Bonaire Crime - Our experience - Looking for input to share

[Kharon]

... I believe the author of the thread is worried with the fact that the authorities were so complacent that the type of crime is changing to the worst. Having someone break up in your house while you are there is serious business.

And hearing an unnatural noise and not investigating is less than responsible in my opinion. Had he got out of bed and made some noise the theft would probably have been aborted. Is there any evidence that the thief/thieves knew the place was occupied? Does this property ever sit empty with no one renting it? Be assured - we are not getting the full story. Only one side from someone who has an obvious grudge.

I stay at Coco Palm Garden. They take care of getting me a truck (new not battered) and unlimited air/nitrox. Two full weeks in an apartment with full kitchen - just under $1900 including the truck and air. Am I paying $5.50/day? - a better question is do I care? The final price is what matters. Guess what - every community where I've stayed has a daily governmental tax/charge for lodging and many far higher. Almost nowhere, even in rural New York, could I find a rate (including taxes, etc) of $63/day for a room, let alone a place with a full kitchen.

- Now, regarding the quality of the snorkeling on Bonaire and of the available books on the subject --- what say we stop hijacking this thread about inefficient law enforcement, lack of legal discipline, disrespect for the needs of tourists, and nepotism/cronyism on Bonaire, and start a new thread on the former topic. I will be away for a few days. When I return I will initiate one.

As far as snorkeling quality - you, not I, brought that up. I merely responded to your pounding on every aspect of Bonaire that you can think of.

In the meantime, the fact remains that the Bonaire authorities have so far been supremely disinterested in engaging with discussion on a major ScubaBoard thread (i.e. the most representative board for American dive tourists) on the topic. What should that tell us as a community?

What it tells me is that a sovereign nation doesn't consider social media something that should dictate their policy. And what exactly makes it a major ScubaBoard thread? More than any other thread? You have a vested interest. I wonder what proportion of all ScubaBoard members even looked at this thread.

And as far as a go-don't go thread - it certainly seems to have had that flavor right from the beginning.

 

[CuracaoJ]

I've been hesitant to respond to this thread, but I remembered a news story I saw a while back ... ABC-islands not fond of European Dutch ...

While the article is specifically about Dutch tourists, I think it applies to North Americans to a certain extent as well. I have no dog in this fight at all, but would just like to point out that many Antillians have a very different mindset than most Americans. The concept that "they will notice when their tourist dollars start to disappear and then do something," is perhaps not as true as it is in many other places. It is entirely possible, and even likely, that some (not all), but some locals may view complaints about their crime, emails and letters about what to do about it and social media threads are really just a form of neo-colonialism. Again, not saying its right or wrong, but it can be perceived as a foreigner trying to exert influence.

I've been living down here for 14 years now and I can tell you that Antillians are a proud and wonderful people with a rich cultural heritage. Sadly, that history also includes hundreds of years of being taken advantage of and it impacts their thinking, as it should.

There is a divide on the islands, you can see it in their political parties, between those that want the islands to be self sufficient, creating and protecting their own wealth and culture, whilst, to a certain extent, shunning outside influence and investment, and those that feel foreign jobs, investment and tourism are the path of the future.

Right or wrong, as of 10-10-10 these young nations are struggling with their identity and their future, and crime is one of those issues they are dealing with. I, for one, think they are doing an amazing job tackling the daunting task of birthing their independence, but it isn't easy and some mistakes are being made along the way.

 

[salth2owannabe]

And hearing an unnatural noise and not investigating is less than responsible in my opinion. Had he got out of bed and made some noise the theft would probably have been aborted. Is there any evidence that the thief/thieves knew the place was occupied? Does this property ever sit empty with no one renting it? Be assured - we are not getting the full story. Only one side from someone who has an obvious grudge.

.

You appear to be really hung up on this part of the story for some reason? I'll fill you in a little more - As was mentioned, the home has wooden louvers on the windows. Hearing exterior noises was common including the 6 or seven dogs in the neighborhood. When you're in a place unfamiliar to you it is not uncommon to hear noises that you are not familiar with. I was woke up every night that week, sometimes more than once, and usually it was the dogs. The air conditioner unit in our room was noisy and had louvers that would rotate. The air conditioner unit itself provided enough cover noise for someone to enter the house and not be heard. The night before our house was broken into the dogs barked more aggressively, enough so that I got out of bed, looked around and looked outside. The night we were broken into was actually the first night the dogs barked very little. My wife had gotten up at one point and came back to bed. At some time I heard a noise, as I had every other night, which did wake me up from a sound sleep. I listened for a short time and all was quiet, including the dogs, so I went back to sleep.

Did the thieves know it was occupied - Of course they did. The AB rental truck in the driveway would be a pretty good clue. The individual room air conditioner and bedroom lights would tell you exactly which room is being occupied. The property is rented, but it is not occupied continuously. There are times it may sit empty for a week or two in any given month. It was evident they had been watching the homes as they entered the neighbors house through the window in the only bedroom that wasn't occupied. Remember, there were three occupied homes hit that night, not just ours.

I'm not sure who you are referring to as having a "Grudge". If you have been reading this thread, it is evident that I don't have a grudge or some kind of agenda against Bonaire, It's actually just the opposite. This was our third trip to Bonaire and as I've mentioned before, I plan to go back soon. I'm not trying to persuade anyone from not going to Bonaire, in fact I encourage everyone to go. If you go back and read my first post, I wanted to share my experience and encourage folks to not be complacent when traveling. My ultimate goal was to share information with folks back on the island to hopefully allow them to make headway on these types of crimes and also, most importantly, address the attitude of the authorities regarding these crimes. I've been doing this, and it appears another poster on this thread is trying to do the same.

 

[KathyV]

Do you mean that you would prefer that I stop my communications to the authorities on this topic?...

Have you reached out to the Bonaire Chamber of Commerce? Bonhata is the tourism association and I am sure that they are very influential but the COC embraces all industries and so they are another interested group, see the link below.

Home | Chamber of Commerce & Industry Bonaire

 

[Kharon]

My last words - there are at least 3 parts of the story that we are not privy to - the cops, the thieves, and what really, actually happened. No way to get those parts so I will quit adding to this pointless discussion. Sorry I even started.

 

[redacted]

My last words - there are at least 3 parts of the story that we are not privy to - the cops, the thieves, and what really, actually happened. No way to get those parts so I will quit adding to this pointless discussion. Sorry I even started.

I'm quite sure many folks would agree.

 

[Pedroinspain]

Have you reached out to the Bonaire Chamber of Commerce? Bonhata is the tourism association and I am sure that they are very influential but the COC embraces all industries and so they are another interested group, see the link below.

Home | Chamber of Commerce & Industry Bonaire

Many thanks, Kathy. I had not come across this. I will copy them.

 

[Pedroinspain]

I'm quite sure many folks would agree.

I can understand that you would be interested in those topics, and indeed it is unlikely that the truth will be revealed as you have noted.

What I am additionally interested in, and the point of my contact with them, is - "What is the attitude of the Bonaire authorities to the concerns of their tourist milk cows". Are we just meant to remain solely responsible for minimising robbery or break-in risks by taking measures which are in fact quite inconvenient - such as leaving nothing of value in vehicles; leaving them unlocked; swallowing the 72 break-ins to dive vehicles in 2015; carrying valuables while diving; etc.

Or, is it reasonable to expect the local authorities to pitch in. And, IF there is nothing that they can do (which this forum considers to be unlikely) to at least acknowledge our concerns and to explain the situation. If they cannot be bothered to even take that modest step, then indeed I will choose not to return, but to channel my funds elsewhere. I reserve my democratic right to reject the thesis "You, the tourist are the responsible party, now suck it up."

 

[Pedroinspain]

The following might also influence my decision

OI000018

• Pedroinspain
• Mar 25, 2016

Better than average Bonaire snorkeling

Better-than-average Bonaire snorkeling at Windsock (a highly rated snorkeling site) - 1 to 2 metres of water; easily accessed

P9040086

• Pedroinspain
• Mar 25, 2016

Plain average snorkeling in Sulawesi - 1 to 2 metres depth; accessed by walking up to the reef.

 

[boat sju]