Boycott Aruba??

[windrose]

Do you think this will have any effect at all? I've never been to Aruba, but I have two cruises planned which will port there. Has this case effected tourism so far?

 

http://www.canada.com/travel/story.html?id=2eba74b6-3f9b-403d-9746-fda8713f8bfb

[HeatherInFlorida]

If you've booked a cruise with Aruba as a port, it's a little tough to boycott it!!! We were just there and went to the beach ... didn't spend any money to speak of if that's what they mean.

 

There are many rumor afloat down there about this whole thing, but the people of Aruba are warm and wonderful and while I support many boycotts of many things, I don't think it's fair to penalize the whole island because of how the Natalie situation has been handled.

 

At this point, there seemed to be no problem with tourism there last Thursday!:)

[ahoymatey3]

makes perfect sense, after all nobody has ever been killed in alabama :rolleyes:

[Iggipolka]

This boycott is completely silly. People go missing in Iowa all the time..so, should be boycott Iowa?

[ahoymatey3]

This boycott is completely silly. People go missing in Iowa all the time..so, should be boycott Iowa?

 

Are you in iowa? i thought I was the only cruiser in the whole state.

[Howdy]

I understand that the boycott is being called because people beleive that the government of Aruba is not investigating the murder fully and is not cooperating with the FBI. The boycott is not so much about the murder but the "foot dragging" and lack of cooperation of the investigation.

[jhannah]

I guess I could say that foreigners have lots of reasons, then, to boycott the U.S. --- but that would turn into a political debate which is out of place here. As to the stated question, I do not believe that governors exchanging their hot air will have any affect on tourism in Aruba.

[HeatherInFlorida]

You are absolutely right, Howdy ... which makes my point. What penalize all of Aruba simply because of the government "dragging its feet". Perhaps they didn't handle it as well as some may think they should have, but we also have to remember they're not used to a lot of crime down there.

 

So perhaps the Aruban government should have been more willing to accept our assistance from since Natalie is, after all, a U.S. citizen but beyond that there's only so much they can do.

 

The fact is as Iggi said, many missing persons in the U.S. remain unsolved and the people are never found and we don't make a big stink about it. The whole issue is that the press was all over this because the girl is young and attractive and because Natalie's Mom was (and is) understandably persistent.

 

It does remind me of the Turkey debacle on the Brilliance of the Seas (the "missing" honeymooning husband). Has there ever been any more news on that? Or are we boycotting Turkey and RCI as well?

[kryos]

This boycott is completely silly. People go missing in Iowa all the time..so, should be boycott Iowa?

LOL ... good point.

 

I got into trouble on this subject on another board, so I'm gonna be real careful how I word things here.

 

It's tragic what happened to Natalie Holloway, but I don't necessarily fault Aruba for it. Natalie took some really big chances ... leaving the group she was traveling with to go off with the locals ... people she did not know ... and she apparently consumed a great deal of alcohol with them. While most times people probably get away with this ... poor Natalie just hit some really bad luck. She lost her life.

 

As for how they are handling the investigation, we Americans are spoiled. We have a pretty evolved legal system here, and top notch police investigation capabilities. Aruba is a small island and they are not so advantageously equipped. Also, they've had help from the FBI and other U.S. agencies, and still could come up with nothing. My guess is that they did the best they could with the resources available.

 

It's tragic what happened to this young woman, but I think if a finger of blame HAS to be pointed, it should be pointed in the direction of the chaperones who were assigned to this trip, and to Natalie's travel companions who clearly did not sound an alarm when she was unaccounted for for such a length of time. Aruba is a lovely island and the people seem warm and friendly. But like all places, there are some bad apples and tragically Natalie clearly encountered them and lost her life because of it.

 

I would gladly visit the island again and would feel no fear in doing so.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[bepsf]

Are you in iowa? i thought I was the only cruiser in the whole state.

 

Iggi was missing in Iowa....

:eek:

...but we found her in CA and decided to keep her for ourselves!

;)

[Titan(ic)5.6]

Boycotts usually don't work unless they specifically target only the wrongdoers. About 99% of the Arubans have nothing to do with Natalee Holloway.

 

I'm sure the State Department would rather the boycott "go away".

[ahoymatey3]

Iggi was missing in Iowa....

:eek:

 

...but we found her in CA and decided to keep her for ourselves!

;)

 

we're all missing in iowa, the armpit of the midwest...

[localady]

Kyros-

I couldn't have said it better!

We will be in Aruba in a month. I am snorkelling and probably won't shop, but my DH may. What happened is tragic, but let's not penalize an entire country.:cool:

[Iggipolka]

Iggi was missing in Iowa....

:eek:

 

...but we found her in CA and decided to keep her for ourselves!

;)

 

hehehe..Raised in Minnesota actually, just one step above Iowa. :)

I've escaped to the SF Bay Area of California now though..one more missing cruiser in the land of 10 Thousand Lakes

[ahoymatey3]

hehehe..Raised in Minnesota actually, just one step above Iowa. :)

 

debatable ;)

 

at least minneapolis has white castles

[imsulin2]

I live in Alabama, and of course, all the local stations showed Gov. Bob Riley and the Twittys asking all "Alabamians" to boycott Aruba. Please allow me to present my argument, which may sound to some like I'm a non-caring, arrogant, unsympathetic individual. Personally, I think the idea is absolutely ridiculous. Many of the people I live near, and work with, have never even been out of the county - let alone the state - and have no idea where Aruba even is - or that it's an island - or that it's a Dutch protectorate - or that it has one of the highest literacy rates of any island in the Caribbean. I've been there and have always enjoyed it. I feel safer in Aruba than I do in St. Thomas! I think that the media here has conveniently overlooked the fact that 140 17-18 year high school graduates went to a foreign country with exactly 7 adult chaperones...high school coaches and their spouses. Most of them had never been out of the U.S. I don't know who booked this trip for them, but I will say up-front: really bad job! The area in Birmingham (Mountain Brook) where Natalee lived is quite affluent (by Alabama standards). "Gee - we can afford to send our kid to an expensive island as a graduation present, so let's do it!" To blame an entire country for the mistakes made by the booker, the parents, the students, poor information, lack of chaperones, lack of scheduled check-in times, lack of supervision, and the expectation that these kids would "behave" themselves is ludicrous. I've booked high school graduation trips before. and have always said up-front that I will not book unless there is one chaperone per five students. I required each student and chaperone to purchase trip insurance. I required a written 2X day check-in schedule before I would give out trip documents. Never had a problem. I'm pretty sure that Gov. Bob Riley has never been to Aruba, and yet he is asking our entire state to boycott it? Baloney! I was so incensed by this report, that I will deliberately - and in defiance - go back to Aruba. Do I feel sorry that Natalee Holloway disappeared? Yes. Do I feel badly for her parents? Yes. However - it's hard for me to feel sorry for the irresponsible behavior portrayed by her "friends" and "chaperones" who didn't bother to notice that she was missing until the morning of the flight back to the U.S. This is my opinion, and I'm sticking to it! I also don't think I need to apologize in advance to anyone who might feel offended by what I've said. Thank you.

[ahoymatey3]

very well said.

[imsulin2]

Thanks, ahoymatey3!

[HeatherInFlorida]

I agree, Sue. Actually I agree with just about everything said here.

[travelgals]

imsulin,

I understand what you are saying, but do not agree. I think the reason to boycott Aruba is not because this terrible thing happened there (terrible things happen everywhere), but because of the manner in which the Arubian gov't handled the matter. All the supervision in the world cannot prevent kids from using poor judgement Do you really think, based upon how that gov't has responded that they would have done much to help find her if she was reported missing after 2 hours? I will never go to Aruba or permit my kids to go there, even with an armed guard.

[Time2sail]

The area in Birmingham (Mountain Brook) where Natalee lived is quite affluent (by Alabama standards). "Gee - we can afford to send our kid to an expensive island as a graduation present, so let's do it!" Imsulin

 

:mad: Just a guess--Brookie envy?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

hehehe..Raised in Minnesota actually, just one step above Iowa. :)

I've escaped to the SF Bay Area of California now though..one more missing cruiser in the land of 10 Thousand Lakes

Iggi, I was born and raised in Iowa and lived in St Paul for a year:) after college. Then moved back to Iowa, met my DH and moved to Las Vegas in 1978. That's my story:D

[Iggipolka]

Woo Lisa! Another midwestern escapee! St. Paul is nice. I lived in a burb of Minneapolis and then went way up north to Duluth for college. I escaped to California for grad school and while I miss Minnesota summers, I sure don't miss the winters!

 

oblg on topic post: If we boycotted all of the countries in which we don't agree with their politics or governments, we'd not be able to travel or live in our own country!

[hifred]

My heart goes out to Natalie's family and friends. It is true that the trip supervision was inadequate. It is hard to understand how any responsible Board of Education could approve a trip to a foreign country with such limited supervision. All I can think of is this must have been an unofficial trip after graduation, but I don't know that. I also could never understand if Natalie was with her friends how could they let her go off with someone - a stranger. I can't imagine a group of girls watching as three boys takes one of the girls into a car in a strange place. However, with this being said once Naralie was missing it did not appear that the Aruban government took her disappearance seriously and worst of all they did not appear to helpe this family find answers. How horrible it must have been for Beth Twitty and family to be looking for their daughter and not receiving any help. They didn't check the Vanderslooth's home or the boys' clothes for dna. This was poorly managed from the get-go. I think back when foreign tourists were being assaulted and murdered in Florida. Other countries listed the US as a dangerous place and many chose to stop going to Florida. I have been to Cancun with my children and the Mexican government keeps the bars and the down town area where Carlos and Charlie's is very safe. To me if the cruise ship rerouted to another island rather than Aruba I would feel better. I think we should support Natalie's family. There are many beautiful island's. I cruise 4 x's a year and will try to look for cruises that do not stop in Aruba. That is the least I can do to help support a family that lost their daughter.

[Time2sail]

I've been to Aruba but won't go back.