Dear Samsung, you caused me trouble.

This week something happened which has made me very uncomfortable and to some extent incredibly sad.

A couple of days ago I was in Physio room 1 working on the computer with my phone on the table. I left to see a patient and 3 mins later realised I had forgotten the phone in the room- I quickly rushed to grab it but to my disappointment it had vanished. Peter (fake name), the physiotherapy assistant, was leaving the room just as I was going in, so I asked him if he had seen my phone. "No, what phone?" he replied, looking rather awkward. He rushed to Physio room 2, and when he came out I questioned him again. "Really, Peter? But you were the only one in there after me... you haven't seen it?" He denied it again, and for some reason could not keep still and was rushing about far too much for it to be considered normal behaviour.

He was uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable. I didn't want to accuse anyone (after all I hadn't seen anyone take my phone) yet my instincts are generally pretty trustworthy. I started asking people around the rooms if they had seen it anywhere, and a few minutes later Peter walks up to me with my phone and says "I found it. You left it in Physio Room 2." And walks away.

He knows I wasn't in Physio Room 2. He knows that I know I didn't step foot in that room. I wasn't quite sure how to react, and I still don't know how to be around him. He is a close work colleague and someone I get along with incredibly well. So let me make it clear- there is no point in feeling hurt about this, because it was nothing personal. It was just a desperate measure, an easy way to make the equivalent of his monthly wage. Although the politically correct thing to do would be to report him, I don't see how that will make things better. I think I will approach him and explain that I'm disappointed but ready to forgive him. Will it stop him from stealing in the future to be able to feed his 2 year old child? Will it make a difference to his morals? Probably not. It's just another example of the impotence that we have towards facing the challenges in Africa.