Good morning. I was urged to put this information on here by another reader. I am one of the men who were savagely mugged and robbed last Wednesday evening leaving the Mini Club after dinner. Three men attacked the three of us and two of us had to be hospitalized with our injuries. The gendarmerie and the tourism office are working very diligently to try to find our attackers and this all happened on the same day we were celebrating purchasing a home here on the island. It is very disheartening to have something like this happen, but it does not deter us from being here. We won't stop going out at night but we now have a heightened sense of security.

There is an article in Tuesdays online news with photos...
Three men were arrested...the link is below.
[sxmislandtime.com]

Dear poster...so very, very sorry to hear that you were a victim of a criminal act. It is unnerving to say the least. I do hope that your recovery is speedy. But I am also glad to see that you still love the island for all it has to offer. We too closed on a condo this past year and so I feel bad that this diminished your celebrations. You will just have to set up another "makeup" vacation a few months from now when you can officially celebrate without incident.

And as I mentioned in the other thread, taking a cab to Marigot is the only way we go in the evening and worth every penny to avoid issues like this which I have read about in past threads (and if only to avoid the man who would stand in the parking lot "protecting the cars".) We reside on the Dutch side and feel that this is our only reliable option.

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

I saw that in the local newspaper. I am so sorry this happened to you.
It hurts us all when we hear stories like this.
I hope they find the attackers.
And it is a message to all of us living or visiting here that we have to be more diligent and careful.

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Phil,

I read of your misfortune on another forum and then again here - I am so sorry this happened to you and hope you won't let it destroy your former enjoyment of the island and that of your new home, also.

Sadly, things have been over-looked for such a long time that I'm thinking it's going to take a while to get the island under control again but eventually, I'm sure they will.

For now, we can only hope and pray it comes full circle sooner rather than later and that the perpetrators of these crimes are apprehended and afforded appropriate punishment.

In the meantime, it behooves us all to put the rose colored glasses away for a while and be doubly aware of ourselves and our surroundings and behaviours and all that said, try to enjoy yourself without looking over your shoulder all the time.

Respectfully,

pat




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2008 08:16PM by pat.

We just returned from identifying the second of our three attackers at the Gendarmerie office in Marigot. One more to go!!

so you mean they got 2 of them?
Fabulous!

[barcann.livejournal.com]

That is wonderful news! It seems that many times people are victims of crimes and leave the island before any possible identification can be made which puts a damper on the police actually wanting to go out and look for the criminals. Without positive ID, it's almost impossible to convict so that is so good that you remained there to help ID them!!!!! Good for you!!!!

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

The gendarmerie have been absolutely great to deal with. They seem very intent on trying to prevent incidents like ours from happening. I have to return to Kentucky tomorrow and I am glad I have been here long enough to help with the identification. I have a feeling that these guys may be in "Azkaban" for a long, long time. And I am not in Mexico. I am sitting on my balcony on top of the Ocean Club enjoying a magnificently sunny day.

Congratulations as well with your new condo!!! Where, may I ask did you purchase? We are now owners at Rainbow Beach Club as of April of this year.

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

tabor. be glad you are dealing with the french side.. prison sentences on the Dutch side are, unfortunately, much more lenient.

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Good evening to all. We just returned from about three hours with the Gendarmerie in Marigot. The main suspect who attacked us is being flown to Guadeloupe tomorrow for a Friday afternoon hearing. The Gendarmerie have been right on top of everything and I can't say enough about how well they have dealt with this situation. And, again, the locals we have been seeing are all so interested in our welfare and truly worried about us and concerned for us.

What a good ending to what could have been disasterous. I, personally, am so appreciative of your updates and knowing that your welfare has been the utmost of concern from both the Gendarmerie and the residents. It must truly be a good feeling to realize this as it makes me feel that there is hope for better times.

Crime will never totally disappear but the support that's needed in the aftermath is just too important to dismiss.

Thank you.

Vicki

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

tabor,I'm very happy for you and SXM that they arrested those lowlifes. Its unfortunate they made you suffer but its also a success story for SXM & tourism.The Gendarmerie are fighting a huge battle against island crime. In our case which was CC fraud of 5000.00 Euro's charged from SXM business's they came to our hotel room to make out the report. They showed us how much they cared and are working with limited resources to stop crime.As a long time vacationer of 30+ yrs I've watched the island change in many ways. Hopefully this arrest will be the start of SXM changing back to the crime free DAYS. Thanks for reporting your story & progress. good luck. Bob