RSSAruban Government Tackling the Big Issues … The Proliferation of Palapas … Toleration of an Issue Until its an Issue …
The Aruban rule of look the other way government and if we look away hard enough, maybe it will just go away and disappear.
The Aruban Government is finally getting serious and taking on the big issues that plague its citizens and tourists. Is it public safety and the increased crime rate? Is it drug trade and money laundering? Is it the increasing inflation, taxes and the bbo? Is it the drug addition problem? Is it Aruba’s excessive government spending? Is it Aruba’s economic dependence on tourism? The answer is, no, no, no, no, no no, and no.
The Aruban government is tackling the hard biting issue of the proliferation of “Palapas” on its beaches. Way to take on the issue of the day that so greatly affects the Aruban people and tourists.
The proliferation of palapas has consequences for the beaches of Palm beach and Eagle Beach. A lot of structures have risen lately on Palm Beach in front of the hotels. Especially the number of palapas is growing on Eagle Beach. This is due to the many timeshare complexes that are being built on the other side of Irausquin Boulevard.
Maybe the real reason why the government is stepping in with regards to the proliferation of palapas is not because they are being built on public beaches, but instead the fact that there now appear to be more reed huts than actual tourists in Aruba.
One may ask why suddenly Aruba finds itself with a proliferation of “palapas” on public beaches. The reason is like everything that takes places there, it was tolerated and everyone looked the other way until the situation got out of control where it suddenly becomes a concern. It appears to be the MO in Aruba. Looks the other way until it becomes a glaring problem. Sound familiar?
The government is going to take on the palapas’ proliferation
(June 28, 2008 Amigoe)
Aruba’s Choller Problem, Second Relief Center will come in Oranjestad
The choller problem continues to be an issue on One Happy Island. The number of homeless and drug addicts has drastically increased in Aruba in the past few years. Still think its the same Aruba as it ever was?
Amigoe, May 14, 2007: Most likely a second relief for chollers in Oranjestad
ORANJESTAD — Despite heavy criticism expressed by politics, proprietors, and citizens on the government’s relief-policy for the homeless in the past months, Public-health-minister Booshi Wever (MEP) continues to back his policy. He didn’t exclude during a debate in Parliament last Friday that a second relief center will come in Oranjestad.
The minister says that the current relief center Dak riba Cabez – the former Hotel Central – offers accommodation to 50 homeless drug addicts and that all the beds are currently taken. He continues to insist that the relief center must stay in its current location. He even thinks that a second one must future, because the number of homeless people has drastically increased in the last few years. He also says that he likes the idea of the relief center, where the drug addicts can get a bite to eat and because of this, be less aggressive. However, AVP , MPA, and RED are of the opinion that Wever is undermining the current problems and has to attend to the pleading of the community, who want the relief center in the center of town be closed down and moved elsewhere. They do not want the chollers in the center of town.
Aruba’s Continued Nightmare Courtesy of Joran Van der Sloot … Joran Prospers with Book While Arubans Struggles
You will be able to find Joran Van der Sloot’s book, ‘The Case of Natalee 
Holloway,’ in the fiction section of your local book store. Nearly two years later and the lies still come. While Arubans and the Aruban economy has struggled and declined since Natalee’s disappearance, Joran Van der Sloot looks to make money at the expense of a missing and presumed dead American, Alabama teen. With the two year anniversary of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance coming up, Joran Van der Sloot looks to once again make this story front page material for media consumption. Who benefits Aruba and who sufferers?
Joran Van der Sloot continues to spread his less than credible version of events and even shows his sick, disturbed and hate for an individual that he is accused of being responsible for her disappearance. This is the mark of a socio-path, always having to spew hatred toward another.
He admits that he didn’t even know her name and had preferred making love to her friend Ruth, who was much prettier.
Natalee Holloway disappears, Joran Van der Sloot was the last known person with her, he lied through his teeth during interrogations and now almost two years later he makes a swipe like this at Natalee and her family. What a disturbed individual. Aruba, you had and have a choice. Joran Van der Sloot is the face of Aruba. No amount of marketing is going to change this, only Justice for Natalee will.
Aruba, this is what you chose to support. You protest “chollers” but not the people who are most responsible for giving Aruba a black eye. When will you make a stand and say enough is enough?
Amigoe, The answer on what had happened must be somewhere
ORANJESTAD/AMSTERDAM – In the book ‘The Case of Natalee Holloway’ that was published today in the Netherlands , Joran van der Sloot admits that he has probably committed the biggest mistake of his life by leaving the American girl on the beach by herself.
He has also lied about that night on the beach to the police and realizes that due to his falsehood, he has lost his credibility. He knows that he is still the main suspect in the case and understood that the OM in Aruba will soon, maybe next month already decide whether they will proceed to prosecution. Neither the Dutch- and Aruban police, nor the FBI has found a clue on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. There is still an active team of Dutch police on the island. The book has 351 pages and is written by and for journalist Zvezdana Vukojevic, who works for Nieuwe Revu. She has spent some time in Aruba with Joran van der Sloot to visit all the locations that are of importance. Joran van der Sloot told her about his life before he met Natalee, his time in prison and the police interrogations.
Aruba: Protest against the Choller Problem again … Why no Protests Ever for Natalee Holloway?
The Aruban protests against the Choller problem on their island continues. In all the Aruban travel brochures, web sites and ATA information we have yet to hear them talk about the “choller” problem and inform the unsuspecting tourist. If the “choller” problem warrants people protesting in the street one would think that the traveling tourist would need to know of the potential risk.
(What the protest should have looked like)
The protesters are not sure whether this protest will help, because the problem with the chollers is too big …
What is more problematic to Aruba is that these protests show that Arubans are willing to go out and protest against certain issues they deem important. Some how the issue of “chollers” is important enough to protest, yet the manner in how the Natalee Holloway disappearance was handled and its negative effects on Aruba’s image and economy and in turn Arubans was not. Chollers are an inconvenience? As compared to what, an economy that had declined in the past two years vs the rest of the Caribbean that saw increases? All resulting following Natalee’s disappearance and the manner in how the investigation was handled. An image by many that still exists today.
… this second one focused more on the inconvenience of the chollers. The protesters want the government to tackle this problem as soon as possible, by moving the relief center Dak riba Cabez elsewhere, away from the center of town.
The protesters are not sure whether this protest will help, because the problem with the chollers is too big, and it won’t go away by itself. But if nothing happens, the protesters will hit the street again.
Amigoe; Wednesday 25, 2007: Protest against the choller problem again
Aruba: Protests against Chollers and the Drug Addition Problem in Aruba … Safety? … What about Natalee Holloway
Do people still think there is not a safety issue in Aruba? With the increase in drug addiction problems automatically comes an increase in crime. One does not occur without the other. The issue with the homeless, chollers and drug addicts has become so bad that Arubans have taken to the street in protest.
About 500 to 600 protesters showed their support to Michael Saladin, by protesting against the increased problems with drug addiction. The protest march was peaceful; the banners spoke or themselves; the general sentiment is that hardworking people should not suffer under the addiction of others. (Amigoe)
If anyone does not think that this increase in drug addiction and homelessness impacts safety on “One Happy Island”, think again.
In Aruba we have a lot of good things, but of course also some bad things. One of these are the problems of the homeless drug addicts, that we call ‘chollers’. These chollers beg, yell, fight and generally resist any help of the various local NA groups.
Yesterday, a woman was offered by one of those chollers to wash her car. She refused. When she came back the tires of her car were slashed. She called the authorities, a complaint was filed, etc. She also told her husband what happened. The husband, a local businessman whose stores have been held up a number of times, went to look for the choller who he thought slashed his wife’s car. (Arubagirl.ws)
Now imagine this issue of chollers, homeless and drug addicts with unsuspecting tourists. Tourists are told that Aruba is “One Happy Island” with no crime. What recourse would tourists have if confronted as Michael Saladin was? The answer is none. Not only would they not have access to a gun, knife, etc … the fact of the matter is as seen by what happened in the Natalee Holloway case is that the police would hush up the story for fear of hurting their tourism.
(Where is the Aruban outcry for Natalee and the impact on their tourism?)
One thing certainly comes to mind in that Aruban’s are protesting against this perceived problem with chollers and how in personally impacts them. Where was and still is their outrage to how the Natalee Holloway case was handled? Where is their protests to one of the single most bungled events in Aruba that has cost them dearly in tourism and their reputation around the world? Where is Aruba’s discontent? Why do they not want “Justice for Natalee” that would also provide an image change for Aruba?
So Aruba will protest if one of their own is impacted by a lesser form of the community, but they will not protest when a tourist like Natalee Holloway goes missing and they aftermath of event damages the Aruban economy? Nice. “One Happy Island” torward tourists.
