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Crime Meeting Planned
As mentioned in last week's Bonaire E-News, a crime meeting consisting of various business organizations, the chief of police, several
concerned residents, and Komakia (Bonaire's non-profit crime and drug prevention agency) was held last Friday. Discussed at the meeting was the process of evolving Bonaire's current ages-old and dysfunctional system
of policing into a newer community-oriented policing system. Under a community-oriented policing system, policemen will be out in the neighborhoods, interacting with residents, instead of cloistered at the police
station or in their cars, and specific policemen will have responsibility for designated neighborhoods. This in turn will help a community know who to turn to for help, as well as help make policemen who are not
doing their jobs more accountable for their inactivity or lack of vigilance.
We see the latter item - police accountability - as a cornerstone of community policing, especially in light of the number of cases reported to us where the police refused to show up to take a report and review the
scene of a crime (as happened just this past weekend to a good friend).
Until community policing takes effect on Bonaire (hopefully later this summer - see below), we advise anyone experiencing difficulties with getting the police to do their jobs to take names and report them to the
Chief of Police Gerold Daantje. Similarly, if you have a good experience with a police officer, make sure to report that to the Chief of Police as well - the stars should shine, and the lackluster ones should be
polished so they can ultimately shine too. Chief Daantje can be reached via the main police phone number, 8000. Messages can also be FAXed to him at 5155 (which is the public police FAX number). E-mail can be sent
to us at mailto:crime@infobonaire.com and we will forward it to Chief Daantje.
The above editorial aside, the net result of the crime meeting last week was that a number of private citizens and groups will shortly be circulating a petition for all those that care about Bonaire to sign. This
petition will be addressed to the Minister of Justice, Dr. Rutsel Martha, and will be used to solicit his help and that of the Antillean parliament in helping revamp Bonaire's policing system into a
community-oriented system. This petition will be made available to people on the Internet starting next week via a Web site to shortly be announced. On Bonaire, paper petitions will most likely be making the rounds
over the next few weeks.
Also, as another result of the crime meeting, the major business organizations on the island - BONHATA (Bonaire Hotel & Tourism Association), AKIB (Bonaire Business & Industry Association), CURO (Caribbean
Underwater Resort Operators), and the Bonaire Restaurant Assocation - invite all concerned residents and those who care about Bonaire as much as they do, to participate in a Crime Forum to be held on Friday, March
5th, at 7pm at Harbour Village (probably in Sala Grande) to discuss the petition effort as well as the concept of community policing.
No RSVP is necessary, but a desire to work together to help Bonaire get rid of crime is required.
Carnival Calendar
Just a final reminder that Carnival is here and will soon be over. This weekend features the Grand Parades in Rincon and Kralendijk.
The schedule is as follows:
- 12 February - 9:00AM - School Parade - Playa
- 12 February - 8:00PM - Marathon Jump-Up - Rincon
- 13 February - Noon - Grand Carnival Parade - Rincon
- 14 February - Noon - Grand Carnival Parade - Playa
- 15 February - 3:00PM - Farewell Youth Fest - Playa
- 15 February - 8:00PM - Masquerade Party - Sentro di Bario
- 16 February - 8:00PM - Farewell to Carnival #25 Parade - Playa
Playa means downtown Kralendijk along Kaya Grandi in the above cases. For further information, contact Fukabo (Fundashon Karnaval Boneiru) at 4138.
Youth Center Volunteers
The new Youth Center (Jung Bonaire) needs adult volunteers. To find out about volunteering at the Center attend 1 of the 3
"Volunteer Evenings" that will be held on February 22 in Rincon's Sentro di Bario, and on the 24th and 25th in the Kralendijk Youth Center at 8:30 PM. Prospective volunteers can learn about the programs
then decide what type of youth activity they could best help out with. Volunteers are needed for indoor and outdoor sports, computers, music, arts and crafts as well as for fund raising and supervision. Even
long-stay tourists like yachtspeople can help. The first activities at the Center are set to start on March 29th.
Call or fax the Youth Center at 4303 or e-mail mailto:sunspots@bonairelive.com for more information. Look for the Youth Center marchers demonstrating some of the
activities in the Grand Karnaval Parade this weekend. (Courtesy of Port Call)
Tax Update
The Antillean Advisory Council thinks the cancellation of the 6% ABB (sales) tax was not done correctly and suggests to re-introduce it and forget
about the intended new Antillean tax (BBO) on sales. The ABB was cancelled as of January 1st and the new tax was to be introduced on March 1st. The advice of the council is the most negative made on the government's
plan.
The Advisory Council is of the opinion that the cancellation of the ABB tax and introduction of the new sales tax was not done according to prescribed regulations.
First of all, the cancellation was not realized by law but by ministerial decree. Meanwhile the Public Prosecutor is investigating the cancellation of the ABB tax. Prime Minister Suzanne Camelia-Römer and Lucille
George-Wout of the PAR-party asked the prosecutor to investigate the way the government cancelled the ABB tax.
At the end of the week, the central government announced that it would not follow the suggestion of the Advisory Council. The cancellation of the ABB tax will be maintained and the government will continue with its
preparations to introduce a new sales tax on March 1st. (Courtesy of Antillean News Network - visit http://www.antilleannews.net )
Getting Antilleans to Return
The Antillean Social Economic Council proposes the government introduce special incentives to promote the return of
Antilleans to their native islands. The Council proposes an arrangement like the Jamaican Returning Residents Program. This program was introduced in Jamaica in 1993, and during the first 5 years, it mediated for
the return of more than 11,000 Jamaican emigrants. The Jamaican program served as a model for emigration programs in the Dominican Republic and Barbados.
The Social Economic Council is convinced that the Jamaican Program contains a lot of aspects that can be easily introduced in the Netherlands Antilles.
As for the financing of such a program, the council indicated that the International Organization of Migration and the European Union helped in Jamaica, and that in the Antillean case, the Dutch Government will
surely be willing to help financially. (Courtesy of Antillean News Network)
The emigration of native Antilleans from islands such as Bonaire to Holland and other countries is a very serious one, as it is usually many of the best and brightest that leave, depriving the Netherlands Antilles of
a valuable resource, but, without a real chance of advancement, many feel they have no choice but to leave for greener pastures. A program like that used in Jamaica might be a way to reverse the tide and bring
entrepreneurial Antilleans back to their home islands.
Bonaire Twin Cinema News & Features -
February 11 - 17, 1999
Bonaire Twin Cinema is located in the heart of Kralendijk next to the Exito Bakery
and behind the Cultimara Supermarket. Starting Thursday, February 11, Bonaire Twin Cinema will be offering the following film features (NaFl.10.- for all normal features):
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Ronin - Last week!
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 2:00pm
- Nightly at 6:30pm
- Late Shows Fri. & Sat. at 11:00pm
Robert DeNiro leads an international team of covert operatives in the attempted theft of a mysterious briefcase. It soon become clear that other groups are after the same thing, and that double crosses, betrayals,
and money dominate the roles everyone plays. (Rated R, Action Thriller, CinemaScope, 121 min.) For more details, see: http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/guide/ronin.html
[The Bonaire E-News rates Ronin as 2.5 stars out of 4 - the plot has some great twists, and the movie features perhaps the best car chase scenes we've ever seen, second only to those in the movie, The Blues
Brothers, but the ending left us feeling rather unenthused.]
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A Bug's Life
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 4:30pm
- Nightly at 9:00pm
A misfit ant named Flick must save his colony from a greedy gang of grasshoppers and their evil leader Hopper. Flick enlists a troop of circus bugs to aid in the defense. (Rated PG, Animation, 94 minutes) See http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Movies/A_Bug_s_Life/ for details.
[Bonaire E-News rates A Bug's Life as 4 stars out of 4 - a definite "must see" - features a fun Disney-esque plot sure to entertain children and adults alike, along with great 3D graphics (only one minor
flaw we'll attribute to artistic license - count the number of appendages the ants have). And you absolutely must stay seated when the end credits roll because you'll see some great "bloopers". All in all
a great film for the entire family.]
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Meet Joe Black - *** Due to extended run time - All seats are NAFL 12,50 ***
- Matinee Sat. & Sun. at 2:15pm
- Nightly at 6:45pm
- Late show Fri. & Sat. at 10:15pm
The story of a media tycoon whose charmed life and orderly household are disrupted by the arrival of an enigmatic young man named Joe Black. Joe falls in love with the tycoon's daughter with profound and bittersweet
consequences. (Rated PG-13, Comedy Romance, 181 minutes) See http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Movies/Meet_Joe_Black/ for details.
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The Bonaire Twin Cinema also offers a Dinner and a Movie special in conjunction with and DeTuin Eetcafe. Nafl. 35.- gets you dinner, beer or soda, popcorn, and a ticket to a movie.
The Bonaire Twin Cinema Box Office opens nightly at 6:00pm, and no reservations are required. Tickets are only available at the box office.
Questions about the movies? Call Bonaire Twin Cinema at 2400 (Noon to closing everyday), FAX: 8010, or send an e-mail to mailto:TwinCinema@InfoBonaire.com (please
include your phone or FAX number).
Quick Takes
- Underwater Clean-up Recap. This past Sunday featured a new record for the monthly underwater clean-up - 19 volunteer divers braved the waters off of the Club
Nautico pier, where the threat of being run over by motorboats is altogether too real. Hauled out of the ocean were a large truck tire, along with 122 plastic cups, 94 beer cans (many of which were "Carnival
99" commemoratives - shame on those who use the ocean as a trash can!), 54 glass bottles and jars, and hundreds of other bits of plastic, fishing line, and rope, among other things. The clean-up dive was
followed by a nice BBQ at Green Submarine, who, along with NetTech N.V., Selibon, and Buddy Dive, sponsored the clean-up dive this month. The next dive is scheduled for Saturday, March 6th. Please RSVP with Eric
Groenhart of Green Submarine at 2929 or mailto:dive@greensubmarine.com , or with Jake Richter of NetTech at mailto:jake@nettechnv.com .
- KLM Update. Last week we reported the good news that KLM will not be discontinuing its flights to Bonaire as had been reported earlier this year. However, it turns out that our information was partially
inaccurate - the KLM flight will not continue to fly on Thursdays. Instead, the new KLM schedule will feature a once-weekly flight to Bonaire from Amsterdam on Sundays - a much better day for people to travel to and
from our island paradise. The last date of the current Thursday KLM flight is March 25th, and the Sunday KLM flight starts on April 4th. The new KLM flights should be available via normal airline reservations
systems by the time you read this.
- Wave Update. The sea swell that rolled in last week forcing the Green Parrot to suspend dining room service and crumbling the wall at the Oceanfront Restaurant (both establishments are operating normally
now) came almost on the anniversary of last year's damaging swell. The cause was the same-back-to-back cold front driven northeast winds hundreds of miles from Bonaire. But the damage in Bonaire was insignificant
compared to the damage elsewhere in the Caribbean. In Philipsburg, St. Maarten, shops on the seaward side of Front St. were undermined and collapsed. Excessive harbor dredging was blamed for worsening the disaster.
(Courtesy of Port Call)
- Eden Park. The Eden Park Hotel & Resort opened its doors this past weekend. Located between the Harbour Village Beach Resort and the now-defunct Sunset Beach Hotel, Eden Park features a number of studio
and two bedroom apartments. Both type of rooms offer a fully equipped kitchen, spacious living rooms, and private terraces with ocean views. Call or FAX to 6720 for more information.
- De Tuin Valentines. De Tuin Eetcafe, Bonaire's first and only CyberCafe and full-service restaurant, is offering a special Valentines Day dinner menu, featuring smoked Norwegian salmon as an appetizer,
tournadoes with oystersauce as the main course, and finishing off with a Black Forest Cheesecake, all for only NAfl 42.50 - to reserve a table, send e-mail to mailto:detuin@infobonaire.com , or call 2999.
Classifieds
Lots of things for sale, and some things being sought (please note that we do not warrant the accuracy or validity of the
products/services/etc. being presented here):
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For Sale:
FURNITURE
One (baby) bed (white) NAfl. 150,-
One (baby) dressing table with storage room for clothes NAfl. 200,-
One double bed (boxspring, mattress size 1.90m x 1.40m, only three months old) NAfl. 350,-
For more
info: call: 6949 (Rita) during business hours or mailto:ritapcf@hotmail.com
COMPUTER
Compaq laptop, 133 Mhz, Pentium, 1 Gigabyte Harddisk, 1 year old, VGA screen, External CD-ROM (24x). In good condition, includes all original documentation. Includes a lot of software. Without CD-ROM:
NAfl. 1500,- or with CD-ROM drive NAfl. 1750,-
Call Carla at 8130 or mailto:cargeer@hotmail.com
COMPUTER
Laptop for Sale, SHARP, 486 - DX2/50Mhz, 32MB RAM, 28.8 Fax Modem, 250MB hard drive, Software includes Windows 95, Office 97, Netscape Communicator. External CD-ROM: Backpack (Parallel Port), External
Mouse: Logitech. Package Price: NAfl. 2000 or Computer Only: NAfl. 1500.
Call Juan Gomez or Luisa Fuertes phone 7500 ext.88 or ext.310.
AUTOMOBILES
1987 Toyota Starlet for NAfl. 3000
1993 Toyota starlet for NAfl. 7000
both in good condition
Call Marlon at 7292
MOTORCYCLE & BICYCLE & PHONE/FAX/ANSWERING MACHINE
Suzuki 550 motorbike for NAfl 3500.
Raleigh off and on road bicycle for NAfl. 400
Telephone/fax/answer machine for NAfl. 400 Call 2050 for details.
BOOKS:
Sea Change, personally autographed by author Dr. Sylvia Earle, NAFl. 25,- or US$14. Profits go to benefit the Bonaire Marine Park. Call Jake at 6773, mailto:jake@nettechnv.com.
RANGE ROVER STATION WAGON
Classic '76 4x4 - only one of its kind on Bonaire Mint condition with parts and qualified maintenance available locally. Only NAfl. 12,000. Call 7223 or e-mail
mailto:intertech@bonairelive.com
TOYOTA TERCEL
"Classic" car. Cream puff condition, 65,000 miles. Asking NAfl. 5000. Call 2447
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Used 2GB External SCSI Hard Disk - 3 years old - NAfl. 500 or best offer Used (5 months) 32MB DIMM - NAfl. 75 Call 6773 or mailto:jake@nettechnv.com
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Want to Buy:
TABLE
Looking for a small to medium size table for my porch. Preferably wooden. Call Lieske - Tel/Fax +599-7-5584
STUFF FOR APARTMENT
- Second Hand (small) refrigerator with freezer section * Furniture for a small living room
* Bed (mattress size 1.90m x 1.40m)
* A carpenter :-) who can make me a bed and a desk/cubboard
Contact tel./fax 5095 or e-mail mailto:titus71@hotmail.com
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