Natalee Holloway; June 28, 2005

“Here’s a different perspective on the Natalee Holloway disappearance;”.

Many have wondered what the fascination has been revolving around the Natalee Holloway disappearance. Far too many people have taken a negative approach, that there are others out there who are missing that do not get the recognition so why should Natalee? There are other venues for missing people. However, what separates this case from many others is not only the fact that a teenage girl went missing without a trace but also the international aspect of the event in an island paradise where all that go assume complete safety. The majority of people though have seen and been debating the many issues of this situation including family and friends feelings, economic impact, investigative procedures, Dutch law and mostly theories of how could such and event have ever occurred

People in Aruba as expressed on our message boards and in emails have stated although the pray for the safe return of Natalee Holloway and peace for her family, they also understandably are worried for their island. They fear the negative media attention will affect their economy. It seems as though the Dutch and immigrants are now weighing in. This morning in The Birmingham News, “Immigrants feel pressure from Aruba case,” is just another example of that very feeling and the International ramifications of missing teen, Natalee Holloway.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The disappearance of an Alabama teenager in Aruba is bringing attention to the Caribbean island at a time when the Aruban community in the Netherlands already is under scrutiny by the Dutch government.

Dutch media paid scant attention to Natalee Holloway’s disappearance until the arrest last week of Paul van der Sloot, the Dutch father of one of the suspects and a senior legal official who is training to become a judge. Van der Sloot was released on Sunday.

But Arubans here have been following the news closely. Their concern is that the case could precipitate a sharp decline in tourism to the tropical island off the Venezuelan coast — a Dutch protectorate — resulting in economic hardship and spurring a wave of migration to Holland, at just the wrong time for the 120,000 immigrants already here.

Whether Aruba understands it or not and I am sure they do; the eyes of the world are upon them and most noticeably those in America. The perception of what is and is not being done to investigate the vanishing of Natalee Holloway will have ramifications throughout the US. Some media have already taken the approach to boycott Aruba; however, personally at the point it was done was far too soon for any purpose other than for self-serving ratings.

This is a rather interesting read to see the other side of a scenario from an Aruban and Dutch perspective. It would appear that the Natalee Holloway disappearance may have exasperated some already existing issues that were present in Aruba.

“Everyone is talking a lot about it,” said Henry Breeveld, the director of a Rotterdam welfare organization for Antilles and Aruba immigrants.

In an effort to curb crime and unemployment, the Dutch government has proposed deporting young people from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba who neither have jobs nor are in school.

“People come to Holland whenever the economy is bad or when they feel insecure,” Breeveld said.

The government proposal, which came before Holloway’s disappearance, faces legal challenges because people from the islands — former colonies that remain part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands — are Dutch citizens. Islanders say the move is discriminatory and have vowed to fight it in court.

In an effort to curb crime? Hmm. The plan that they refer to that would attempt to handle such problems is as follows:

“young immigrants would have three months to find a job, enroll in studies or return home”.

For a truly interesting read, please read the full story here.