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Roatan and Bay Islands Discussion List Archive
| Posted On: | 23-Feb-2005 |
| From: | "Linda Overman" [loverman.....net] |
| Subject: | Re: [roatan] posting from Hondo 1 list Roatan crime |
Thank you, Sabas Whittaker! This is the most intelligent, well-written piece that I have ever seen on this chat line. And the most important. Your points are so well made. As a lover of Roatan who is also an investor there, it pains us also to hear of these things. And yes, it is certainly a deterrent to our further investing there. And it would have to change a lot for us to feel safe enough to build our home there. Nothing has happened to us personally in the 2 years that we have been coming down there. And we have spent time there ten times between the two of us. However, we know personally some that have been victims of armed robbery. Nothing is as important as your life and the lives of your loved ones. Certainly, things like this are a huge hindrance to Roatan's tourism industry. Count us in on any emails, letters, etc. that need to be written. Also, we will fly down to make a meeting if we can. If we cannot, then we would like the right to have a proxy there. We have a couple of very good friends who are islanders there and business people. They are good people who have grown up there and now are wanting to help those who are less fortunate. Nearly all the islanders we have met there are like this. It is so sad to see mostly mainlanders that come there and want only to steal from those who are working hard to help themselves and others. I am sure it must be heartbreaking to all the good people of Roatan to see this happening to their Paradise. Thank you again for all the concerns and comments. And yes, definitely something needs to be done and someone's attention brought to this. It only gets worse. Each time a foreigner leaves the airport in Roatan, we contribute $25 a person in departure tax. Too bad these millions of dollars in fees are not being spent on creating a safe environment for all of Roatan, therefore encouraging more tourism. Each time a piece of property is bought by us foreigners, we pay a 3% tax to the government on its value. Much property is now being sold and re-sold worth millions of dollars in tax revenue. Too bad this is not being spent on creating a safe environment for all of Roatan, creating more investors and more income for the islanders who sell their family lands. Each year every property owner pays taxes on their property, according to its value. The tax revenues have increased dramatically when properties are sold and bought by investors and then taxed at their increased value. Too bad these additional millions of dollars are not being spent on creating a safe environment for all of Roatan. Where are these monies and how are they being spent? Please do not tell me it is a corrupt political system and that is just the way it is. In the past, Louisiana (a state in southern U.S.) also had a reputation as one of these corrupt political systems. One has to look no further than that state's education system, its level of poverty, and its questionable quality of life to see what a corrupt system did there. Honduras has a system based on a lot of what we have in the U.S. We hope that Hondurans will see to it that Honduras (and therefore, Roatan) picks the best examples in the U.S. to follow in its development, not the worst. Hopefully, this means decent, honest, caring people in government who really want what is best for Roatan. We are cheering for Roatan and hope that we can help in some small way to make it a better place where its people and foreigner travelers can prosper and have a decent, civilized place to live, travel, vacation in safety and continue to enjoy one of the prettiest places in the world that we have ever seen! (And you have our permission to send this on to any and all of the local, state, national elected officials if it will help get money directed to the police to help them prevent crime on Roatan.) Bill & Linda Overman Dallas, TX ----- Original Message ----- From: SABAS WHITTAKER To: roatan.....com Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 10:41 PM Subject: RE: [roatan] posting from Hondo 1 list Roatan crime It is a crying shame... I'm in full agreement with you. Perhaps you do need to call a meeting rather urgently to discuss security issues and implement new ways of dealing with this horrible situation. One my first suggestions is to draft a petition letter and have as many of you signed it, give the chief of police a copy and mail several copies to the governor and to the President in Tegucigalpa. a good reminder would be to include how much Honduras is benefiting from your Dollars and how hard it would be once you have left. The world is rather a large place and no one should have to remain in a place that is unsafe... Regardless of its beauty. As a Honduran and ex-pat myself... whom has not placed a foot on Honduran soil since the 1980's I am ashame. I'm quite sure the hard working Honduran people who live, work and depend on your dollars as income to put food on their table must feel a whole lot worst than I do. However, the issue is not about being the bearer of bad news, the issue here is safety. People are getting hurt and that is a reality that shouldn't exist. I have traveled and lived all over the world... Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, Canada and many other Caribbean countries and not once have I heard such a shameful disgrace. I still remember Miami during the early 90's and I still remember the wave of crime that swept through there, but the South Florida public officials understood the meaning of dollars and cents. They therefore, valued either it was going to be the tourist, or whether it should be the criminals run the beaches... in actuality tourism won. Criminals do not contribute, rather they're a drain on society. Honduras has always been a beautiful country, however it has always been loaded with crime. I think its about time for the Honduran government to stand up and make the same rational and logical move as that of South Florida and realize that... "the word investors means a paycheck for its people and that crime means an ugly drain on society." Further more "Gringos" and other foreigners are those always responding to the nation when its in need. Honduran governmental officials should also remember that almost half of its best and brightest have been exported to foreign a country to earn the "gringo dollar that now helps support it as "remesas." We, the hard working Hondurans who are abroad support you and we share your in solidarity and your pain... we are also ex-pats, only that we are now visitors in your country and we enjoy full protection and justice under the American laws, I believe the government of Honduras should do the same for you. It is your right to be protected and safe while in Honduras. I wonder if these criminals are sending any of these much needed medical missions to Honduras to take care of it sick and indigent poor? I also wonder if they have are willing to invest something more than pain and shame upon a nation that now struggles to become somewhat industrialized and overcome centuries of hunger and poverty? Sorry to hear about your pain. Thanks for voicing your concerns... thanks. Sabas. www.sabaswhittaker.com Mary & Doug Solomon wrote: Yes, your comments are correct. This appears not to be an isolated incident either, recently there have been several violent robberies some being committed by balaclava clad gangsters. This one at Port Royal on Sunday night and the one at Palmetto last week, the one at First Bight a couple of weeks ago as well as others that we've heard of and probably more that we don't know about, all seem to point towards an orchestrated wave of crime. We appreciate the actions of the Police Chief on Sunday night but what should the expats do about this wave of crime, should there be a meeting to discuss security issues. We don't like to be the bearers of bad news on this wonderful island but these crimes need to be brought into the open and STOPPED DougS crime >Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 09:52:44 -0600 > > >Can anyone confirm or deny this?? > > >Well, it's happened again............Americans being violently >attacked!!! This time long time seasoned residents of Roatan (almost >20 years) were viciously attacked in their home in the secluded Port >Royal area by 3 masked, as well as armed intruders. Injuries were >experienced by both parties involved, including a death on the >intruders side. The 'gringos' unexpectedly put up a fight and threw >the intruders plans out the window..........as well as the remaining >intruders. The bad guys wore clothing and camouflage peculiar to the >island, which is kind of intimidating in itself, to see up close and >personal. > >The reason behind this post is to promote the truth and to open the >eyes of any potential investors considering a move to Roatan before >they realize that they made a big monetary (and sometimes life >altering) mistake. Numerous violent attacks are being experienced by >foreign investors to Roatan. The simple one person robberies when no >one is home are becoming a thing of the past. The new wave of home >invasion now appears to include a minimum of 3 'bad guys', with >weapons with the intentions of home invasion, robbing & possibly >raping. > >No more occasional isolated incidents on the western half of the >island. The whole island now seems to be violated in this ever >growing violent crime wave. I was amassed at the fact that the new >Chief of Police from Coxen Hole made the commendable effort of making >his way to Port Royal (the opposite end of the 30 mile long island) >in the middle of the night in extremely rough seas with soldiers in >tow. I was truly impressed with his sincerity of the situation. I >would hope that this renewed interest in crime in respect to police >officials will eventually deter some criminals in the future. But >only the future will tell. Right now, violent crime is griping the >xpat community. Yes, we are all aware that this can happen to any of >us at any time, and most are prepared to deal with it (if we weren't, >we'd have left a loooong time ago). But the frequency of the attracts >along with the increased violence and number of assailants involved >is becoming alarming. > >No answers for this topic, as this was not the intent of this post. >The reasoning behind this post was to be honest in informing any >possible 'Roatan wannabe' that this ain't all honey & cream down here >(This ain't Kansas any more Toto). If you have a weak spirit (or >heart) and have trouble coping with stress, then you may want to >reconsider a move to Roatan............at least until this seemingly >ever increasing crime wave retreats back to a ripple. Who knows, >maybe with a decrease in investment dollars, decrease in employment >(which is already marginal) and a slow down in development, maybe, >just maybe someone in government office will see the light and try to >remedy this sad & nasty problem before the rest of us just pack up >and get the heck out of Dodge. > > > > _____ Don't just search. Find. 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