I popped in to BT this morning and have been mulling over poor Chris Bender's horrible experience all day.

It occurs to me that a thief would not have to be terribly savvy to browse BT in order to figure out whom to rob, where and when. I would imagine that in a *minutes* I could figure out which BT'ers will be vacationing on island, what hotel/resort/whatever they will be staying at, number of people in their party and all sorts of personal information to assist me in determining whom to rob.

The more group oriented of you even make plans to be out of your respective vacation homes to meet. A chatty poster coupled with a good memory might even give clues about what expensive dive/photo/video gear you'll be toting.

Hell, it's practically like a Crime Day Planner in here. :D

Larry ,

I see your point , but ..... it is way less complicated than you might think.
Burglars and robbers are no masterminds , not at that level anyway.

Picture this :
~~Cottage or studio = tourists
~~tourists = luxury goods/money
~~lights out = dinner/bar

in~search~out = go see an fencer = money for nothing.

Besides taking good care of your personal belongings I would advice a set of power outlet timers to switch on and off some lights in the house when you are out for whatever reason.

Make 'm doubt if someones in the house.

jos

For some people's misfortunes they didn't have to be away from their room. They break in while you are there.

you know..we just want to go to Bonaire and go diving! I'm really upset that people on Bonaire have to deal with this problem everyday ..how do they do it ? you would think that the island is small enuff and the community close enough that it would be easy to solve instead of getting worse...locals arise !!

Locals arise .... we did that more than once ... there were signature collections, a big protest march throug town (more than 5ooo participants), the churches complain, the call for Dutch police men .... and I don't know how many meetings with the government from the different groups like Bonhata, Restaurant Association, Buisiness Association and the newer BHG .....
----------it all comes to the same: The police is central government (speak Curacao) and there is no more money coming than we get ..... Dutch police has to be requested by the Central Government and till now they always refused and I would guess they will continue to refuse (with comments like Bonaire is paradise compared to Curacao and other islands !!!! ) -- it may be so, but we LOCALS don't want to be compared to Curacao but what can we do???? I am out of ideas .....
At Coco Palm Garden & Casa Oleander together with Ocean View Villas and just 2 (!!!!) of our neighbours we pay since summer last year for the Wowo di Bario to patrouille at night the 4 streets where our properties are located.
1) It would be much cheaper for us if the other 50 or so neighbours (locals and foreigners who bought houses here) would pay their share for clearly increased security ... they are very proud to even tell in crime meetings that security did increase and they don't pay !!!!
2) We had to raise our prices slightly and the potential guest complains
Believe me, we LOCALS are angry and we are frustrated.
Of course we pay our taxes which should also pay for our security , and we like it as little as our neighbours that we have to pay again (Wowo di Bario) but which choice do we have ??? Any idea is welcome .... but please not the idea with the guns as read in one of the other discussions ... keep Bonaire as gun free as possible ....

I hope your grass roots program will be successful for you..also agree no guns in Bonaire...let's hope the latest government action will be positive one. Good luck and stay safe

Larry, thank you for your kind words. We've been home now for six weeks, and while the incident still troubles us, my wife no longer gets up in the middle of the night to look out the window, and although we're still setting the alarm before we go to bed (something we never bothered to do before our trip), it's become more of a (probably prudent) habit than an emotional necessity. So, life goes on. That said, we appreciate the understanding and support that you and many others have shown and offered.

Christopher

Maybe security patrols in pickup trucks, say one in each area (Santa Barbara, Sabadeco, Playa, Belnem) where the guards get out and check the houses etc with a flashlight, investigate anything suspicious, etc....

Carl

Carl, that is what the Wowo di Barios are doing by car and walking, but you have to pay for it ... not that much and as said it gets lower if more neighbours participate ... but strangely, most of the owner of houses (if private or for rental) in our streets are not willing to do so.
I had some phone calls weeks ago from people in Sabadeco and Republic ... and their comment was directly: What !!! I have to pay for it !!!

Of course, we signed up with Wowo di Bario in Brigitte's neighborhood on the day we signed our final papers on the house. They have been doing a great job watching over the place while we have been renovating. Now that we are living in the house, they have stopped by and introduced themselves, given us stickers for our cars and windows. We see them every night.

What some people may not realize that Wowo di Bario is a non-profit organization. The money goes for salaries, training, and equipment.

Linda, would they accept a short term commitment?

In principal yes, depending a little in which area .... just make contact with the Wowos (Tina) ... office 717 7778 or 525 1107