Is Tourism Really to Blame?

I?d say the big problems with children prostitution goes deeper than to assume it is because of tourists...

It's just another ignorant comment from someone that needs to get a clue. Tourists are an easy target and a great excuse.
This was happening long before a tourist stepped foot in Guyacanes.

Next it will be that tourism is to blame for the blackouts as they are using electricity that could be shared amongst those locally, you know, the one's that have never paid a peso for electricity.

Now I can't afford to sit down to a decent serving of Lobster (or any quality seafood for that matter), since tourist are massively buying up and gulping down the whole catch... Damn tourists!

And everyone knows that it's because of you tourists that the cost of rice and plantain is so high. :beard:

An interesting photo accompanies the newspaper story. It shows a DOMINICAN teenage boy (wearing womans jeans) hitting on a Dominican teenage girl. Now there's a story!

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus, if a Dominican ever took the blame for ANYTHING I would be amazed. I always notice that Dominicans as a stereotype love to blame the "Odderguy" no matter what the situation is for anything. Mejia blamed the bankrupting of the country on others, prostitution is blamed on Tourists although there are Fluckyou Cabanas in places where a tourist has NEVER been seen and Dominicans are the ones spending the money on hookers at a far greater rate than "tourists". Hell one of the biggest exports of this country is PROSTITUTES.

Let us put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the families for NOT giving these kids the values they desperately needed at an early age. I take responsibility for my kids so why can't they? Put that on my list of things bad here. Dominicans leaving a mess where ever they are, Dominicans poluting their country and descrimination of people that are darker than they are.

There are good Dominicans who know better and don't buy this BS put out by the media who are looking to sell papers.

Escott

millard said:

El Caribe ran a story today about the alarming increase in teen pregnancies in Guyacanes. http://www.elcaribe.com.do/articulo_multimedios.aspx?id=48660&guid=7B63B3C70BD74DC398D3433E9FDC692B&Seccion=63

The authorities seem to imply that this abnormally high teen pregancy rate is attributable, in part, to tourism. One of the directors is quoted as saying that 12 and 13 year old children are motivated to begin having sex at such a young age because other kids who prostitute on the beach show off what they can buy with the money they get from prostitution.

HUH??? So the high teenage pregnancy rate is just one of the inevitable side effects of tourism? I wonder what they blame the high teenage pregnancy rate on in Miches or Sabana Perdida? How many of these teenagers are even pregnant by tourists? I'll bet my next pay check that not even one.

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This was probably an unfounded coment.

However, if the next generation of Guayacanes babies are miraculously lighter in skin color than their mothers, um....

It's all my fault...

DON'T YOU KNOW? These tigeres(alot of them are so ugly it's pathetic) are taking advantage of these young girls with no self-esteem at an age when alot of them have resigned themselves to be treated badly by men as a matter of course.

And this of course is my fault. Me, the turista who goes to the DR not to meet people, not to experience another culture that he loves or to sightsee but to chase girls around Guyacanes(never even been there).

I find the accompanying picture in the article funny. The poor girl looks truly distraught while the girly-boy in the tight womens' jeans is giving her mad mulela while surrounded by his tigere friends. Nice. If that was my daughter I would pass by and spray those dudes with Raid.

Tourists were few and far between in Guayacanes this winter.....

unless these gals all came over to Juan Dolio! (yeah I know.....some of them did!!) Even JD had fewer tourists than usual this year so I really doubt us gringos are to blame!
Of course drugs are rampant in Guayacanes and cerveza is sold by the case.....just drive down the highway any afternoon or evening and you'll see what I saw.......

Sad situation regarding prostitution, but perhaps in many cases it goes back to children being molested by family members. The figures on incest I saw recently in the DR1 are not nice..... Canadian Bob.

it's only a problem in turist areas? no, allover the country is the same problem, babes having babes, this is an aditional problem that has been added to the prostitution problem in turist areas.

Robert said:

It's just another ignorant comment from someone that needs to get a clue. Tourists are an easy target and a great excuse.
This was happening long before a tourist stepped foot in Guyacanes.

Next it will be that tourism is to blame for the blackouts as they are using electricity that could be shared amongst those locally, you know, the one's that have never paid a peso for electricity.

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Very true. Everything is tourism. From Airport taxes to prostitution. I am sure that most of the times some gringo is not going to go and search for a prostitute if a native of the country does not have an initiative on it.

Don't make me laugh

The only reason we have so much teen pregnancy, and children abuse is our own irresponsible culture. Dominican men are irresponsible and think only of themselves, their pleasure and their needs. Few tourists are into this sex business. The few that patronize child prostitution and who have taken up on our culture so fast are forcing the blame on the majority of tourists who simply come to enjoy our beaches and sun.
Our young women are irresponsible and uneducated and fall prey to this. I can claim never to have a teen pregnant. But teens chase me just as much as they chase the rest of the men who can help them with their needs. Our teen girls are savvy and street smart and think like adult women, sometimes even smarter than older women, because they are now the frontal troops in the sex epidemic. I have to chase off girls who tell me they have their cedulas, but can't produce them. Some get false documents and fool you. Half of the girls I go out with end up being underage. It's incredible.
So don't blame tourists. What's a male adult tourist going to do if approached by a beautiful 16 year old dressed up like a real woman showing her best?
Blame our men. We teach them to be whores.
TW

Do I even want the experience?

millard said:

El Caribe ran a story today about the alarming increase in teen pregnancies in Guyacanes. http://www.elcaribe.com.do/articulo_multimedios.aspx?id=48660&guid=7B63B3C70BD74DC398D3433E9FDC692B&Seccion=63

The authorities seem to imply that this abnormally high teen pregancy rate is attributable, in part, to tourism. One of the directors is quoted as saying that 12 and 13 year old children are motivated to begin having sex at such a young age because other kids who prostitute on the beach show off what they can buy with the money they get from prostitution.

HUH??? So the high teenage pregnancy rate is just one of the inevitable side effects of tourism? I wonder what they blame the high teenage pregnancy rate on in Miches or Sabana Perdida? How many of these teenagers are even pregnant by tourists? I'll bet my next pay check that not even one.

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As I prepare to make my maiden voyage to the DR I find more and more that this may not be the trip worth taking. I have followed all of the information and opinions on this community board, as well as the many books that have shown me the beauty of this island oasis. The one thing that is consistently being placed in my "CON" list is prostitution and hatred of the tourist. I know that the areas of high tourist activity will continue to be plagued with all the ills that we have grown to notice daily here in the US, but what about all of the inland areas that no-one ever takes the time to discover. Hell, I may even stayjust tolearn about one of these inland areas to began a business of bed abd breakfast for the tourist that doesn't want to be the dog of desire for the ticks of the DR.

Then again, my friends tell me I am crazy.

Peace, Love and Hairgrease,
Shelby

Shelby Stokes said:

The one thing that is consistently being placed in my "CON" list is prostitution and hatred of the tourist.

Peace, Love and Hairgrease,
Shelby

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It really is not that serious. It really isn't that difficult to avoid prostitutes and I didn't pick up on any hatred for tourist.

Shelby Stokes said:

The one thing that is consistently being placed in my "CON" list is ... hatred of the tourist.

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Huh, what? Don't you get it? Dominicans LOVE tourists, literally!

millard said:

Dominicans don't hate tourists, even in the tourist areas. I've found that the average Domincan respects and appreciates tourists and hopes that they enjoy their stay. It's just that for political reasons, some Dominican officials blame some of the country's ills on tourists because it's convenient to do so, and tourists don't vote (though they do pay more than their fair share of taxes). The El Caribe article simply shows the absurd lengths to which some officials go to place the blame anywhere, except where it really belongs.

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Dominicans cant hate the tourist they provide a good economy for the country and why will you hate someone who is doing good to you??? Millard I totally agree with you. Officials dor a few pesos will do anything.

and El Caribe is one of the better newspapers

apdomini100max said:

Dominicans cant hate the tourist they provide a good economy for the country and why will you hate someone who is doing good to you??? Millard I totally agree with you. Officials dor a few pesos will do anything.

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The comment about tourists was much worse than unfounded. It was absurd. Someone mentioned Hipolito blaming the economic crisis on outside factors. That is true. In fact, he invoked the name of Osama Bin Laden more than once. Hipolito is often an extreme example.

The fact remains that here and elsewhere in the Caribbean region, there is an instinct to immediately displace blame and duck responsibility for problems. It would be laughable if it did not cause so much unnecessary suffering.

There is no reasonable logic for linking tourism to teen pregnancies. The person who commented about the possibility of the babies having lighter skin showed the Dominican tendency to add racism to the mix. It's a shameful display of ignorance and irresponsibility, and worst of all, it does nothing to improve the situation. I was a bit surprised the Haitians weren't somehow blamed.

I find this very interesting.

The officials blame the tourists and claim the tourist don't want to take responsibilities for their impacts on the country.

On the other hand, the tourists blame the politicians and claim the politicians don't want to take responsibilities for their impacts on the country.

Can somebody please become the role model instead of perpetrating the same actions you yourself are complaining about!

Nobody is taking responsibility, but the effects are evident. Who ever is more (how should I put this), keen to taking a leadership, role model, ideal example position in an attempt at causing some change, please take responsibility.

I have never seen a politician take responsibility for his/her actions, but I have never seen a tourist do such thing either. It's like the Jaragua deal, the tourist have nothing to do with it, but once the temples of hedonisms are built, they will flood the place en masse and after that, the tourist will still claim they had nothing to do with the demise of the park.

Without the chicken, there is no egg.

BTW, I'm not blaming tourist of anything, just commenting that everything has a possibility of being true on either side of the spectrum.

And, the easiest thing in the world is to call someone a racist. The hard part is proving it and actually being correct!