EDITOR'S REPORT: 2006 Tour of Tobago
Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:42 pm
Hello All
Our 2006 tour of Tobago is rapidly coming to an end and I can’t believe that we shall be returning home in four days time. Where have the last two months gone?
This trip has been a see-saw of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, we have so many friends here that it almost feels like we’re coming home. On the other, everyone wants to talk to us about local issues; the most common and important of these being the security situation. Some play the situation down, afraid of the effect on tourism; others build it up in the hope that we’ll help apply pressure on the government. Six or seven weeks of talking about rising levels of crime can have a detrimental affect on your perspective of the problem. The average visitor is not normally exposed to this.
It has astonished me how dreadfully things can get distorted here. With all due respect to our many friends here, small-island gossip is a terrible thing. With each telling the details are exaggerated and minor incidents suddenly become major atrocities. I could fill this page with examples, but it would serve no purpose. However, with this in mind I must correct the information of one incident: I am informed by sources at the highest level that the lady in the ‘Italian Job’ incident at Englishman’s Bay was NOT raped, as reported, but ‘merely’ subjected to a “sexual assault”.
During recent days I have had a series of meetings with some of the most important and influential people on the island. I am greatly comforted by what I have heard. I regret that most of what I have been told cannot be discussed in public yet, but readers may rest assured that a lot IS being done.
I have also had the opportunity to view some confidential detailed crime figures. As many of us knew, the problem on Tobago has been the rising level of crime, rather than the actual number of incidents. When you consider the number of crimes per 1000 visitors, it is still very much safer to visit Tobago than many Caribbean destinations, such as Barbados and St.Lucia, to mention just two popular competing Caribbean islands in the immediate area.
During the past week the first of new task force of Trini soldiers has arrived on Tobago. They are now on duty, patrolling with the Tobagonian police. They will primarily be involved in surveillance and intelligence, focussing on crimes against tourists. The fact that they are all from Trinidad overcomes the major problem of local police being related to perpetrators. A number of foreign advisors are also here, helping the police. A major anti-crime sweep is going on; some 24 suspected/known ‘ring leaders’ have been arrested in the past week or two. Maybe the charges won’t stick, but the message is going out loud and clear – “We’ve had enough. Stop this nonsense!”
There is an awful lot more going on behind the scenes, and it's not just the usual Tobagonian 'talk'. I have seen and heard enough to know that the authorities here are taking things VERY seriously.
The recent British Foreign & Commonwealth Office Advisory update, which I announced on this forum, came as a big shock to many people, including myself. It was patently out of all proportion to the real situation on the ground. I am not party to FCO thinking, but it seems to me that that it was either another total FCO cock-up or an attempt to shock and scare the T&T government into action. If the latter, it certainly worked.
The FCO got it totally wrong over Bali, in particular, and received a pasting by the British press. Many people think that the FCO is now highly influenced by press comment. With this in mind, there is a third scenario regarding their recent negative advice about Tobago. It is known that a British national has been waging a press campaign against Tobago for more than a year, sending anonymous letters to the press – and possibly to the Foreign Office – giving details of crime on the island and incidents on Mount Irvine area in particular. It stands to reason that the press have probably contacted the FCO in exactly the same way that the press regularly contact me nowadays (which is how I first learned of this individual's activities). If this is the case, one can see how the FCO became ‘fixated’ about Mount Irvine. We’ve identified the person behind the campaign (and their local contacts, who were possibly not aware how the information they provided was being used). This person’s lawyer has already been in touch with me and I have far better things to do than waste time and money lining the pockets of parasites. There is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak.
Taking all the factors mentioned in this update into account, we can only hope that the Foreign Office advice will be watered down in coming months.
So, we prepare to leave Tobago with lifted spirits. Yes, you have to take care. Yes, you must observe all normal common-sense precautions that you would at home. You don’t give lifts to strangers. You don’t walk dark and lonely streets at night or flash the cash and expensive jewellery. You should be cautious before visiting lonely and remote beaches and ideally only do so in groups. However, I can only tell our readers that we have not changed our habits in any way and have had a wonderful stay on Tobago.
Roll on 2007 and our return (which will also be the 50th anniversary of my first visit to the island).
Our 2006 tour of Tobago is rapidly coming to an end and I can’t believe that we shall be returning home in four days time. Where have the last two months gone?
This trip has been a see-saw of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, we have so many friends here that it almost feels like we’re coming home. On the other, everyone wants to talk to us about local issues; the most common and important of these being the security situation. Some play the situation down, afraid of the effect on tourism; others build it up in the hope that we’ll help apply pressure on the government. Six or seven weeks of talking about rising levels of crime can have a detrimental affect on your perspective of the problem. The average visitor is not normally exposed to this.
It has astonished me how dreadfully things can get distorted here. With all due respect to our many friends here, small-island gossip is a terrible thing. With each telling the details are exaggerated and minor incidents suddenly become major atrocities. I could fill this page with examples, but it would serve no purpose. However, with this in mind I must correct the information of one incident: I am informed by sources at the highest level that the lady in the ‘Italian Job’ incident at Englishman’s Bay was NOT raped, as reported, but ‘merely’ subjected to a “sexual assault”.
During recent days I have had a series of meetings with some of the most important and influential people on the island. I am greatly comforted by what I have heard. I regret that most of what I have been told cannot be discussed in public yet, but readers may rest assured that a lot IS being done.
I have also had the opportunity to view some confidential detailed crime figures. As many of us knew, the problem on Tobago has been the rising level of crime, rather than the actual number of incidents. When you consider the number of crimes per 1000 visitors, it is still very much safer to visit Tobago than many Caribbean destinations, such as Barbados and St.Lucia, to mention just two popular competing Caribbean islands in the immediate area.
During the past week the first of new task force of Trini soldiers has arrived on Tobago. They are now on duty, patrolling with the Tobagonian police. They will primarily be involved in surveillance and intelligence, focussing on crimes against tourists. The fact that they are all from Trinidad overcomes the major problem of local police being related to perpetrators. A number of foreign advisors are also here, helping the police. A major anti-crime sweep is going on; some 24 suspected/known ‘ring leaders’ have been arrested in the past week or two. Maybe the charges won’t stick, but the message is going out loud and clear – “We’ve had enough. Stop this nonsense!”
There is an awful lot more going on behind the scenes, and it's not just the usual Tobagonian 'talk'. I have seen and heard enough to know that the authorities here are taking things VERY seriously.
The recent British Foreign & Commonwealth Office Advisory update, which I announced on this forum, came as a big shock to many people, including myself. It was patently out of all proportion to the real situation on the ground. I am not party to FCO thinking, but it seems to me that that it was either another total FCO cock-up or an attempt to shock and scare the T&T government into action. If the latter, it certainly worked.
The FCO got it totally wrong over Bali, in particular, and received a pasting by the British press. Many people think that the FCO is now highly influenced by press comment. With this in mind, there is a third scenario regarding their recent negative advice about Tobago. It is known that a British national has been waging a press campaign against Tobago for more than a year, sending anonymous letters to the press – and possibly to the Foreign Office – giving details of crime on the island and incidents on Mount Irvine area in particular. It stands to reason that the press have probably contacted the FCO in exactly the same way that the press regularly contact me nowadays (which is how I first learned of this individual's activities). If this is the case, one can see how the FCO became ‘fixated’ about Mount Irvine. We’ve identified the person behind the campaign (and their local contacts, who were possibly not aware how the information they provided was being used). This person’s lawyer has already been in touch with me and I have far better things to do than waste time and money lining the pockets of parasites. There is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak.
Taking all the factors mentioned in this update into account, we can only hope that the Foreign Office advice will be watered down in coming months.
So, we prepare to leave Tobago with lifted spirits. Yes, you have to take care. Yes, you must observe all normal common-sense precautions that you would at home. You don’t give lifts to strangers. You don’t walk dark and lonely streets at night or flash the cash and expensive jewellery. You should be cautious before visiting lonely and remote beaches and ideally only do so in groups. However, I can only tell our readers that we have not changed our habits in any way and have had a wonderful stay on Tobago.
Roll on 2007 and our return (which will also be the 50th anniversary of my first visit to the island).
)
So i got in, was driven around to 2 properties untill they got what i wanted and was dropped back at my hotel with change from my $200tt!!