Well said, Rjsimp. Car and other burglaries
do happen in the US, across the Caribbean on other islands, and on the mainland of Mexico and Central America - but seemingly not nearly as common. The main thing that keeps me from trying the island is the travel challenges from/to Lubbock, but some of the problems that fans seem to shrug off are difficult for me to accept...
- If you have a room burglar, let him take stuff so you won't get thrown in jail for killing him;
- If your rental pickup is damaged in a gas theft, you are responsible;
- There does seem to be NO effort to do anything and you have to wonder if the locals consider it just part of the total island income that benefits the extended families;
- And while leaving valuables in a parked vehicle is never a good idea anywhere, here they tell you to leave it unlocked so as to not inconvenience the burglars as they have schedules to keep and so they won't break a window in protest.
Yes, theft happens everywhere - but I never hide my land camera, laptop, etc in the room when I leave at other destinations. Yes, at others the tourist is seemingly considered the sacred cash cow not to be burgled, but there it's a way of life and just accepted.
And you're right, it won't change until it has to. Since The Netherlands did not release it for self rule, maybe they'll get embarrassed enough to want to do something - altho I have to wonder why they want to keep it as it cannot be profitable to that tiny European country anymore?
Not to hijack this thread, but when was it ever reported that they found Natalie Holloway's body? To my knowledge and in searching the internet she is still a missing person...
That really is off-topic as that tragedy really has nothing to do with common burglaries I don't think. Such sad losses happen all the time in the world including the US when similar young ladies put themselves at great risk like she did. That case made the headlines for other reasons, mostly because of the family. I hope the school may have learned that taking high school kids to a Caribbean island and turning them loose to run wild is stupid. A nearby school here takes the band kids on a Galveston-Cozumel cruise every year and even that seems absurd to me, albeit much more controlled that what those parents allowed to happen.
As for Bonaire, the only thing I think I have ever heard outside of the great shore diving is that the burglary rates are crazy and one of the biggest problems in deciding to go there.
I think I still will sometime soon as I'd love to dive it. I really prefer boat diving, but the shore dives are renown. I'll need to research the local laws, tho - to see what I can get away with in self defense as I know that Texas standards don't work elsewhere, but never felt a need to really defend my property. I commonly wear a commemorative US Marines cap a lot while traveling, a 4" lock blade knife on my belt, and try to make myself look like an unappealing target for a personal assault, but I don't know if that'd be allowed there - or my baseball bat walking cane?
Okay, it's common for shore divers to pickup their tanks at drive thru fill stations and I have to wonder how often info at those, about items seen in a vehicle, where the divers mentioned they were heading, and such, is passed along to the thieves. It'd be tempting to set aside one day to set up a sting, with a camera bag of laundry visible in the back of a pickup at the fill station, thrown in the front seat while diving, then circle back to shore out of sight to watch the bait and maybe catch some Caribbean Bandits. I wonder how much luck I'd have, and how much trouble I'd get into. If I don't return from a trip, will y'all look for me, or even miss me. I think I'd register that trip with the US State Department.
Of course that will never happen as long as there are people that continue to travel there and spend their money.
