The following letter I sent to Scuba Diving Magazine upon return from a two week vacation at The Plaza Resort. Please note that my wife and I have vacationed in Bonaire thirteen of the last 15 years. We love Bonaire and its people but regrettably, the island is become less safe.

Dear Scuba Diving,

I just perused your January 2007 edition which included the "100 Best Dive Destinations In The World." You should have included a category titled: Destination With The Fastest Growing Crime Rate. Bonaire would top the in this category as well!

My wife and I have gone to Bonaire on our annual two week dive vacation for thirteen of the past fifteen years. We love Bonaire and it's fine people. That being said, we may not return to Bonaire again!

On November 30, while staying at a villa at the Plaza Resort, an intruder entered our bedrooms while we slept! He stole my Suunto dive computer, our friend's Seiko dive watch, and about $300.00 in US and Antillian currency. The intruder took my wife's pocketbook out to the living room, spread it's contents on the couch, and took what he wanted. Let me reiterate: The intruder was beside our beds while slept!

The Plaza Resort's manager was unhelpful. He merely provided us with an escort to the police station, The police were unhelpful. They were only concerned with giving us a nice report to present to our insurance company. While we were at the police station, the occupants of two more villas at The Plaza Resort showed up to report their break-ins! One young Brazilian girl stated that she awoke while the intruder was right beside her bed, taking her i-Pod! Terrified, she remained completely still until the intruder was exiting her bedroom, then she screamed!

If the intruder was deranged, these incidents could have easily become rapes or murders! What are the hotel managers and the police waiting for...another Natalie Holloway incident? The resorts, the merchants, and the good people of Bonaire must act immediately to stop these crimes! If they don't, Bonaire risks becoming another Jamaica.

For the record, I spoke with dive resort owners, restaurant owners, dive masters and local Bonarians. To a person, all acknowledged the frequent and increasing occurrence of these crimes.

I hope that you will do all your readers a service and print this letter in your next edition

Yours truly,

Mike Schuster

Thanks for the report. I will take note of this for when we visit in 2007. I only hope that for the good of the people that the police take some kind of action and not turn a blind eye. You must stop the crime at its roots before the tree gets to big.

I've stayed at the Plaza twice - I'm curious to know how they got in the villa. Man, if I had my wife with me and this happened I would be one unhappy camper as you obviously are!!

Sorry that you had such a terrible experience.

Well it was bound to happen. More tourists mean more crime on the island.

I would like to weigh in here, as much as I can, and state that although crime is going up, Bonaire is still one of the safest places to visit. I would be curious to see a crime related comparison between all the major Caribbean islands to see how it shakes out.

My wife and I were also the victims of theft when on the island 4 years ago. I blame the theft on both ourselves and the opportunistic thieves that found our gear.

After a late night dive we got back to the resort, hung up our gear on the outside racks and started getting ready for bed. Part of me thought we should probably go ahead and bring the gear inside, but we got lazy and left it out. In the morning all our snorkeling equipment was gone, along with my shoes(yes, I'm still bitter about the shoes). The resort we were staying in has several 2 and 3 unit buildings and we found out the people across the parking lot from us also had a break in. They had left their door unlocked and the thieves went inside just like what Mr. Schuster described above. They took dive logs, purses, and wallets outside, rifled through to get all the cash and left everything else.

Our hosts were deeply troubled by the events and got us hooked up with the local police to file a report....unfortunately there was nothing they could do beyond that. The gear was gone and we were never going to see it again. They have since stepped up security by having 24 hour guards on the property. On a side note, the dive shop was more than willing to let us use any gear we needed free of charge.

In the end I think we all need to step back and remember that the world isn't as innocent as it once was. Upon a time people in America went to bed at night with their front doors unlocked and the keys in the ignition of their cars. When traveling, no matter where it may be, we need to constantly be aware of our surroundings.

Now, Mr. Schuster doesn't mention whether the intruder broke in forcibly, or simply took advantage of an unlocked door or window. I'll go with the assumption that something was unlocked. I think an opportunistic thief would probably have just moved on to the next room if they found only locked doors and windows.


Michael

As the moderators have not received a police report from Edward,as per our posting policy, this thread will be closed to further posting until we do.