The iSavta Team | 13.11.2019

I am specifically talking about Takana Merkazit and the surrounding area because a few days ago my new tote bag was slashed while I was inside the central bus station or maybe it was on the street. My beautiful bag doesn’t cost much but... Anyway, they got nothing because there was nothing important inside it, only my passport because I just want to walk around the shops baptizing my new tote bag with goodies from back home. I only noticed that my bag was slashed when I was home and I noticed a bag of Piattos sticking out from the side. Oi vavoi, no wonder when I was walking in Dizengoff street, people look at me twice and I thought it's because they find me beautiful and irresistible! Ooof! :) Back to earth, babe! Since I am new in Tel Aviv (I worked formerly in the North), I asked the veterans in Tel Aviv their experiences and afterwards I thought it would be a good idea to write their stories. I heard from the news about the rape cases and murder in the Takana Merkazit and around Tel Aviv. Now an unidentified woman's body is found chopped in a suitcase! There are good and bad people in every race everywhere in the world. I am not a racist and I feel for those foreigners from Africa who thronged the Neve Shanan and Levinsky area but most of the time they are the one accused as the assailants in this particular area. I guess it's because they feel they've got nothing to lose and everything is just hopeless. And I am not implying they were the one who slashed my bag because I haven't seen the one who did it. Here are the advice and stories (Stories are slightly altered to keep the privacy of the actual people). 1. Don't go out alone in the evening especially after 9PM. If you feel like going to the bar, go as a group or better yet have the party in your own apartment and party till you drop on your own bed. This way, you are safe and the drinks cost cheaper. See, safe and cheap? Story: A man from the flat beside mine was robbed on the stairway of our 2rd floor apartment one evening on his way home from a party. I and my flatmates were having a late feast one Saturday night with the music adding noise to our raised voices when we heard a choking sound like “aaakkkk” and loud thuds. We all froze in the act of eating because we thought it's an Immigration police raid. Suddenly in the frozen silence, we heard a weak “help me!”. Come morning he was sporting an egg sized bump on his thick head, several bruises on his ribs as well as a nick in the throat from the knife of a “tall, black man” because he thought his wallet is worthy of a fight. Apparently the main door of the building was destroyed by a raid of immigration police years ago and the owner didn't deem it is necessary to repair so anybody can enter and take advantage. 2. Don't walk very near the buildings, especially if you are alone else you might find yourself pulled in a dark corner even during daytime. Be attentive and keep your eyes peeled especially in the evening or night time. Story 1: Dark corners hide many things or in this case, men of dark colored skin which blends with the dark and with dark intentions to unsuspecting pedestrians.. There was a female caregiver who was assaulted in a corner on a side street early in the morning by an African national while on her way to work. Thankfully there were a few early risers who were around and so the assault was prevented. I read from the papers about the 83 year old that got raped and beaten. Obviously, age also doesn't matter in rape cases. Story 2: A caregiver went to her flat alone in the afternoon to pick up something during the weekdays. When she came out of her apartment, an anonymous dark man leaning on the wall, apparently waiting for someone to harass look at her and said “Do you want sex?” while making obscene movements. Of course, she fled rather than to berate the offensive behavior! This is the kind of problem one should better flee instead of facing the problem. 3. You are not the model of the latest technology. Don't walk around with the latest released gadgets like you are on a runway modeling it for people to admire. Story: A woman was busy talking on her headset holding her smartphone aloft while walking on Levinsky street and in the next second, she was talking to the air because her phone was snatched by a man on a bicycle who careened around the corner with her phone never to be seen again. She was left clutching her headset. 4. Snatchers and pickpockets can get easily lost in a crowded place. Hold on to your bags tight if you don't want to be a victim of a snatcher on a fast bicycle or keep it on your front if you have some valuables inside especially during the weekends and you are passing by Neveshanan and Levinsky street which are jam packed with people because of the flea market. 5. Use the escalators and burn a few calories. Avoid using the elevators alone as much as possible inside the Takana Merkazit. It's very easy to trap a person inside the elevators. 6. Avoid going inside the public toilets alone in the Takana Merkazit. This I recommend strongly because I myself had a bad scare. A year ago, I came to visit Tel Aviv and getting down from the bus, I need to pee and went straight to the toilet to hear an awful grunting and moaning. Immediately I thought a person might be having some kind of heart attack so i knocked on the door and since it wasn't locked from inside, the door was pushed opened. Yeah, a big black man was attacking himself in the ladies CR, all right! I fled on my high heels and thank goodness, I didn't embarrass myself from the surprise and fright! Luckily, McDonald's permanent smile welcomes everyone to enter even just to use their comfort rooms. 7. For ladies, wear decent clothes outside if you don't want your breast or butt grabbed or caressed by unknown hands in crowded places. Story: A woman made a scene on the street on a busy saturday night because an unknown hand grabbed her “future and past assets”. Oh well, a bandeau top and daisy dukes is not for this kind of crowd, really. Additional tips for day to day life: MONEY SAFETY: *Don't just hand the cash/money instead always count the cash that you want to exchange in front of the money changer or in front of the employee in any of the remittance offices. *Don't be dazzled by the easy loans of money lenders/loan sharks. It's an easy solution but afterwards, it's a long journey of paying, paying and paying and more paying of the interest. Know what you are getting into, calculate the amounts and draw up the necessary documents. Ask the advice of good, reliable friends. *Avoid online Facebook shopping if you've got no cash or else you will find your face blacklisted in social medias and the fodder for gossip mongers in cyberspace. * “Don’t lend money to people, it gives them amnesia” Read my lips. Don't forget to pray. Be safe everyone!