A phone and the city of Rome

FROM ISSUE # 155 (November 2008) | IN THIS ISSUE
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I was heading to Rome's central train station on foot to meet my friend Sujan before he left for the Dashain holidays, when a man stopped his scooter right next to me on the curb. "Hello sir," he said. "Do you need a cell phone?" he asked and fished one out from his pocket. I wasn't interested because I knew it was stolen and told him that I didn't need it. But he kept on insisting, reasoning that it was a good model and would give it to me at a cheap price. I ignored him and kept walking but he followed me.

"This is a very expensive phone," he said as he stopped to show it to me. It was a Nokia and it looked new. "It costs 300 Euros if you buy it in a shop." Out of curiosity, I asked him "How much are you selling it for?" "Give me 150," he said.

I told him it was too expensive for me. I was using a second hand phone that a friend had given me years ago, which probably cost him 25 Euros. There was no way I could afford a phone that expensive. But I wonder if I could get the man sell it within my budget. If I could, I'd give it a shot and buy the phone. I'd been using my phone for a pretty long time and it was ugly and the coating had peeled off on the edges.

"How much do you want to pay?" he insisted. I said, "Forty." Surprised he said, "There's no way you can get a phone that costs 300 Euros for 40," he said. "I don't have more than that," I said.
He sighed. "Ok, give me 100 then." but I didn't buzz.
"Okay, take it for 80."
"I don't have 80 bucks."
"Seventy."

The price was going down. I knew he was desperate to sell the phone and would settle for almost anything. He just needed the money. Maybe he was a drug-addict. By then, I was a bit afraid especially about the police. What if they caught us? He pleaded that I take it for 70 Euros. "I don't have a Euro more than 40. Go find another customer if you don't like the price I am offering" I told him.

He knew that it wouldn't be easy to sell stolen items on the street. He thought for a while and finally lifted his head. "Okay, you win, 40 it is. You've got a bargain you'd have never got at a shop," he said as he slipped it in a small bag, wrapped it up and told me to make sure the police wouldn't spot it.

Sujan didn't arrive for a long time. Happy about the deal, I sat down on the floor and took out my new phone to exchange the SIM. I opened the bag but when I looked inside, I couldn't help laugh out loud and throw the phone on the ground. The Nokia phone that he'd showed me wasn't inside the bag. Instead, there was a small soap-sized phone that probably cost 25 Euros.

Uhi Saikale
Rome, Italy

Journey started: 29 November 1998
Aim: To cycle around the world to spread the message of peace and hope within 11 years
Countries travelled till date: 133
Next leg: Greece