We live in a rather large apartment building. Fortunately we can’t hear much street noise, but we can hear our neighbors and almost everything they do. Music, television shows, when they use the microwave, a old dude’s hacking cough, when they wash dishes, etc. Once I heard someone going to the bathroom in a rather explicit way (I”m almost positive it was the hacking cough dude). Routinely we also hear people having what sounds like very pleasurable sex. All of these sounds and noises I’ve become accustomed to, with the exception of one; the spectacular fights between the couple that lives above us.
On weekly basis this couple has what sounds like a knock-down, drag-out fight complete with crying, wailing and banging noises (and not banging in a good way). We have, on occasion, been able to understand what they are yelling at each other (it sounds like they fight about money a lot). These fights have woken us up several times. Every time it happens it scares me because I worry that someone in that apartment is being abused. But I don’t know what to do about it. My boyfriend talked to our doorman and he said that this couple has always fought like that, but that it’s nothing to be concerned about. I’m not so sure. These fights are intense and just listening to them makes me upset and worried. In the U.S. I would call the police without hesitation. Even if there is no domestic abuse, they could still get a noise violation ticket and maybe realize that they need to go into counseling. Or should break up. Here, however, I have been told by many people that you don’t want to involve the police unless it is absolutely necessary. They are notoriously corrupt and while I don’t know what they could threaten an anonymous caller with to get a bribe, I really don’t want to find out. Also, calling the police may not even help the couple upstairs and could put them into an even worse situation. This whole things is made more difficult by the fact that I have no idea who these people are. We’ve never met.
So, in the meantime, I listen to the fighting and hope that nothing serious is happening and that they are simply passionate people who rail against each other in a mutual and non-physical way. I just hope I’m not taking the coward’s route with this.
