has the recent events in venezuela had any effect on bonaire?

I would say hardly any, our main supplies come from USA en NL, and they don't travel through Venezuela. We also don't have direct flights or boats from Venzuela. The only thing that could be a problem is the Polar, the venezuela Beer, that is used here very much. I saw on Saturday still some supplies of it, but I think many people bought big quantities (te be safe?), so it is out now. But on the Lac on Sunday it was still avialable. As I'm not a beer-drinker, it doesn't affect me either. The Cocacola was out too, but Pepsi does it also, just as Amstel, I would say.
The Venezuela Fruit-stall at WilhelminaPark, near the harbour is still working, people are as (un)friendly as ever, and they had enough supplies of fruit.
Our teacher Spanish (from the Venezuela Ambassy) went home for Christmas, he behaved a little bit dramatically, as if he was afraid of not coming back, but his roots called him....
I think Curacao will have more problems, as far as I know they do handle oil from Venezuela, and that will be affected soon, I think. But this is Bonaire, Curacao is something totally different....
This is all I can tell you, so the answer is "no problem".

Harrie

Thank you Harrie. I asked a similar question in another topic of BT, and did not receice any answer. I was afraid of the availability of petroleum products. I suppose that the large tanks in the northern part can supply the island for a long time.

18 days and counting until I return for my fifth stay on the island. I can hardly wait!

Michel,
your remark upon the petroleumproducts remembered me that i had to fill my gasoline-tank for the Xmas days. (Thanks). People at the gasstation told me that there was absolutely no sign of shortages. Bonaire has normally a stock of about two months of refined oilproducts. So go on counting....
If situation changes within 18 days, i will give a sign on this thread.

Harrie

how will the striking oil workers effect the oil transhipment bussiness and what effect is that having on the island economy

As far as we know, the oil-transfers have stopped now, so that means that there will be an effect on workers at the oil-company, but during the Xmas and NewYears-days it will not be very effective.
I remember i was reading a little booklet some time ago with financial statistics of Bonaire, I couldn't find it anymore, but i remember that I was surprised that the oil-activities (that do endager the world-life under water so much), were of relatively small influence on the economy of Bonaire. The influences of selling no oil to the Venezuelan people will be of much more impact. Let's hope that soon the people and government in Venezuela get their brains back.

Today: no Polar anywhere, just some left in my fridge....


Regards,

Harrie

I don't wanna be hysterical, but.... yesterday I heard something very funny, and believe me it's not going to happen, but when you think about it... Our Web is providing us our services by diesel and if it's going to take long on Venezuela...... Imagine our whole island without ligths....

Would be very nice, the whole island in darkness.... we are allready quite used to that situation, because the power failures are often and for a longtime.
I would say, don't worry too much, Diesel and gasoline are for sale everywhere in the world, and specially in small quantities as used by drivers on Bonaire and the WEB, that won't be a big problem. Of course prices will go up, as they are allready in some places of the world, due to the venezuela-problems.
Be sure to buy some candles and solar-powered flashlights.....

Harrie

Bought a new Mag-Lite yesterday for use on Bon... Guess it will come in handy even more than I anticipated

I just read in the local (Orange County, CA) newspaper this morning that Curacao had made arrangements to get oil from Brazil to replace the oil not being shipped from Venezuela.

If you like to understand better why millons of Venezuelans are protesting and striking read the following article. http://www.insightmag.com/news/342429.html

Thank you for the link, we always have difficulties here on Bonaire to get good background-information to the rumours and news. This helped a lot. The Venezualen people are not only striking for their freedom, but also for the freedom of the whole world......

Thanks,

Harrie

This is another interesting link --- by the way Harrie, I live on Bonaire http://www.vcrisis.com/

On top of this last link there is a "Communication to the International Media" -- Mr.Boyd is writing down precisely what I experience

Interesting yes, but neutral, no.

For a unexperienced Internetter, as I am, it still is difficult to find good links on special items, but with the help of BT I will learn.
And I really miss my "Elsevier", the dutch weekly magazine, neutral, or perhaps a little bit right-wing-sided. Subscriptions are expensive, and I haven't seen it for sale on the island. Sometimes I can bring copys with me, when visiting Holland. When buying or reading US-articles (in English) it is sometimes quite difficult for me to really understand some points, or I even miss the clou completely.

By the way, "Venezuela" wasn't a big item in dutch newspapers at all up to now.

Harrie

Harrie, the problem is certainly that most European and US journalists are not well enough informed. You can not know a big country like Venezuela in a short visit. I read many articles in the last years about Venezuela in different languages which surprised me again and again with all the things they did not know.... we have travelled Venezuela in the last 10 years at least twice every year and have quite a number of friends over there in different regions. If some of the things you read about the strike are not "neutral" than its in general from Reuters..
how can a big news agency insist in calling it a strike of the petrol workers when there are only in total about 40.000 of them and in these protest marches in Caracas alone again and again about 1 Million people are on the streets.... and than we do not talk about numbers in cities like Maracaibo, Puerto La Cruz, Valencia and Barquesimeto... and the biggest number of petrol workers are in the state Falcon in Punto Fijo....
Try to read some of the articles about the new Brasilian president and his connections to Castro and Chavez on http://www.msnbc.com/news/intlnews_front.asp?0si=-
click on Americas and you find a lot of South American news... ok it is Reuters also, but better than nothing anyhow....
otherwise you can try http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/ -- you can find a big number of news papers from every country in the world... have fun