Bafatada

Bafatada in Creole means to slap.

A couple of evenings ago I was leaving the PC office on my usual walk home. Just outside the office three little kids were standing there. Two of the boys, who were about 9 years old were in a fight. But this was the kind of fight were neither boy really wants to hit the other and they are just dancing around taking fake swings at each other. It was pretty funny to watch. I noticed that the kids also had a big pile of clothing that they had clearly stolen from people at the beach. As I was walking I saw one of the house guards come out and pretend to walk past the boys. Just as he approached the boys, he turned and slapped on of them upside the back of his head. At this point I was laughing because the whole situation was hilarious. The guard then smacked the other kid as he was trying to run away. The third kid was long gone by this point. The guard quickly picked up the pile of clothes as the boys were rubbing the back of their heads in disbelief. With the stolen clothes in hand and boys shoes and shirts, the guard went back inside the gate from which he came and locked the boys out. They realized what happened and were yelling at the guard to give their clothes back. He didn't respond and just stood behind the gate laughing at the boys.

It was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. Those little boys totally desrved to be reprimanded for what they did and for acting stupid in the middle of the street. I really appreciate the way that adults teach children lessons here. In the states, you couldn't really get away with smacking someone else's kid around, but here, it's done for the common good. I hope those little boys got a lesson that day that they won't forget. I know I won't forget what happened!