Harlaxton Duo Attacked in Spain Unhurt, Undaunted
Emilee Shake
Harlaxton College Web Design Student
Friday, February 1, 2008
Harlaxton students enjoyed Barcelona -- at first.
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Two Harlaxton students were mugged when traveling independently in
Barcelona last weekend. The two women were shaken but unharmed.
When Beth Samelak, 20, Cincinnati, and Megan Sicard, 20, Ferdinand, Ind., arrived in Spain, they noticed immediately what a different attitude many
men have toward women, and what was first only annoying became frightening
late Saturday night.
“The guys make cat calls to the girls that walk by,” Samelak said. “After
the first few times, you learn to just ignore it.”
“It’s typical for them to make comments and is expected in most areas of
Spain which is why we didn’t notice that the guys who ended up attacking us
were up to something else,” Sicard added.
After a late dinner and evening with friends they hurried from a pub to
their hostel about four Sunday morning, and a couple of Spanish guys
latched onto them.
“These guys were talking to us in Spanish, inappropriate comments and
whatnot, so we just ignored them. Then they started walking with us,”
Samelak said.
“I realized it wasn’t quite right when he came up and was walking shoulder
to shoulder with me,” Sicard added.
Samelak and Sicard remember carrying their clutch purses close to their
bodies, under the arm and around the wrist.
“Then they tried to act like they were putting their arms around us, so we
pushed them away. The one guy grabbed onto my purse, and I pulled back, but
the strap snapped, along with the strap to my camera,” Samelak said.
“Then he looked up at me, and I slammed him against the wall behind him,
and tried to knee him in the crotch, but he got away,” she said.
Sicard’s attacker had a different approach.
“I put my hand up between us and, looking straight ahead, told him in
Spanish to go away. Then he grabbed me around my shoulder.
“I had my purse in my right hand, and because he was on my left side, he
was reaching round to try and take it from me. I was so angry and started
yelling which turned out to be our saving grace,” Sicard said.
As it turned out, there were some police officers nearby who heard Sicard’s
screams and came running to help.
“They caught the guy that attacked Megan, but they didn’t catch the guy
with my purse,” Samelak said.
Samelak lost €40, her driver's license and camera. Sicard’s purse was
returned by the police.
“It’s going to happen,” said Matt Andrzejewski, the dean of students at
Harlaxton, of the chance of being a crime victim. “It’s inevitable. The
odds are against us.”
Andrzejewski gives some tips on how to be prepared when traveling. Avoid
staying in sketchy areas. Don’t be at rail stations at night. Don’t
travel with your passport unless it's necessary (outside of the U.K.), and
even then, when you get to your destination, don’t keep it with you all the
time. Basically, just try to put yourself in good situations.
Samelak’s advice is like Andrzejewski’s: “Don't carry your passport with
you when you go out…try to stay in big groups…and put your credit cards
somewhere safe, and don't take it with you unless you absolutely need it.”
Sicard had some advice for students who might be planning trips to
Barcelona.
“Watch the time closely — we were probably out too late. Be extra aware of
any men around you that make you feel especially uncomfortable or seem to
have bad intentions.
“If you want to go to Barcelona, plan on staying in a more touristy area,
even if you have to pay a little more. La Rambla is a good street to center
yourself around,” Sicard said.
“You have many options to go on your independent travel,” said Harlaxton
College Principal Gordon Kinsley in an e-mail message to students after the
incident. “Please be advised that Barcelona can be difficult and
dangerous.”
“It happens all the time,” Andrzejewski said. “It’s unfortunate. You can
plan the best trips and stay in the best hotels, and it can still happen.”
He went on to say you have to watch out for yourself. “We can’t be with
you the whole time, and even if we could, it would still happen,” he said.
Other Harlaxton students have had similar frightening experiences on their
travels. These things not only happen to women.
Victor Tinnish, 21, Valparaiso, Ind., nearly lost his
wallet to a pickpocket outside a London pub, he said. “I’m a bigger guy. I can
take care of myself, and someone tried to steal my wallet.”
Tinnish felt something rub against his back pocket
where his wallet was. When he felt his pocket, his wallet was half
sticking out.
“Just because you’re a guy doesn’t mean there’s not a threat to get your
wallet stolen,” Tinnish said.
Despite Samelak and Sicard’s frightening experience in Barcelona, they are
not discouraged. They remain excited about the travel opportunities this
semester still holds. They are looking forward to an independent trip to Paris in three
weeks.
Tinnish is more cautious as a result of his brush with a pickpocket. “I
put my wallet in my front pocket if I’m in a crowded place.”
