Security

Security systems around Moshi are pretty interesting. I believe the only windows I have seen without bars were on the upper stories of some hotels in town. It is also not uncommon to have a guard. Laura and I employ a guard, Marti, who lives in a small building out back. He doesn’t pace the perimeter or anything; more than anything, he’s paid just to be around because a person’s presence is the biggest deterrent. A while back, some friends that had previously scoffed at the idea of employing a guard came back from a long weekend to find their home broken into and almost everything, including their mattress was taken. They later hired a security guard and installed a panic button which works on radio frequency.

Both the front and back entrances of our house include a separate steel door, which fastens by a thick padlock. The site where the padlock is fastened is encased by a metal frame, making it all but impossible to destroy the lock. The interior wooden doors are locked using skeleton keys, which are very common in this area. Each of the interior door jambs also include three sets of braces designed to hold 2 x 4s, which would make ramming the door very difficult.

The exterior of the house is surrounded by a brick wall and locked gate. Atop the wall are a series of broken glass bottles, which appear to have been set into the concrete. This type of cheap barbed wire is also very common in this area.