A “sankie?” - what’s that? I am a woman who just got back from a week of sun and
sand in the Dominican Republic, stayed on a beautiful resort, was treated like a
queen and to top it all off, I met the most terrific Dominican guy. Now I am
back home in my native country and I miss the Dominican Republic (and the guy I
met) SO much that I just can’t keep myself away from my computer. I spend hours
surfing around Dominican Republic related sites wishing I was back there.
But, what is this word “sankie” I keep seeing everywhere? Everywhere I read,
people warn of young Dominican men who take advantage of female tourists. They
tell tales of encounters with sexy, dark-skinned guys which lead to fun filled
days and steamy romantic nights, only to end in disaster. They tell tales of
lies, deception and thievery. Some of these women are financially and
emotionally ruined after relationships with these “sankies”. I sit back in
amazement. I can’t believe these women could be so foolish. Thank God the
Dominican guy I met is different. I mean, he is so sincere. He is nothing like
the men these girls described.
As I sit back dreaming of my new Dominican love, I receive an e-mail. It’s Him!
I am so impressed to see that he is trying to type in English for me! The e-mail
reads, “ Halo biruful. I miss yu. I hop yu can come back to see me agan soon…”
As I read on, suddenly something doesn’t seem right. This e-mail sounds exactly
like the others I read from the girls who claimed to have been taken advantage
of by these “sankies”. My heart suddenly begins to sink. Could it be that I have
been sankified???
The above paragraph is a typical example of what a growing number of female
tourists who travel to the Dominican Republic report are their experiences with
“sankies”. Sankies essentially are Dominican con men who prey on unsuspecting
female tourists. They are what are commonly referred to in the Unites States as
“gigolos”. They almost always come from poverty, have little or no education and
are frequently illiterate. This does not mean that they are not intelligent,
however. What they do is prey on human nature/weakness.
The vast majority of these sankie encounters occur on the all-inclusive resorts
that scatter the coasts. This is neither to say that all of the men who work at
these resorts are sankies nor that sankies do not exist and operate outside
these resorts, however, since these resorts are where many North American and
European women come to spend their vacations, it is only natural that the
sankies find there way there. They work on the hotel staff, generally on
animation teams, as bartenders or as waiters. The salaries they earn are
typically low Dominican salaries for uneducated, unskilled workers but the
reasons they take these jobs are not for the salaries, but for the opportunity
to interact with female tourists who they can potentially scam for much more
money.
So, how exactly do these sankies manage to scam so many women? Well, firstly, as
stated before, they take advantage of human nature/weakness. They realize that
most of these women, being on vacation, are there for enjoyment and probably are
more adventurous than they would normally be. They are aware of the fact that
with no man accompanying them, these women might be looking to have a little
“fling” while on vacation. They might be looking for a little “sankie panky”.
What the sankies then do is approach each woman tactfully. They use what sales
people call "qualifying the buyer" questions to pinpoint what your "needs” are.
The unsuspecting tourist thinks it's so sweet that this man cares so much about
her life and what she thinks.
They also ask specific questions and let the tourist do all the talking while
they “mirror" her answers, meaning they repeat her values and what she thinks of
life so it seems as if they have similar interests and therefore must be soul
mates. Then when the woman appears interested in or at least intrigued by her
new man, he will ask her on a “date”.
Now, the “sankie panky” begins.
Sankie panky business usually entail a night out drinking and dancing where the
sankie can exhibit his exceptional dancing skills. This will be followed by more
nights of the same depending on the length of the woman’s vacation. Of course,
at some point, the “sankie” becomes intimate with the woman. Depending upon the
woman, he picks the proper time to initiate this so that the act will have the
most emotional impact.
Different sankie panky approaches
By this time, the sankie generally has formulated a detailed plan of attack on
how he will extort as much money as possible from his new victim. A sankie may
determine that a woman does not qualify as a good victim because she lacks the
naiveté required. In these cases, the sankie will generally allow the woman to
pay for everything during their dates. He will then repay her with sexual
favors. The sankie recognizes that these women are just on vacation to have a
good time and seeing that he gets free nights out drinking and dancing, he is
more than happy to oblige the woman in whatever she is seeking (sankie panky).
However these are not the real victims that the sankie is seeking out.
What the sankie is really looking for is the woman whom he knows will get
emotionally attached to him. With these women, the sankie insists on paying for
their nights out, thereby building their trust. Of course, the money he is
spending is being supplied by other victims whose trust has already been built
and who have advanced from the “romancing” stage to the “girlfriend” stage.
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