for us (where they got it, we aren’t quite sure…maybe took one from someone else???), and that we had to be at our new home by 9 am for them to connect it, since they ‘knock off” (quit work for the day) at noon, and then there is a holiday both Monday and Tuesday, so the next chance to get it hooked up would be on Wednesday.  So we dropped Eric, our garden/outside worker, Maggie, Mollie and Sam off at our new house at about 9:15 am, and they began to work, settling things, gardening, enjoying the lovely outside, and pestering Bambo Daka (Mr. Daka), our daytime worker. Mollie followed him around, ‘helping’ him garden, and keeping him company.

Please keep in mind, we would be seen as selfish Americans if we didn’t hire Zambians to boost the Zambian economy, and that each of the people we’ve hired is either a widow, with children, or a father with a family with no other income.  And, that unbelievably, the range for a day worker ranges from $5-$40 per day.  You can give bonuses for school fees, or school uniforms, or food for the family, but it is not wise to raise the pay, because it messes with the basic working-class economy, and we don’t want to be responsible for that.  Our hiring of one of the men for three days a week, for approximately $30, has enabled his three children to buy school uniforms, pay school fees, and attend school.  He is tremendously grateful, and will do anything (even scoop dog poop!).

Beth and I had gone to a prearranged visit at a home of a non-profit worker who was leaving the country and supposedly selling everything.  We asked her to save us about 5 items, one of which was a keyboard for Beth for her birthday.  She said she would, and so we went significantly out of our way to get the things we need for our new home without paying an exorbitant fee, and our friend and worker at our current home, Chris Zimba, was going with us, to see if the keyboard was something he could use for his church, which he has been looking for.  Beth was quite willing to give it up for herself if she knew a whole church could and would benefit from having it.  We got to the home, and they hadn’t saved the items I had asked her to save for us:  garden tools, a small tv, the keyboard, and kitchen supplies.  I was exceedingly frustrated that our friend Chris had walked very far, taken a bus to meet us, and then all that to get there, and find out his keyboard was sold.  I held in my frustration, and we bought a few things, and left.

On our way home, we learned a lot about Lusaka, and the areas we were driving through, from Chris.  As we were driving, we went very close to the carpentry workshop where we had given a $150,000KW deposit for the carpenter, Eric King, to purchase the wood to start making our therapeutic chairs.  This was 6 weeks ago, and we have called to check on the progress many times, and either his phone isn’t working, or he says he’ll call the next day, which never happens.  By this time, all the men at his workshop know us by name, cellphone number, and are on a first name basis with us.  Persistence has never been a problem for either Beth or me.  So,  Chris Zimba, who speaks Nyanga, got out of the car with me, as I asked whether Eric King had been seen there recently.  The carpenters at his shop said he had just been put into a cell around the corner, and was being held on a similar charge to ours.  Chris spoke quick and serious Nyanja, and found out what he was accused of, and we locked up the car, they promised to watch it, and Beth, Chris and I walked around the corner to the Kalingalinga Police Post.  Outside the Post, which we promise to get a picture of for you, was a sign “The truth shall set you free”.  We went in, and said the typical welcome greetings in Nyanja, and when I mentioned the name “Eric King” the Seargeant’s eyebrows went up.  He admitted that Eric King was actually around the corner (literally) for a similar charge by another white woman who also had commissioned him to make therapeutic equipment, though she had given him 2.8 million KW, which is somewhere over $500.  She was an older woman, which made it a more serious crime than against us, since we are younger, and respect of elders is a much more serious issue.  He asked whether we wanted to press charges, which would mean a legal battle, which we are not interested in.  He did offer that we could go around the corner, and speak with him.  We did this.  It was unbelievable.  Beth and Chris and I walked around a half-wall, and there was a cell with one woman in it, and next was a cell with many men in it, Eric King being the one at the gate, clearly listening to all our conversation about his taking our money, making promises to build a therapeutic chair, and basically running away with the money.  I was able to speak from my heart, telling him how his stealing had impacted our ability to care for those who can’t even sit up straight, and how his untrustworthy business practices had disappointed us, and made us less trusting of hiring future adaptive equipment carpenters.  It would have made the Holbrook family proud, I think.

At this point, our friend Chris Zimba started basically preaching to Eric King, and all the men who were the captive audience, literally, behind bars, as he regaled them with his breach of character and behavior.  He told them how we had come from another country, and were trying to care for orphans who had special needs, and what an embarrassment he is to his fellow Zambians, who are honest and hardworking, and have no desire to swindle.  How we have pure motives to be caring and to work hard, and his cheating, lying and stealing took time away from our good work, and what he needs to do to fix the situation, not to mention what a blight it puts on Zambians in general, who aren’t like him, and work hard to make a living, however meager that might be.  On and on, in both English and Nyanja.

To make a long story short, everyone, including the Zambian police were quoting scripture, and defending us and the other woman he had stolen from, and we felt listened to, and really heard.  Beth and I never would have had the guts to enter the Police Post ourselves, but with our Believing, Zambian friend, we felt no fear, and felt very protected.  We’ll let you know what comes of it, but for now, we do believe justice will be served, and he will not be allowed to do this with other people.  So, first experience number 673:  Beth and I inside a Zambian jail!  Thankfully on the outside of the cell……