Usil Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 My wife and I were coming home to our apartment late Monday night after a 2 week holiday in Rome and Venice. It was a long day to get home and did not end until we took the bus from Beauvais to Paris and then a cab to our apartment. We had just lugged our luggage across the sidewalk to our apartment building entrance, was facing the door and rang the bell to have the guardian unlock the door when three assailants (young men in their 20's) came up from behind us that grabbed my camera bag with Nikon lenses and another bag with my Fuji S3 pro digital camera (6000.00 total USD) and tried to drag them off our bodies. I resisted and got knocked down and kicked and hit on the head. As they ran off, I got up and started running after them and I heard my wife say from behind me '... it is not worth it' and then reality hit me and I stopped. Up to that point I had been operating just on adrenaline. I am very sore from the beating but we are ok. When I got up to the apartment, I had two watches from Trusty waiting for me and that actually made me feel better. I got another one from Neal the next day. Looking back, I am not so bummed about loosing the camera gear as I am of the feeling of being violated. They took what I worked long hours for and got a lot of enjoyment from not to mention every picture I took from the trip. But my wife says we were lucky and I guess she is right. I usually take more note of my surroundings in situations like this but not this time. Makes me think that reps too could be targetted since they would not know it was a rep. Now I am a little edgy and will be careful when and where I ware them when before I never would have thought about the potential danger. Maybe this is just a reality check for all of us that we need to be at least a little careful. Usil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 My wife and I were coming home to our apartment late Monday night after a 2 week holiday in Rome and Venice. It was a long day to get home and did not end until we took the bus from Beauvais to Paris and then a cab to our apartment. We had just lugged our luggage across the sidewalk to our apartment building entrance, was facing the door and rang the bell to have the guardian unlock the door when three assailants (young men in their 20's) came up from behind us that grabbed my camera bag with Nikon lenses and another bag with my Fuji S3 pro digital camera (6000.00 total USD) and tried to drag them off our bodies. I resisted and got knocked down and kicked and hit on the head. As they ran off, I got up and started running after them and I heard my wife say from behind me '... it is not worth it' and then reality hit me and I stopped. Up to that point I had been operating just on adrenaline. I am very sore from the beating but we are ok. When I got up to the apartment, I had two watches from Trusty waiting for me and that actually made me feel better. I got another one from Neal the next day. Looking back, I am not so bummed about loosing the camera gear as I am of the feeling of being violated. They took what I worked long hours for and got a lot of enjoyment from not to mention every picture I took from the trip. But my wife says we were lucky and I guess she is right. I usually take more note of my surroundings in situations like this but not this time. Makes me think that reps too could be targetted since they would not know it was a rep. Now I am a little edgy and will be careful when and where I ware them when before I never would have thought about the potential danger. Maybe this is just a reality check for all of us that we need to be at least a little careful. Usil My God! Take care and I hope the physical scars heal soon. Emotional trauma from this kind of thing usually takes much longer. I'm so glad to hear it did not end in serious injury to you or your wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I've never had this problem before - and I live in an area that is known as a rough neighbourhood. My brother thinks I look imposing. I really don't understand why people say that. I've had a girl say to me she would cross over the street if I was coming the other way because of the way I look. Not much I can do about that Anyway, you could be right with the reps. A reason that people say for getting reps is to keep the original in the safe and wear the rep. The brand most targetted will be r*l*x though. At the moment I doubt PAMs will be targetted, though strap on a 1950 or 187 and hit any assailant over the head with it! I hope you feel better soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I'm sorry Usil, events like that make me feel so fuc***g angry and especially in big cities are pretty frequent. Sometimes i wish i had an armalite with me but i'm conscious that wouldn't be the right solution (see USA). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMK000 Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Bastards ... that's what they are. Glad you are ok .... and you wife was right. Doesnt worth it (....God, It would have been great feeling to kick their butts). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Truly sorry to hear that - glad you are both ok, probably doesn't feel like it but you are lucky in that respect. As someone above just said, it can happen anywhere in any city these days, even (especially?) in the smart arrondissements - my GF's sister lives in Paris and was very edgy when things got a bit messy this spring, not the rioting but afterwards the attacks on women in the city centre. As for your lost photos, I am always concious of losing a camera so either remove or swap out the memory card for travel back, or else upload to my ipod (which doesn't help if you lose ipod as well of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 next time, shoot them motherf*ckers down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swdivad Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Your wife was surely right when she said it's not worth it! Pushing these f#%kheads too far could get you killed. I got done by three teenagers years ago... Lovely Lowell Massachusetts, probably the worst city in the world. Got pistol whipped big time but they were so young they didn't have the strength to bring me down, and either not enough balls to shoot me or the gun wasn't loaded... One is walking around sans one finger today LOL. Really sorry to hear, excellent that you're all OK! Now you can get some new camera gear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narikaa Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 next time, shoot them motherf*ckers down! Mmmm... if you are prepared to allow THREE assailants to get the drop on you unawares....pray to God that firearms are NEVER an issue in any future event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 So sorry to hear that. It is a good thing you're wife was there to give you the right perspective. It is only stuff. Similar incident happened to me more than 25 years ago in New York back back when it was dangerous there. Mugger pulled out gun. Initially I let adrenaline talk and started trying to "negotiate". The guy raised his gun to my head and adrenaline was replaced with "I could die right now." All my idiotic lip before I gained "perspective" did result in his throwing my drivers license on the ground before he took off. I had been dumb enough to ask him to leave the license as going to the DMV was worse than being robbed. What the hell was I thinking. In this country, even if you don't have insurance you can at least take a deduction for the goods and get half you're money back from the government. Maybe that is the case in France. Most importantly, glad you and you're wife survived. Nothing is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjajh Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 It can and does happen everywhere in the world. I am glad that you and your wife are OK. The cameras can be replaced. Take care and be aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usil Posted June 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I realize that I could easily have been knifed or shot so I am glad, too, that my wife brought me back to reality. I live in the 15th ar. so I had never expected this kind of thing to have happened. I have had three unsuccessful pick-pocekt attempts in three years and I consider this as part of living in a large city with a lot of tourists but like I said, in the 15th - I never expected to be assaulted. You never expect this kind of thing to happen to you so I will just take this as a lesson, hard as it is, and try to be more careful in the future. I wish I had been able to get a few licks in but I am 59 and they were early 20s. Maybe I need to take up Kung Foo. Do you think we are at risk wearing our expensive looking reps? Thanks for the good words from all. Usil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Wearing reps can certainly raise you're risk of robbery. Let's face it, if you had to choose a victim and the choice was a guy with a Timex or a gold Rolex which would you pick. In certain countries in Latin America I throw on the Timex because they will cut you're hand off for the watch or conclude you are a good kidnap candidate. Most folks who will rob you on the street have no idea whether something is a rep or a gen. They assume it is a gen. And that gen can feed someone for quite a while. If I have formal events in some of the emerging market countries I carry the gens or reps separately and put them on purely for the occasion which warrants it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I realize that I could easily have been knifed or shot so I am glad, too, that my wife brought me back to reality. I live in the 15th ar. so I had never expected this kind of thing to have happened. I have had three unsuccessful pick-pocekt attempts in three years and I consider this as part of living in a large city with a lot of tourists but like I said, in the 15th - I never expected to be assaulted. You never expect this kind of thing to happen to you so I will just take this as a lesson, hard as it is, and try to be more careful in the future. I wish I had been able to get a few licks in but I am 59 and they were early 20s. Maybe I need to take up Kung Foo. Do you think we are at risk wearing our expensive looking reps? Thanks for the good words from all. Usil Sorry to hear this, but glad that you are ok. The sad thing is that batards like this seems to have better conditions to continue their operations than ever before. Crime against ordinary people seems to be of the lowest priority to follow up in many european countries, and if if they do, the consequences for the bastards are second to none. At the same time, you - as I presume is just an ordinary citicen not doing too much harm to other people - in the very near future may face a pealty of EUR 10.000 for buying a replica watch or other replica items ! Where will it end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAHLER Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Indeed an ugly day for you and your wife. Certainly the guilt is not of whom wears his beloved it rep. The guilt is of the bastards that take advantage him and they make some evil. However this sets the problem of the caution in to show whatever object that is possessed. This can happen even if it opened the wallet to pay a coffee. Going out some bastard would have followed us to try the hit. Indeed an ugly day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAHLER Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Just in these days the Italian newspapers are dealt with the thieves of Rolex. Some men have been picked up that tagged after the victims. The police has picked them up because they had followed the victim inside a private carparking. Here they had beaten the man to steal the Rolex that had. They are not stopped really in front of nothing. You have done well not to react. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossanti Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 (edited) Sorry to hear that man...thank God everything is ok... something happen to me to. when I was just 21 years old..i came back...and I heard someone upstairs...I thought its my sister ..so I just say hello..and start talking about my day..when I wanted to go up..suddenly I heard a rush coming downastairs..and gez wat??..a really massive big guy ..like a boxer came down from my apartment...rushing towards the doors straight away ..without looking at me ...F@$##@$ .. I did try to talk [censored] to him ..while his waiting a lift to go down..and he is like ..very desperate to get out from that floor and the building...and he started to rush down the exit emergency stairs...and I tried to reach to the lift..and keep my mouth talking about calling the police and everything... and gez wat..he came back in from the exit stairs..and he said..he will stab me right now ...coz..he said..I dont take anything ..anything mate..I'll stab you rite here...then I realize..DAMMIt ..this is getting serous...he just left after he said that ...then I realize i need to talk to the building manager...then ..even the lift is faster than that guy ..I think the building manager is some guy who was like ..so stupid..thats all I can say... then I found out on my bed..there was his jumper with a big drops ob lood stain on it...I said to myself..damnn..If that is the end of my day..in this worlld ...for onlyapproximately USD$50 ...and a TAG heuer chrono ...one of the best ....and gez wat ..IT WAS A REP..my first rep ever..and its one of the highest TAG quality one ...LOL ...dammit ...so that was my 1st rep for 6 month ..and the last TAg I bought... end of the story...the story is ..adrenaline..I need to control mine too...I feel like to killl or slice his meat slowly...and he might think he wanna stab me or shoot me rite away...so ... next tim ..just keep quiet and give watever they want...its not worth it..there are more worth thing in life...your health ..and your soul ... the difficult part is ...I was born with a mafioso blood running inside my body...LOL..cant help it ...but now ..yes..I need to control it ... Edited June 10, 2006 by mossanti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 I live in the 15th ar. so I had never expected this kind of thing to have happened. Wow, that's unexpected. There are so many arrondissements I'd sort of expect it, but on reflection they're not the kind of places someone comfortable enough to own a pair of decent cameras would live. I hope you recover from the physical stuff and don't let it change the way you live too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Obviously, your wife was right - stuff is just stuff. But on the camera front, and this might sound very stupid, but if you haven't walked through the front door yet, are you still covered by your travel insurance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Usil, very glad to hear thet you and your wife are okay. That is what is important as all else can be replaced over time. I've been vandalized and held at gun point so I know the feeling. I did try to get the bastards after the ordeal but the police couldn't do a heck of a lot as my stuff wasn't maked in some way that it could be proven to be mine. That was a biggest crock I have ever heard and what blew my lid the most. Wearing these high caliber clones will most certainly attract unwanted atttention. There are many times when I and my wife will wear cheapies for this reason. It not worth it to risk injury or worse over a watch or anything else material. Jet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwai02 Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Glad that you weren't hurt. It's money afterall. Btw, if you are in China, the robbers won't care about your watch. They only want cash and cellphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasng Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Of all things, just let it go... It's not worth your life over money. I have a friend that lives in London, who's wife was killed 3 years ago in a purse snatching in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she was walking on the sidewalk when 2 men on motorcycles took her purse, she didn't let go and was dragged for a few hundred feet. She died a few days later. Also, I think watches are not a big problem, unless you're wearing Rolexes, since most people only think Rolexes are worth anything. I know in Hong Kong, the largest amount of watch-taking incidents incolve Rolexes, especially from the lone women who walk around flashing gold Datejusts and what not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bignasty Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Really sorry to hear about this! Your wife is right though. It could have turned out much much worse. Be thankful that you and your wife are alright! The guys that did this will get what is coming to them someday! Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubFrog Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Wow...sorry to hear about this. It makes me sick. Welcome to my world. You have to have eyes in the back of your head in certain areas of this city. I'm just glad you and your wife are ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted June 10, 2006 Report Share Posted June 10, 2006 Paris is definitely not what it used to be. That said, travel insurance (if you have it) or even your apartment insurance might take care of that. You could always force your lock and say you were burglarized (not that I'm suggesting insurance fraud, mind you) - or if you have a really good policy, street robbery just might be included. Check out all the fine print. The upside is that you've outed yourself as another Parisian RWG member - if ever you'd care for a bit of tea and sympathy, you can always contact our two-member support group (Pugwash and myself) and we would be happy to commiserate and generally chew the fat over a drink.... Sorry it had to happen to you, but think of how much worse it could have been: much of the violent crime that happens here never even gets reported, and people are ending up at the hospital every day and night for infinitely less. Best of luck in overcoming what's certainly a traumatic homecoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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