Viktor Pinchuk

“ I had no desire to go at the outskirts of the city at such a late time, where inexpensive guest houses are located, and the prices for hotel accommodation in the central part of the city turned out to be higher than my modest capabilities.
Should I try to contact the police? The law enforcement officers took the request in a peculiar way, bombarding the strange (in their understanding) guest with questions of a domestic nature. According to their understanding, if a foreigner does not have money, he should stay at home, and if he has money, he should live in a hotel. ”

“ In some countries of the southern part of the African continent, which differ from their neighbors by the higher cost of hotel service — South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, there is an unwritten law. If a person who is unable to pay for an overnight stay moves between the cities of his country, and the nearest transport that can be used to leave is only in the morning of the next day, he has the right to spend the night in the police station. ”

“ Almost like a king (Maseru and Semonkong, Lesotho) In the capital of a tiny state, the police station became my home for two nights. The employees received the white visitor kindly, placing in the far corner. The new shift, which appeared the next day, took the return of the "tenant" more strictly, warning that this overnight stay should be the last. About reasons are easy to guess: there is an unspoken ban regarding two overnight stays in one police station, besides, a group of villagers arrived with similar intentions.. ”