Who has had something stolen in Bonaire

[sweatfrog]

Points taken, but some not agreed upon. Honestly, I think the current police department is to "poco-poco" and Bonhata is in meetings with the police department to make sure that when the government change happens that all of our concerns are addressed as they should be. In the meantime, we as resort operators are doing all that we can to get the police force to pay attention. It is being worked.Liz

I have been going to Bonaire since 95' Liz and the thefts have been getting worse, not better. It's pretty bad when one of the DM's thats been living on the Island finds someone in his house and chases him for 2 hours on his bike. Then when he catches him the police won't even come out to arrest him.

There are many programs for kids such as the sports programs at the sports complex on Kaya Amsterdam, or Jong Bonaire, just to mention a few (there are also some that encourage children to become part of the tourist sector, training in snorkeling, diving, etc)Liz

The people I deal with in Bonaire are honest and hard working. When the kids get out of school on Xmas break, etc. is when the lions share of the problems start. I still contend that most Bonarians don't like the water.

The police force do carry guns, and as far as the marine park, they have caught spearfishing people without the use of guns.Liz

I never said the Police Force didn't carry guns. However, one of the Marine Park Officers caught a spearfisherman, confiscated his equipment and said he was sorry. The man's mother and family was subsequently threatened. That Officer had nothing to fall back on. The Bonarian community won't turn in one of it's own.

The children from Rincon, let me tell you how it works. It is not Bonairean's who are the masterminds. These theives pay the Bonairean children to climb into small windows, open doors, etc. I'm not saying it is right, it is wrong. The problem is that the law does not allow currently for prosecution of children under the age of 18. This too is changing. There are 2 plans that are being worked right now, one which is making the parents responsible for the children's behavior.Liz

Send those kids to reform school!

I hope a Bonairean doesn't read the post about the water. I have been coming to Bonaire for over 15 year prior to living here, and my husband for 30...they love the water, they rely on it for food! Have you ever driven past "Donkey Beach", across from the airport on the weekend? Wall to wall Bonairean families who "camp" out for the weekend and enjoy the beach and water. Next time you are on the island, check out Cha-Cha beach, or Fisherman's pier, or on Sunday head over to Lac Cai.Liz

I have been leading trips around the world for 25 years. If I didn't like Bonaire so much, I would just quit going there and wouldn't have posted on this thread. The place has great potential. I just don't want to see it turn into another Jamaica.

Toss one of those fishermen in the water and you'll see for yourself they can't swim well enough to get back to shore. They feel when their time is up, then they'll die.

I dove 'Donkey Beach' last week. I saw plenty of Bonairians on the beach and in the surf. I also have a lot of Bonairian friends. Some are DM's, but the lions share work in customer service. Fishing from a boat, or playing in the surf doesn't mean you can swim and it certainly doesn't make you very smart if you can't and get in over your head.

Don't lock your car, the mentality,not only on Bonaire but on many Caribbean islands is that if you lock the car, even if they can't see anything, there must be something in the car you are trying to protect, hence the break in. I've where vehicles have been side by side, the locked ones got the windows broken and ransacked, but the unlocked one were not ever touched!Liz

Liz, I've literally dove all around the world and Bonaire is the only place I've ever been where I've been told not to lock my car. That problem needed to be solved yesterday.

You are right about the police, like I said we are working on that. Programs such as patrols, etc are in discussions/works.Liz

This has not only been going on for the past 8 or so years, it's been getting worse and you say the discussions are just starting. Isn't that a little late?

I don't foresee any changes until it effects the Bonarian bottom line.

I wonder what one of my employee's who sports a gold cap tooth, and is extremely responsible, married, 2 kids would think of your stereotyping....not fair...
Liz

I was in town last week eating lunch with my wife when a couple of firecrackers went off and 4 punks sporting the Bonairian status symbols walked down the foyer laughing. I'm sorry if I offended your employee, but I've also noticed that adults have fancy cars and motorcycles, while they live in shacks. What does that teach their kids? I'm not trying to be unfair, but if this isn't brought out into the open, nothing will change.

I know you have a vested interest in Bonaire and I appreciate the hard work put into the hospitality that Bonaire provides. Just don't try and sweep this problem under the carpet by saying a change in government will fix it.

 

[smokey braden]

been to bonaire twice.
only been robbed once.

 

[Scuba Susie]

This sounds lika a no-brainer! Think like a thief and you should be OK. Why leave candy out for the kid to steal, ya know? Bonaire may have it's problems but have you been diving in Hawaii lately? Huge problems with leaving your car at the shore dive sites. Crime is everywhere, face it!
Susie

 

[sweatfrog]

I always love these threads, because there is always somebody who says "this kind of thing happens everywhere", in a somewhat lame attempt to excuse the Bonaire Police for the abject failure to even marginally attempt to stop the well known theft problems there. This kind of thing DOES NOT happen everywhere. You might go to Coz and 1 person in 10,000 might get something stolen out of their hotel. Or one car in 20,000 might get broken into or vandalized in the Cayman Islands. On Bonaire, it is probably alot closer to 1 in 10 or 1 in 20. For every ten people here saying they had no problem, I can show you 10 posts from people who just got back and had something stolen. The fact is that there are almost never threads on any of the major scuba boards detailing thefts as a pattern for any location other than Bonaire. The police there don't care, and as evidenced by the use of the laptop for a week, they are most likely a major part of the problem. Anywhere else, everybody realizes that crime is a major deterrent to tourism, but on Bonaire, it is accepted as status quo and nobody cares. So please...feel free to post your own personal experiences, pro or con about Bonaire, but don't patronize us by claiming it is rare or common anywhere in the caribbean, because it isn't. Jamaica and some places in the major port cities of the Bahamas may have similar problems, but even there, the crooks haven't developed such a clear pattern of targeting divers, and the population is much larger, making identification of the criminals harder. The locals and the police on Bonaire know damn well who the thieves are, and they know who and where they sell their booty. They just don't care to make any effort to fix it.

This is a no-brainer!

 

[DiverVince]

Well Randy our personal experiences in life are the foundation for our views. I've owned on St Croix for 6 years on the north shore & there were plenty of breakins, & crime of all types (including homicide) on the island. As one of my neighbors in the condo commented.."it's like the wild west here".. And it was!

Four years ago while staying on the 12 mile beach on Grand Cayman our oceanfront room was broken into & I chased the thief out & he escaped by jumping off our seaside terrace which was 1 flight up.
I've been on Jamaica in the Runaway Bay area when we rented a house for 10 days over Christmas & frankly regretted leaving my .380 semi automatic Baretta at home. I would have felt much safer with it! I almost kissed the ground at Kennedy airport in NYC when I returned I was so happy to be home.

I traveled in Cozumel & experienced crime there.
St Thomas...fuhgettabout it!!

I've been going back & forth now to Bonaire for 20 years & really have never had any problems (but I always take precautions). Is Bonaire the same as it was 20 years ago? Hardly!! But then all things change. I'm optimistic that with the new government coming in making Bonaire a municipality of North Holland, & getting Bonaire separated and away from the clutches of crime ridden Curacao that there will be better enforcement by the police.

 

[sweatfrog]

As I stated in post #60 Vince "as long as the Dutch government is making money off Bonaire, it won't change. It will take at least 5 years for any significant changes to take place".

I don't want Bonaire to become another place like you and I have seen. If this is nipped in the bud, those problems can be solved. Not by burying our heads in the sand. If there's no punishment for kids under 18 then what do they care if they steal the people blind.

 

[NDH]

I agree sweatfrog. For the few parents that are bad, why not tell their kids to go out bring something home. And what are those kids learning. It's ok stealing from others why should we have to earn it and then their kids. Should we just sit back and watch things grow. Well as long as its not the locals that are losing who cares. To bad I can't afford to send all the things I need to sell in a garage sale, they would be rich.
Just remember that the majority are good people and not criminal's. But it would be nice if tourist felt like the police cared after something was reported stolen.

 

[pilot fish]

Susan, just looked at your wonderfully done webpage on Shore Diving Made Easy on Bonaire. I looked for a warning about possible theft of gear and personal belongings from vehicles while shore diving but saw none. I'm sure you've added that caution in your 5th edition but I could not find it. Could you direct me to that?


Pilotfish,

No, I do not address this issue on the web site. The BSDME web site is not a forum. I do, however, address this and other topics in the author's notes.

It's an issue that divers that shore dive on Bonaire ,around the island, should be aware of. Would you agree? Has that gotten any better?

 

[undercbon]

It's an issue that divers that shore dive on Bonaire ,around the island, should be aware of. Would you agree? Has that gotten any better?

Pilotfish,

The following thread may answer your question about awareness on this issue better than I can. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=170753

I leave nothing of value in my truck and have had no problems. I cannot speak for others.

Have you had problems with theft in Bonaire?

 

[Doc]

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=170753[/url] Have you had problems with theft in Bonaire?

It is a symptom of the internet that posters will continue to bring up subjects that are beaten to death (and have obvious answers). Read the post that is linked. (Note with care, the first response: mine) Your response above was quite sufficient, But- your question posed at the end is just as telling. :no

On the Topic: Your website and book would sell a lot better if you showed some pages of the book on your website.

I can imagine a map to the location, description (and drawing) of the shore, the entry tidal zone terrain, and a detailed underwater sketch of the dive.

But then again, I can imagine an awful lot.

Increase your sales- show us what we're buying!