Re: Safety - the reality
I must refer you to a prior post from October 9, 1998 that doesn't seem to be in the archives any more. Feeling safe and being safe are not the same thing. You might have felt safe, but that doesn't mean you were (or weren't).
How about some reality.
I've been traveling to the DR for over 4 years now, every 2-4 weeks. I love the country and I've been to many parts. There are safe areas and not so safe areas, just like any place. I'd say that you are not unsafe just because you do not look Dominican, but tourists have most certainly been victims of crime all over the country. Because one person or another has never experienced it doesn't amount to a hill of beans. I lived in New York City for 6 years and was never a victim of crime there or ever saw a murder. So what.
As one person told me after I was warned for having taken a late night stroll in a nasty part of Jersey and I said that I felt perfectly safe the whole time, "You may have felt safe, but you weren't."
Violent crimes against tourists are relatively rare, but it does happen, and when it does, it is almost always outside the main tourist compounds. Maybe that?s why they warn tourists not to venture out. While I think that is a little overkill, some common sense is surely in order.
Theft is much more likely. Don't kid yourself, there are a lot of poor people and every country has bad people. There are plenty of people that would do you harm if they are given the opportunity (we call them "tigres? and ?ladrones") so I don't suggest it wise to just venture out into the various barrios without some knowledge of where you are going, particularly at night. I'd say the same about my own country. As a tourist, you might be seen as someone worth robbing. After all, you are more likely to have money and less likely to do anything about it.
I get warned about this all the time by my friends in the Dominican Republic. I?m told about people even being set up by locals they became acquainted with, so that it looks like the robbery had nothing to do with their acquaintance. I?m told even to be wary about which motochochos to ride with real late at night, as they sometimes come in from outside areas just to take an unsuspecting tourist for a ?ride?, where down they road they?ve got friends waiting to conduct a little ambush. I thought they had been watching too much TV, so I asked around, and just about every motochoncho I spoke with said that it can and does happen. I?m also told that there have been cases where tourists are arrested because they are ?with? a local that has drugs. When the local is arrested, the tourist is arrested too, then extorted for money by corrupt officials. I?m told, ?Mucho cuidado con quien tu anda? (Careful who you hang with).
Some time back, I posted a story when a friend of mine and I were out in the woods on motorcycles and a group of about a dozen kids tried to ambush us. They put a rope across the trail and threw chunks of cinder blocks at us, but we got away. The kids looked like they were 10 year olds.
The laws in the Dominican Republic, like most Latin American countries, are based on Nepoleanic code, which in boils down to the fact that the police have the purpose of protecting the interests of those in power, not necessarily the public at large. While this does mean protecting tourists since they bring in the dollars to those in power, people are responsible for protecting their own property. Why do you think there are men with clubs or shotguns at resort entrances, on the beach, in front of cash machines, and outside banks and stores. Have you ever noticed that just about every building has bars on all the doors and windows, and the expensive places even have cyclone fences and broken glass coating the tops of cement walls? Most folks wouldn't dare leave a decent home unattended and go away for days at a time. Instead, they invite house sitters such as friends and relatives. Some hire professional security. There is a reason for this. There are a lot of thieves, and they will go as far as cutting through metal bars and breaking through walls.
My friend was pick-pocketed right in front of me in one resort town, but the thief ran so it didn't matter that we were aware of it. I've had many unsucessful attempts against me too.
So, by all means, venture out. The country is beautiful and the people wonderful and friendly. But be very wise. It is not a fantasy land where nobody would even think about perpetuating a crime, as some on this board would have you believe. As in most parts of the world, crime is lower in the countryside and less likely in daylight. So see the country, but be aware.
JimHinsch@CSI.COM