cabarete harrassment

[dv8]

maybe i should start gringo coaching here on the north coast. i am rarely harassed. firstly i have as unfriendly and angry face as humanly possible without pending prison sentence and secondly i am perfectly capable of saying short "no, gracias" to any poor fool who'd risks their future salvation by offering anything to the earthly emissary of the beelzebub himself, dv8.
please, send me a pm if interested in eternal youth and dominican vendor free existence for a small price of your soul.

 

[capitan1962]

the bottom line is this : you are a guest in this country, your views, ideas, morals, wants, and expectations are just that ... yours. your plea for sympathy for being bothered while eating your lobster while someone is trying to get enough money just to eat anything is ludicris. Have you ever been hungry after not eating for days? Respect these people. It is THEIR country not yours. And because you most likely got ripped off by your realtor that sold you a piece of property for 10 times the value does not give you any right to try to inforce your views on the native inhabitants of this beautiful country. try walking on the other side of the street, or to the airport and go back to your country. I left my country because of people just like you. The vendors are not the problem, you are. This country will not and should not conform to any of YOUR rules.

Very well said. This exists in every lesser world country and that justifies why they hate foreigners. If you come to another man's country you have no right whatsoever to complain about something they annoys you. If it's so bad go find a country where there are no street vendors that harass you. And if you ever find this magic wonderland by all means let us know where it is.

 

[Berzin]

I'm not sure I understand this premise that one must let these toots should be allowed to emasculate and hustle a tourist until his/her wallet is picked clean.

First of all, I don't believe the notion that it's "their" country when the fact is they have no stake in how politics effects their lives. They are just poor people who have no ownership of anything except their economic circumstances.

That doesn't give them the right to use aggressive sales tactics to overcharge for stuff Fred Sanford wouldn't stock in his junkyard.

We must stop apologizing for "****ing off a Dominican", whether it be because we refuse to send Western Union for a fake illness or over a bunch of illiterates selling conch juice on the beach.

And if gets to the point where the next time they come at you with a knife, then that is the time they will lose their portion of the tourism market. I don't think the government will let it get to that point with these cats.

 

[capitan1962]

Go to Abidjan if you think the DR is bad. There the street vendors will come up to the window of the taxi you are in and stick live animals inside for you to buy. There are no cabs with AC so you deal with it.

 

[SKing]

You guys have it good.
Try being a woman.
Try going to the Supermercado, Banco Popular, or anywhere else for that matter. Try being sexually (verbally) acosted 10 times a day while trying to complete ordinary day to day tasks.
And this is not in tourist areas.
Try being told in front of your kids what they want to do with your "cuerpazo"
Try just trying to ENTER the colmado.....its a circus.

Yeah, flattering maybe the first 20 times, after that just annoying.
Most of them sitting there with their knock off Hollister shirts and heads filled with gel. I just walk past them in my Baby Phat heels and skinny jeans, lift up my sunglasses and give them the look. The look that we African-American women invented and which everyone in the States knows means....."Negro, puleeeeeeeze.....as if"

I guess us single ladies will just have to resort to wearing fake wedding rings, although I doubt that will stop it.

SHALENA

 

[edm7583]

As a foreigner, I notice that over the years, the "harassment" gets less and less. I think it has a lot to do with how you present yourself and your attitude, and less about you being a foreigner. You have to act like you know what you are doing, know how much things really cost, etc. and people sum you up instantly and realize just how much they can get from you. The OP likely came across as an easy mark from a mile away.

 

[edm7583]

the bottom line is this : you are a guest in this country, your views, ideas, morals, wants, and expectations are just that ... yours. your plea for sympathy for being bothered while eating your lobster while someone is trying to get enough money just to eat anything is ludicris. Have you ever been hungry after not eating for days? Respect these people. It is THEIR country not yours. And because you most likely got ripped off by your realtor that sold you a piece of property for 10 times the value does not give you any right to try to inforce your views on the native inhabitants of this beautiful country. try walking on the other side of the street, or to the airport and go back to your country. I left my country because of people just like you. The vendors are not the problem, you are. This country will not and should not conform to any of YOUR rules.

In that case, I'm assuming it's perfectly acceptable then to have the same attitudes with foreigners in my own country. It is my country and not yours and if you don't like the way we do things in the U.S, go home. "This country will not and should not conform to any of YOUR rules"

 

[PeterInBrat]

Harassment is in part seasonal. When (and if) the streets are full of tourists in a few months, the street vendors will likely be less noticeable. Many will work until they reach a goal for the day or run out of what they can carry, and then they go home. It's hard scrabble now so they are more aggressive just trying to make a few dollars profit to feed themselves and their family for the day.

The best way to avoid it is find some good-looking blonde with an AI wristband and fresh corn rows to follow. Stay ten feet behind her and it will be like you don't exist.

 

[CaptnGlenn]

There are as many views to this as there are people expressing them. As for me, I certainly hold no grudge against someone trying to make an honest living, BUT there are limits to my patience.

To those who's argument is that the vendors have the right to torment tourists with blitzkrieg tactics based on the premise that tourists and/or expats are "guests in their country", I have two thoughts: One... since when did aggression or even rudness become a "right"??? ESPECIALLY when those "guests" represent a substantial percentage of the economy. Second... you fail to consider the "wallet vote"; as in, what happens when the "guests" take their wallets and go spend their Dollars, (US and Canadian), Euros, Pounds, Rubles, etc. someplace a little more "tourist friendly"? These vendors are cooking, (or trying to cook), the goose that lays the golden egg.

I can remember a time no so long ago (about 10 or 15 years) when in the U.S. the media had repeatedly reported on crime, (violent and otherwise), against tourists in the D.R. The common popular view at the time was it was a dangerous place to go, and why would anyone ever consider it. In fact, I can clearly remember when my son was planning a trip to Puerto Plata for spring break. My response was, "Why in HELL would you want to go THERE???"; and honestly was fearful for his safety. As a now frequent visitor to the D.R., and a new property owner, my understanding and thoughts have obviously changed; BUT there are still lingering remnants of those feelings among many people. Then, along comes the "Age of the A.I." offering average people a vacation in paradise at a price they can afford. As a result, some of those fears get forgotten in lieu of cost ("wallet vote"). BUT... what happens IF the media were to sink their teeth into tourist harassment? They LOVE a juicy story of this sort, and if one were to broadcast it, there would be a line of copy-cats right behind the first to add to the mayhem. Then the "Wallet Vote" would really be felt.

 

[PeterInBrat]

The AIs should pay the vendors a daily stipend. They love to scare their patrons that they will mugged twenty steps outside of their building grounds. Keeps the room rates up and it helps out places like BC.

 

[calverde]

this is not america, oh ohhh, this is not, america, oh ohhhh ...... in other words, get used to it

 

[Castellamonte]

Simple answer: Move to Cabrera. At NONE of the beaches are people harassed in this manner. A finger wag sends them on their way and, best of all, the other beach sellers are self-policing. Do we have the throng of tourists? NO. Because we are on perpetual vacation here where life is really as it should be in the Dominican Republic.

 

[SantiagoDR]

Funny story-

I was in Bahia Brazil me and my buddy from Amsterdam thought we were being clever, so we devised what we thought was an ingenious plan: avoid eye contact and don't utter a word in english. He speaks Dutch and I speak a bit of french, so we decided to hold a meaningless conversion (Me speaking french and him speaking dutch without really saying a thing to each other) it worked until a jewelry shop owner caught on, he addressed us in French and Dutch and invited us in..LMAO...after busting out laughing we went in, purchased an item and left.

Yes, that was a mistake....

To avoid that possibility, my friend and I just speak total gibberish (Baby Talk) to each other.
(No actual words - Just unrelated syllables).....

No way for anyone to understand us.

Works great with crying babies also, it intrigues them and they usually stop crying, giving you a "What?" look, a smile and changes their mood in many cases.....


Don

 

[Kyle]

maybe i repeat an earlier post; THIS IS THEIR COUNTRY !!

may i suggest a vacation in Antartica ? noone to bother you there but the polar bears....:ermm:

 

[windeguy]

I am going to make a guess that the OP, like myself, is an American. Am I correct? I have found that a significant number of Americans are not fond of going to places where there is poverty. At least poverty that can be seen on the streets in the form of begging and hawking cheap goods to put some rice and beans on the table. It gets to them and the constant annoyance of the vendors magnifies the issue for them. They have a hard time just saying "NO, gracias!" and moving on. These people are the perfect AI resort vacationers. For those that end up living here in resort areas and then complain about it, I am sorry but you need to get over it otherwise you are the tail trying to wag the dog.

 

[Rosss]

Sorry, but there are no polar bears in antartica.

 

[pelaut]

"Hunger makes them aggressive."
Had you ever seen real hunger you would know that hunger makes you passive.
Bad upbringing and a lack of public moral structure makes for aggression, not the lack of someone else's resources.

 

[kimbjorkland]

This is very true.

Curacau, St. Lucia, Anguilla, etc, etc. have beaches which are just as beautiful as anything in the D.R. if not moreso and begging or hawking food/junk/services at the beaches just doesn't happen. I have visited many Caribbean island nations for years and revisited/ bought property on a couple of them but the Dominican Republic is the only one that I've returned to dozens of times in less than a decade. There's a reason for that and it has nothing to do with the climate, they've got that throughout the Caribbean. The people fascinate me. I find their culture very comfortable and familiar and interfacing with the people is my primary reason for returning.

In the Dominican Republic the simple act of procuring a replacement watch battery can lead to an afternoon of intrigue and adventure during which one may need to meet and interface with half a dozen people, one of whom may end up as a dinner date or short term Leading Lady in an adult novella. A ride with a cabbie can lead to a friendship which will endure for years, long after he's graduated to more lucrative undertakings or even migrated to MY homeland. It really is a small World and on my last trip to Aruba I ran into several friends whom I'd met in my travels to the D.R. including Nelson, my favorite bartender and Jorge who waives the fees on my flight changes. In St. Maarten I run into friends and friends of friends from the D.R. on every trip. I'm a regular sponsor of a Little League baseball team there which is made up of all Dominican kids whose parents have migrated there (as many have).

The banter on some of the D.R. beaches (not so much a problem in Guayacanes or Juan Dolio) with vendors is just a part of the character of the place and the poster who suggested engaging these people and changing the subject to small talk is actually giving instructions in friend finding and reputation building and their advice is as good as gold.

This says a lot. Not just about you but about DR in general.

Some of the foreigners that live here, are so idealistic and bright eyed and bushy tailed. You think the locals are so 'friendly' and your 'buddy', but that couldn't be further from the truth. You may see them as friends, but the local taxi driver, sea shell peddler, or tout, is just lining you up for his next racket. He doesn't see you as a friend, he sees you as a walking ATM machine.

Wake up.

 

[kimbjorkland]

This street vendor treatment has nothing to do with street vendors. It's just the culture here. Driving in the city? cut me off. Talking a sentence? cut me off. Standing in a queue? cut me off. If people grow up in a culture that teaches them it's okay to cut other people off and get ahead - why wouldn't they just cut you off while you're walking on the boardwalk?

 

[la_barbie]

I however get the impression from these people that i am in someway supposed to give them the time of day and my money. When really i don't care about their issues. I care about relaxing and me (in a nutshell). I am not their social support network, if all you have to eat is 2 coconuts and 1/2 a banana then that is your problem and the government that is supposed to care for its people, not me

My thoughts, i am not here in the DR to save anyone from their financial problems, i am here to relax. i have to say these people stress me.

I agree 100% that's why we've stopped going to the beach as much and just stay near our pool... you can actually relax and keep your money.