Re: Poor Bastards


"Gadget World" <gadgetworld@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1955-4AA9CACB-9148@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
: Harry
:
: Cayman is a very special situation in the Caribbean.
:
: As one of the few islands still under U.K. control life is much more
: civilized there as it is in Bermuda and the BVI.
:
: Unfortunately, some of the most safe and serene islands in the
: Caribbean, when I first started to travel there in the early 1960's have
: become the most dangerous.
:
: Formerly British Islands, like Jamaica, Bahamas, St Lucia. St Vincent
: Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Kitts, Trinidad, etc were heaven on earth,
: and the only thing locals wanted was for the tourist to sponsor a visa
: for them to move to the US and work in their home.
:
: After independence, the economy went down in the Caribbean islands
: without the UK to support them and maintain law and order and other
: public services.
:
: By comparison those islands still colonies of European countries have it
: made and so do the tourists visiting.
:
: I love the Caribbean and have been there eight times this year alone,
: but I still miss the good old days and I am sure most of the older
: locals do too!
US tourists in Antigua blame police for brawl
<QUOTE
Six American tourists in Antigua were charged with assault and malicious
damage after refusing to pay a cab fare they thought was excessive and later
scuffling with police officers.

The defendants - Shoshannah and Rachel Henry, Nancy and Dolores Lalane, Mike
Tierre and Joshua Jackson - were released on $5,000 bail each Monday and are
expected to enter pleas during a court appearance Wednesday. Their hometowns
were not immediately available.

The tourists, who were visiting the Caribbean island on a cruise ship
stopover, refused to pay a driver who gave them a tour Friday because they
believed they were being overcharged, according to police.

By Jill Laster
Associated Press Writer- Sept 09, 2009

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A group of New York tourists said Tuesday that a
brawl they blame on plainclothes police officers in Antigua has turned their
Caribbean holiday into a nightmare.

An Antiguan lawyer for the six tourists from Brooklyn - who were charged
with assault after refusing to pay a cab fare they thought was unfair and
then scuffling with officers - said his clients will plead not guilty at a
hearing Wednesday.

One of the tourists, Shoshannah Henry, said the group was driven to a police
station Friday by the driver of the taxi van when they refused to pay a $100
fare, which she said was twice what they believed they owed.

Henry alleged the plainclothes officers did not announce who they were and
initiated the fight.

"We thought these people were trying to kill us," she said, alleging an
officer punched her in the face during the scuffle.

Police could not be reached for comment Tuesday in Antigua, a former British
colony that is economically dependent on tourism. A document filed by
prosecutors in court Monday alleged that two officers were injured. Police
have not commented on the incident.

Dudley Brutus said he was one of 12 tourists - all friends in their 20s -
who were taken to the police station during a cruise ship stopover. He said
half of the group were not detained because they did not get involved in the
scuffle.

"Six people fought back and six of us took the beatings," Brutus said during
a telephone interview after returning to New York. He said the group had not
been drinking alcohol.

The six tourists facing charges were released on $5,000 bail each Monday.
They have stayed with local Antiguans who volunteered to house them.

An officer from the U.S. Embassy in Barbados was expected to attend
Wednesday's hearing.>UNQUOTE


If beforehand, as one person states, the Antiguan plainclothes officers had
not identified themselves, I certainly would be highly intimidated. But,
throw a punch at one of them? Unlikely. Before exiting any vehicle, I'd be
asking, "Who are you?" first.


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