The Split at Caye Caulker

From as far back as the 1600s, marine journals record the popularity of Caye Caulker – La Isla Cariñosa – with sailors and pirates alike; it became a regular stopping point en route for British buccaneers circumnavigating the globe, who frequently docked on the island to refill water, conduct boat maintenance and generally relax among the locals.  Today, more than ever, Caye Caulker remains popular with travellers from all over the world, although it is often observed that while most Americans holiday in San Pedro, many Europeans head for its smaller and more tranquil neighbour, Caye Caulker.

Caye Caulker seems like any dreamer’s paradise with just 1800 permanent residents, no vehicles (hence no noise or air pollution), white beaches, cooling breezes, excellent sea-food and the barrier reef literally a stone’s throw away.  Not to mention a mix of bars and restaurants scattered on every street corner and on every unused beach space (including – surely – the only true Mojito cocktail served by native Cubans in the country!).  Yet it appears that this paradise is more of an illusion than a reality for some people on the island.

In the past three months, several attacks and assaults have taken place on tourists staying on the island.  Earlier on this year, one girl was raped and two were stabbed (in three separate incidents); in the past month alone, an aggravated burglary and another rape have occurred, all of which have involved tourists.  It appears, however, that there is no guarantee whatsoever that the perpetrators of these ugly crimes are from the island – or indeed that they are even staying on the island more than a day or so.  So while we can hypothesise the why’s and wherefore’s of this disturbing criminal pattern, we must not point the finger of blame only at the locals, for the guilty party could well be opportunists coming over from the mainland to make their ‘score’.

I find it somewhat hard to believe that the average friendly and welcoming islander would even conceive of committing such crimes because, for the majority at least, their livelihoods are based around the tourist industry; heightened danger and fear on the island will surely only divert potential tourists to other, more ‘safe’ resorts and destinations.  What local man would risk all this for one perverted act of aggression, or for a measly gadget or a one-off handful of dollars?  Is it merely a case of men with no hope or no history on the island committing these crimes, or is the matter more blurred due to cultural differences and misunderstandings between foreign tourists and local boys?

Thankfully there still isn’t a particularly avid sense of feeling threatened or uncomfortable on the island.  There are thirteen police officers based permanently in the village, and while encounters with them aren’t necessarily frequent for the average visitor, there is certainly a reassuring sense of their presence about the island.  Perhaps more threatening behaviour can be seen in the evenings when the Crips and the Bloods seem to head to one of the few chosen ‘hot spots’ for fights, but this is probably more disconcerting for the villager than the tourist, because it is the local mother’s son out there with his rag, risking his health and jeopardising his sanity, and this aspect of village life remains somewhat invisible to the visitor anyway. 

What is instantly obvious, however, is how several visiting girls are accompanied around the island by local guys.  Giving them the benefit of the doubt, perhaps this can be justified as guys showing them from the boat to find a hotel, or perhaps the guys are escorting them to where the diving tour meets and leaves from, or perhaps he is showing the girl (more often than not a female who is strikingly alone and care-free) the hidden gems on the island.  But the instant that these girls (often with their overtly-friendly attitudes) start chatting with these guys, it appears that misunderstandings accumulate. 

I am not condemning these local males for striking up a conversation the minute new arrivals jump off the boat, nor am I unduly criticizing the female tourists for participating in some friendly banter.  After all, to an extent it is this kind of welcome which gives the island its reputation as being ‘cariñosa’.  But it seems that what is lacking is an appreciation of the cultural difference which can lead to later misunderstandings, ranging from crestfallen faces as the boy is shooed away, to real anger as the guy feels he’s wasted his time and has been falsely led-on.

As is so often the case, drugs play a part too.  Perhaps the fact that there are lacking extra-curricular activities for the youth of the village to participate in doesn’t help the situation.  There are no scouts or girl-guide groups, no after-school programs of significance and no skills-based workshops happening on a regular basis.  Without stimulating activities, it is little wonder that the drug culture appears to be growing on the island – the most catastrophic drug dependence of all being crack cocaine.  But it is not for wont of trying, because Alberto Villanueva did try to establish a gardening initiative in the village during his stint as Village Chairman, but within a matter of weeks the participants had lost interest and abandoned the project. 

Today, the healthiest focus during evenings and weekends is sport, for which the village appears to have a real flair, in part nurtured by current Village Chairman Ralph Humes.  Aside from the women’s teams (which are usually short-lived), there are frequent  Basketball Tournaments and Football Marathons among the boys’ teams (not to mention the 5-a-side match which will be commencing later this month) which are played out over a course of weeks, and sometimes even months, which provides entertainment for the participants and the spectators alike.  But it appears that sports is not an all-encompassing activity and there will always remain people who don’t want to participate in such team efforts, and would rather prowl the streets looking for easy (predominantly white) prey.

There is little to be done in the immediate future to solve this problem.  Perhaps tourists should be informed before they arrive about the dangers of pairing up with local men on the island (I happened to notice that several hotels, in their room-information packs, warn against inviting ‘sweet mouthed street boys’ back to the property); perhaps controls on excess-alcohol consumption by visitors and locals alike should be enforced more stringently to ensure that people retain their five senses at all times.  Or perhaps female tourists should learn to bathe more modestly in the sea, rather than stripping off and revealing just about all their bodily assets for all and sundry to see.  There is no one solution.  I don’t doubt that the problem somehow circulates around the drug problem on the island: whether petty theft or serious burglary, the chances are that somewhere along the lines, money is being made to fund a drug addiction; perhaps more controversial yet still as plausible is the ‘gladiator’ mentality that crack seems to bestow upon many of its users, whereby the local guys presumably feel more and more infallible, and less and less keen on accepting ‘no’ as an answer.

Whatever the long term solution, Caye Caulker has built itself a reputation as a delightful island for travellers and locals alike.  It is imperative that, amidst continuing crime and economic crises, the village doesn’t lose its charm and tranquillity because it takes years to construct a good reputation and only the blink of an eye to destroy it.  Caye Caulker still has the potential to end these violent spates once and for all, and impressively the village has already responded and established the Caye Caulker Neighbourhood Watch group.  The very first meeting earlier this month attracted membership from 70 residents, and 15 extra special constables have been appointed to heighten security around the island.  Now all that remains is to hope that the perpetrators of these vicious crimes, and the pushers and users of drugs, will be forced to leave the island or change their lifestyles once and for all.