An Oliver Twist

“People in other places worry about single women walking about the parks late at night, or down city streets without good lighting. It’s not that way here in Prague.” So says the director of the seminary where we’ve taken up residence for the next two months. This may be true—body and health seem to be safe wherever you may choose to go in this beautiful ancient city.

But your wallets and handbags are not safe.

There are signs on the doors of the subway trains that warn: “Beware of Pickpockets” in Czech and English. “Better Safe Than Sorry,” they read. No kidding. What’s a greater nightmare for a present-day traveling American than having credit cards and possibly passport lifted from a loose pocket? Nothing, I say. So even though we have no worries when it comes to kidnapping, being mugged or beaten, we’ve been paranoid about having our pockets picked. Geo and Krissy are staying on the other side of the city with a group of American students. Apparently quiet a few of them have lost wallets and the like to pickpockets already. Some of them are beginning to wonder when their turn will come.

One of the opening scenes from Oliver Twist tells the story of a band of thieves initiating the young into the art of pickpocketing. It is, after all, a fine art: the bump, the nudge, the deft fingers, the speedy getaway. It’s not everyone who can boast the ability to relieve an unsuspecting person of his wallet or her billfold and keep him from noticing until he has arrived at the restaurant and wants to pay. Granted, it’s a crime pure and simple, but it’s an unlawful art. Some of the stories we’ve heard include the picking of pockets inside coats and emptying pockets originally sealed by Velcro. Velcro!

So we keep a hand on our bags or in our pockets whenever we’re in the subway or the bus. You don’t know what a pickpocket will look like, so all you can do is be vigilant. There’s still something creepy about it, though; it makes you look at everyone with a suspicious eye. Especially those folks who seem to be sizing up everyone else in the bus. Just what are they looking for? The next victim?

I’ve got half a mind to concoct some pickpocket prevention scheme. Chain my wallet to my pocket? My wallet doesn’t have a metal ring. Keep my leg bent so that my pocket is too tight to get a finger in? Too uncomfortable. Glue my pockets shut? Too expensive down the road. Put a snake in my pocket? No—where do I find a snake that will stay there?

Maybe that’s why pickpocketing still goes on—there’s no good way to prevent it save for vigilance. So we’ll continue keeping our belongings under palm and zipper. Especially on Tram 22 (from Dejvicka Station to the Castle)—that’s where we’re told the most picking of pockets happens. ‘Cause that’s where the most tourists are at any given time. On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t take Tram 22 after all . . .

~emrys