It seems we have earned the freedom to walk around the compound.  As mentioned though, it had best be done at night.  Despite our so-called change to a 'control area' where compound walks were permitted, the rules were subject to interpretation.

The people in the neighboring compound across the fence were still in locked down status.  A younger expat couple decided they had had enough of all this shit and were going to do a prison break in broad daylight.  This was obviously not the brightest idea, pardon the pun.  But sometimes brains and stealth goes out the window.  Intelligence takes a backseat to pure frustration and anger.

The 'husband' vaulted over the fence into our compound first, then made a run for it and jumped the back gate onto the street.  As I later learned, his end goal was his original compound a few blocks away.  He had been been living with his wife, or maybe girlfriend, who knows and who really cares anyway.   The 'wife' tried to follow but she got caught after jumping the fence and before she could reach the first gate.  A loud argument ensued as the ghostbusters in white caught her and forced her to sit down.  Apparantly she didn't have her passport on her.   

It's so absurd it's almost funny.  If you're going to escape from a lockdown and jump a fence, the last thing you would do is bring your passport.  That is, unless you were heading for the airport which she clearly wasn't.

But she had a photo.  She showed the passport photo of both her and the 'husband' to the police.  With that evidence against him we knew he would be caught within hours if not minutes.  Sure, so he "got out" but with no transportation and just minimal luggage.  He would literally be a sitting duck for the facial recognition CCTV cameras all over the city.

The wife screamed and argued with the police.  In turn they dressed her in a white hazmat suit.  Presumably they took her away for testing, but it wasn't long before they sent her right back.  Later on the husband got caught and sent back too, they were both given a stern warning. 

On the one hand they could be lauded as heroes for their attempted break.  But the way this country works, our compound would now be at risk and surely the coveted 'control area' status would be compromised as we go back to locked down status and home confimenent.  In other words, we would be the ones who got punished for this, not the couple who jumped the fence.