It was suggested that I post this here......it was very upsetting, wish I could have done more.

[secondwind]

I am presently in the Dominican Republic, where I come to escape the cold for a few months each year.

My husband and I drove to Bavaro, on the eastern coast, today, to enjoy a meal at a favorite spot of ours called Captain Cook's.

We were sitting on the sand at a round table, when I noticed an older white man, tall, wearing glasses, with tattoos on both arms, walk in with three young females, all Dominican. The oldest was no older than 22 or 23 years, the middle one was no older than 15, and the youngest looked about 10 years old. I could tell the girls were not related.

It hit me like a thunderbolt. I turned to my husband and said "I think we have a pedophile here"...and he turned to look and agreed with me. I was so upset, that I had to stare down this man, once he was seated, and he would look me straight in the eye, even as I was mouthing to him "POS", and daring him to say something...he didn't care.

What upset me most was the youngest. She was just a skinny kid, with a bikini on and a white cover-up. Anyway, I couldn't just sit there, so I noticed a policeman on the beach and got up enough courage to get up and go speak to him. I told him my concern, and he smiled and told me point-blank "well, we don't know for sure, maybe that woman lives with him ." I told him the oldest looked about 22 years or so, and he repeated that he could not do anything because there was NO PROOF .....I was so upset at this point.

The older girl got up from the table with the youngest, and went to the bathroom....when they were returning, I approached them and got up the gumption to look the older one in the eyes and I told her that what she was doing was very wrong, I looked at the little girl and told her "you are with a bad man, do not let him touch you, etc." The older one confirmed all my suspicions because all she did was smile and shrug, and she didn't dare respond. I asked the little kid how old she was, and she said ELEVEN.

Sorry this is a bit long, but this has upset me terribly and I cannot sleep yet. They bagan to walk away, and the last thing I said to the older one was "money isn't everything"....there were several Dominican men at a table near me who just looked at me, but didn't comment....it seemed to me that nobody cared.

I started to walk to my car (where my poor husband was waiting for me), and suddenly turned around and went back to the area where the pedophile was, with his 14-yr-old girl. There was a large long table with perhaps 12-15 Dominicans enjoying their Sunday lunch, and I approached this table of complete strangers and said to them "I am upset because there is a pedophile sitting near you, and he has three females, the youngest of which is only eleven years old"....one of the men jerked his thumb behind his head, and said "where, behind us? a pedophile?" and I said "yes, and he doesn't care that we know what he is. ISN'T ANYBODY HERE INTERESTED IN STANDING UP WITH ME AND PROTECTING THIS LITTLE GIRL?" Everyone looked at me and said nothing. They just listened while I told them that they had a duty to protect the children of the Dominican Republic from pedophiles who come to prey upon them, and photograph them, etc.

It was no use. I did everything I could, but nobody seemed to care. OH! And I had told my waiter about my concerns also, and he just smiled, and said nothing!

Now, I am wishing I had taken that skinny little girl by the hand and brought her home with me. I wish I had done more, damnit!!

[leftstreet]

1. wait....what?

He's a pedophile because he was white, had tattoos, and was in the company of nonwhite females?

I missed something...

[secondwind]

3. I guess you have to live here to know what I am saying.....pedophilia is rampant

in the Dominican Republic. This man was not conversant with the girls, he just paid for their sodas and food, etc. It was VERY obvious. And the older girl's smile and non-response spoke volumes. She was a hooker, and the 15 yr old was beautiful, but you could tell she'd been around the block.. I was very concerned for the 11 yr old.

[omega minimo]

8. are you trying to miss the point on purpose?

the comment that they did not appear to be related? what were they doing with him and he with them?

[leftstreet]

9. No, just looking for the point

If I see a white male with 3 nonwhite females in ANY country I don't instantly think 'pedophilia.'

But obviously the OP experienced things that caused him/her some alarm

:shrug:

[omega minimo]

10. perhaps it takes an extension of one's POV toward the description as given

and extrapolation of the relevant questions, not just another WHY ARE YOU WOMEN ALWAYS GOING ON ABOUT MEANINGLESS BULLSHIT? challenge.

Put yourself in the story, somewhere other than the male (cultural) (blatantly misogynistic) POV.

If the OP was that alarmed and described it for us, there's probably a reason. :thumbsup:

[leftstreet]

11. Point

:thumbsup:

[omega minimo]

13. ur awesome.

most bestest benefit of the doubtest exchange/response EVER. :yourock:

I notice the OP describes below more of this culture in the DR.........

[flor-de-jasmim]

2. I'm glad you didn't take her - if you had taken her, you would probably be in jail for kidnapping.

It sounds heartbreaking. Every time I go to Latin America or Africa I want to scoop up orphans, or open an orphanage.

[secondwind]

4. well, I would have asked her where her mother was, etc. In the back of my mind,

this is what prevented me from saying "I'm taking this child to her home.".....I was a mandated reporter when I lived in New York, and I am familiar with what can be done or not done in the effort to protect a minor.

I once saw a young mother punch her 2 yr old son in the stomach on a subway platform, and she was yelling "I can't take this anymore"...the poor kid, all snot-nosed and crying.......I sat her down on a bench and told her "do you need help with your son?" ...I offered to take her son and watch him for one hour while she took a break, and she thought about it, but declined my offer, and grabbed her son and go on the subway.

I sometimes wonder where that poor boy is now....she looked like she was 16 or 17 years old, and the kid was a toddler.

[kickysnana]

5. You just lived the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It puzzled me how anyone could use it as a tale against homosexuality. It was a tale of when society loses its way and good people do nothing in the face of evil.

[secondwind]

6. I told a friend of mine here in DR what had happened, and she too said "oh, yes,

that happens all the time, etc."...however, she didn't seem that horrified about this! She did say that there are mothers who allow this to go on, because they are poor and are being compensated. It's disgusting.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hannah Bell]

12. Product of the divide between "rich" & poor, I'd think. From your description,

it sounds like the girls weren't trying to escape -- which the older ones could have, & taken the younger, under your protection, in such a public place.

From your description, if your suspicions about the sexual nature of the relationship are true, it would seem to me it's somewhat "consensual," if you can call child prostitution consensual. Maybe by the parents, maybe by orphaned girl with no other means of supporting herself.

Don't mistake my opinion for approval, please. But wherever there are lots of very poor in proximity to lots of (relatively) rich, it seems this kind of thing increases. I'm thinking of the fall of the ussr, the descent into poverty of many, & the sudden increase in prostitution & russian brides, for one instance.

That's what's called "choice" in the global capitalist economy.

[secondwind]

14. yes, you sum it up pretty much. It is so common, it is not sensational to see...

I've been coming to this country for decades now. I've seen the men with the boys, the hookers with the customers, all of this is "okay" because it's a poor country. I think this hit home with me, because I have a granddaughter who will be 11 in June. Unfortunately, there is probably nothing that can be done about this, and it has increased a lot in the last five years.

And it is consensal, although this 11 yr old probably wasn't aware of what was going on. Most people turn a blind eye to prostitution here and don't think of it as a "big deal", myself included, because it is their only source of income. This country is sooo corrupt, and the government does nothing to help the poor....it's really a shame.

[Hannah Bell]

15. I don't think it's "OK" at all, in case you thought so. I think it's a horrorshow,

a travesty, a hideous injustice. I think it stunts everyone concerned's lives.

Pretty much what I think of capitalism, which grows these injustices in the same way it grows dollars in bank accounts. They go together.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mugweed]

17. Sounds like a "great" place to get away from it all

Let me guess, you go there because things are inexpensive?

[asdjrocky]

18. Took the words right out of my mouth.

We destroy these "tourist" locations as Americans. We destroy economies so we can use a country and it's people and we stand there, as fat rich Americans, and wonder how they can be so bad.

I hope you enjoy getting away to some place warm for a few months every year.

[secondwind]

20. You are right in your assessment. Not all tourists who come here come in good faith.

Like I said, where there is poverty and hopelessness, there is another "element" that finds its way into the society.

If there was something I could do, I would do it. Unfortunately, the Dominican people are not prone to demonstrating too much, although there is the occasional strike. The apathy is appalling.

[secondwind]

19. good morning......actually it is a very special place, and the Dominican people

are always smiling and happy, even if they don't have a cent. We work with a small landlocked village here, an American girl helped to raise over 50,000 dollars in her state of Maine, to build an education center in the village, which comprises of 23 families. We have taught the women to make candles to sell, so they can have an income, etc. The government is corrupt, so what else is new. If they spent more on education, schools, teachers, perhaps these fine people could work their way up to a better place. There IS an element of criminality, and the sex trade is a part of that, and most people look the other way.

There is a lot of good in this country, I don't want my OP to be misunderstood. I have family here, etc.

[Loki]

21. Rush Limbaugh

loves the Dominican Republic, he always brings his "Viagra" to help his golf swing. :sarcasm: What a dirty fucking piece of work he is. What a horrible experience for you and for those children. It leaves you feeling helpless and hopeless. Is there an American Consulate there you could contact?

[NuttyFluffers]

22. poverty is a special type of cruelty and violence, it helps murder your humanity first

and yet, you will have young girls in prosperous Japan trading sexual favors to get money for the latest fashion, too. where is the line between poverty's guilt and human selfishness?

the same goes on around the world, as it has forever, and ever shall be. dream and nightmare mix freely between each other in our daily lives. though it is unusual for the dreamer to have lucid moments in the dream... my sympathies to you for this experience.

[Odin2005]

23. Ugh, there are no words...

:cry: