-hh wrote:
> Ann "n...@..." wrote:
>> -hh wrote:
>>> Gosh, amazing coincidence that Ann just happens to have a
>>> commercial website that's selling that destination.
>>> Maybe Ann can fill us in on the current status of Bonaire's
>>> recurring petty crime problems, as I've not been following it recently...
>> Can you tell me what island has no crime?
>
> Little Cayman. Cayman Brac. Bequia is close to crime-free too.
> None of them even come close to Bonaire, Aruba, St Maartin, Jamacia or
> several other of the high crime rate islands of the Caribbean or Latin
> America.
>
> Granted, there is no such thing as absolutely "no" crime, but crime
> rates: there are places that are indeed significantly better/worse
> than others. Unfortunately, Bonaire isn't one of the "better" places,
> but is a lot more like Latin America than Delft.
>
> And IMO its not getting better: it used to be that on Bonaire, you
> were relatively "safe" in that the thieves would limit themselves to
> only ruffling through your rental car when you're out shore diving.
>
> But within the past five years or so (after the murders in Rincon), it
> has become a lot more common that they'll break into your room while
> you're asleep...I've heard several reports of them wedging open the
> *locked* sliding glass doors up at Buddy Dive.
>
> Some people in denial try to suggest that the problems are other
> visitors, but this excuse doesn't explain the theft of spare tires,
> jacks, batteries ... they even steal the car tax stickers off each
> others numberplates!
>
> Bonaire really is "Petty Thieves Paradise", where taking from the
> "Rich" visiting tourist is considered to be a victimless crime.
>
>
>> I have lived in Antigua and
>> Bonaire and find crime in both islands in way of petty break ins. Out
>> of the thousands of clients I have sent to both islands in 20 year, 3
>> had break ins and ALL left a door or window open.
>
> Actually, your data is that you had 3 clients who bothered to *tell*
> you.
>
> Personally, for my trips to Bonaire, we've been lucky to not have been
> personally affected (we have good "Streetwise Radar", although we
> prefer to go to places where we can relax by not having to use it) but
> we have seen reliable evidence of crime on *every* trip that we've
> ever gone on to Bonaire. I've even occasionally post photos to
> silence those who deny that anything bad ever happens, such as this
> older example:
>
>
>
> FWIW, this was on one of the many compounds that alledgedly have full
> time security guards ... such as the individual in the photo.
>
>
>> Anguilla presently has a task force to address the rising crime issue.
>
> I was asking about Bonaire.
>
> Back on 27 March 2007 on , you said:
>
> "Those little kids prey on the north shore dive sites. Take a photo
> of
> them and bring to the police and tell them what you are doing. It
> might scare them off next time. There is a big crime sweep going on
> so
> any little bit helps..."
>
> So this "big crime sweep" from 2 months ago - - how did it go?
>
> My concern is that there has always been lots of talk about cracking
> down on crime on Bonaire. They claim that they know that they have a
> signifiant problem and have been talking about doing something for
> years, but talk is cheap.
>
> Here's photos from the big crime protest march in 2000:
>
>
>
> As such, my question is: "But has anything really changed?"
>
>
>> The Caribbean is like the rest of the world. We have crime.
>
> And like the rest of the world, some places are worse than others.
>
>>From , Bruce Everiss's 2006 comment on the subject
> was as follows. It is IMO quite susinct:
>
> "What people on Bonaire don't realise is that without tourists they
> wouldn't be there. Or if they were it would be to scratch a
> subsistence living. The salt works, oil terminal and Radio Netherlands
> are the only other forms of income, how many people would they
> support? Maybe 100. People who work for the bank or the telephone
> company may think they don't depend on the tourists, but without
> tourists there would be no bank or telephone company."
>
> "The thing they don't realise about tourists is that we don't
> automatically arrive with every plane or ship. We can choose where we
> go, vote with our feet. Every time someone is put off Bonaire by the
> thefts it makes everyone in Bonaire poorer. But they don't realise
> that."
>
> "Travelling round the Caribbean you find that some governments have
> done the job and educated their population about the facts of economic
> life. These are the best places to visit. Some governments, like
> Bonaire, haven't bothered. So you get resentment of your wealth (even
> though you just look rich because you are spending on your annual
> holiday) and even resentment of your presence. You just don't get
> strangers greeting you as you walk round town like you do on some
> islands."
>
>
> I sincerely hope that one day, Bonaire does finally wake up and
> actually cleans up its act because it does have some good scuba
> diving, and the airline flights to get there are currently "less bad"
> than they've been in well over a decade. Afterall, I have a friend
> who owns a house on Bonaire that I can use essentially for free
> anytime I want, but because of Bonaire's recurring inability to rein
> in their crime problems, we take our tourism dollars elsewhere.
>
> As such, if there's finally good news on Bonaire, I'd like to hear
> it.
> Unfortunately, I'm afraid that there still is no good news.
>
>
> -hh
>
Sorry, but I don't think that is a fair comparison... Little Cayman nd
Cayman Brac are so small and "lightly populated" that no one dares
commit any crimes because everyone on the island would immediately know
who had done it. Among islands of similar size/population I think
Bonaire is pretty typical. Yes, the petty crimes may be more visible
because of the 'environment'. Many of the shore dive locations are
somewhat isolated and vehicles with valuables are tempting targets.
But, put that same situation in any island (other than the very small
ones) and I think you would have the same result. We've been to many
islands (Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bonaire, Cancun, Dominica Republic,
Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks & Cacios.... ) and my
impression (from 3 visits) is that Bonaire is pretty average, to
slightly better than average, as far as crime goes. I suspect that if
you parked vehicles in relatively isolated beaches in the US, the
break-in rate would be considerably worse than in Bonaire. This is NOT
to say that nothing needs or could be done to make things better, but
that is true throughout the Caribbean.
I'm not an (active) diver, but as I remember, while many (most??) of the
dive sites are accessible from the shore, there are many that are also
(or only) accessible by boat and many of these would be excellent sites
for beginners or those learning. (I agree about "1000 Steps" though, I
cannot imagine hauling tanks and gear down, much less up, those steps.)
I'm not sure Bonaire would be my first choice to go through the full
certification process, but it certainly would not be the last... And
as was mentioned, there are reasonable activities for other family
members... like windsurfing for the younger members (Bonaire has to be
about the best place to learn windsurfing in the world), sea kayaking
for young and old and snorkeling.
If the OP was planning the trip for a different time of year, I might
suggest some other places (Turks & Cacios, Bahamas, etc.), but for the
Christmas holidays I think you want to be in the southern islands and of
those, Bonaire is one of the better choices... (When we went to Grand
Cayman in January, the weather was so bad that the dive boats only went
out one day of the four we were there.)
Mike
P.S. For trip reports and pictures covering most of our trips to the
mentioned islands, check www.hammocktree.us/ms/trips.html
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