Sorry boys, but I gotta disagree. All my posts have been reasonable in regard to discussing the crime problem, you all just don't like the answers, and you don't like it when your absurdity gets a light shined on it.
Sorry Mister MF, but all I've read from you in the last 17 pages was highly sarcastic, polemic, ridiculing other people's posts and, to say the least, arrogant to the limit. Except for that one reasonable post, of course, wouldn't want to be unjust.
Sorry Mr PF, although I occasionally understand your statements you are, again sorry to say, by far the most aggressive poster in this thread. Hardly any substantial arguments, just plain aggression as the ultimate solution, again and again. Sorry you are not allowed to take your guns to Bonaire to solve the problem your way.
Sorry for my aggressiveness, but I just had to state that. It was not much fun at all working through last week's postings in this thread. I really appreciate the atmosphere at ScubaBoard and I don't want to get that spoiled by some intolerant
braggadocios.
Back to business.
I initially thought the "pay kids for watching your car" idea was great. However, I am afraid it is not practical.
The reasons should be obvious for anyone ever been to Bonaire.
First, lots of sites with no trees, shadows or whatsoever. You want that kid to get roasted in your car? I think it okay that Bonaire dive sites are that way, some kind of naturalistic approach. Can you imagine a wall of lockers on, let's say, Margate Bay or Playa Funchi?
Second, how would you manage this "service"? Will you put a kid on every dive site on a daily routine, 24-7? Not that good, eh... poor kid might be waiting for days until some customer shows up, not to think about his/her problems with how to get there - yes THAT IS A QUESTION, just to mention Washington Slagbaai National Park... Should they be waiting at dive shops in order to be picked up (suggested brand name Kids To Go, sorry, couldn't resist), sounds a lot better, maybe some point to start from.
Third, Bonaire is a year-round travel destination. The argument has already been made, if I remember correctly, kids do have to go to school or start an apprenticeship or something (education, you know...). How can you maintain that "service" throughout the year? Or to say it otherwise, where to get the kids from? More so as I guess this job does not qualify for being a certified one, one that needs a, ehm, three year apprenticeship? Okay, right now I remember the old man from Mexico, and maybe that might be a solution to that point.
Sorry I may sound a bit destructive sometimes, these are just my personal musings. Any reasonable criticism is appreciated, as is any serious discussion. I do not claim knowing the absolute truth.
Ooops, before I forget, everyone is talking about Bonaire's 15,000 residents. Nobody ever mentioned the minority group of about 100,000 tourists per year and I think you have to take that into consideration. That's roughly eight times the population and of course the island's main economic factor. There's tourists everywhere, literally, showing off their wealth, living in big houses, driving big new cars, hauling around expensive equipment, wining and dining every day. I dunno if there's an expression for that in English but in Germany we have the term Sozialer Neid which may be roughly translated as being envious on other people's wealth.
Anyway, as far as I can tell, lots of tourists means lots of crime, everywhere, and you only have to get off the main paths and take a ride through Antriol's narrower roads, or get lost in the kunuku areas, and I guess you get the picture.
The situation on Bonaire is rather difficult. No government in any tourist relying country wants to boast with high crime rates, neither does Bonaire. Who wants to blame them for pretending everything is allright. We all know that it's not honest, but hey, look at your government first. There are lots of people living in relative poverty on the island. Crime is organized by adults that use kids as scapegoats and stay in the background themselves - classic scheme. There is also a substantial drug problem on Bonaire, especially cocaine, I was told. Of course this all adds up.
I can only speak for me, but I am from a remote and quiet part of Germany, and I feel more free on Bonaire than here at home, regarding crime threats, that is.
In no way was he trying to degrade you. He was trying to educate you on the reality of the situation and how to improve it.
