It is very disturbing to return home to find a window broken: the immediate sign that something is not as it should be.

There are a number of responses when you discover that some has broken into your home. Surprise: what has happened and what is missing? Disbelief: this cannot have happened to me. Self-doubt: what did I do to deserve this? Anger: if I catch the thief I will…!

A Thai friend of mine gave me a whole different slant on this when he had his apartment broken into. "So, I lost a mobile phone and some cash. I was more concerned about the broken window and the invasion of my personal space than about the loss."

Then I began to think about the thief. What a terrible life it must be, gambling your freedom for such small things. The sense of frustration that you want what others have and you do not; that stealing from someone is justified because you need the money more than he does.

It is such an unequal world, and while no one would condone stealing, perhaps the thief needs sympathy. Who would want to be in their shoes?

John Kelly is a director of Mentor International. Visit www.Mentor.ac.