Will Joran go home for Christmas, (if he's not already there)? If so, how will those outside of the Vandersloot home respond? The post below was after the Peter/Patrick tapes, I wonder how the Aruban people feel after the latest story from Joran. And after the latest from Rudy Croes. The Joran/Paul/Jan conspiracy was printed in at least one Aruban newspaper back in September; but nothing much came of it. Now it's back and I don't think it's going away this time. I hope not anyway.
http://www.aruba-bb.com/viewtopic.php?t=54632Author Message
Eddy Post subject: Arubans feel betrayed by Joran van der SlootPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:06 pm
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Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2002 4:47 am
Posts: 2597 Emotions Run High, Aruba Is Angry At Van Der Sloot
February 7th 2008, Aruba.
Arubans still feel attacked by the U.S. media.
Many believe the pride of Aruba has been tarnished.
ORANJESTAD-Hundreds of locals expressed their anger on radio shows
and via e-mail to newspapers after watching the "confession-on-tape" on
Monday evening. Arubans reacted massively against Joran van der Sloot,
and that for the first time since the disappearance of Natalee Holloway on
May 30th, 2005.
For the past 2 years the public on the island gave Joran van der Sloot the
benefit of the doubt, in that he was involved in the disappearance of
Natalee. There was no blood, no body, and no evidence of a murder.
Many on the island believed that Natalee was still alive, and was in hiding
somewhere. Others believed that she may have accidentally drowned at
sea, after she was left alone by Joran on the beach.
At least 5,000 government employees were granted two days free, to
help with the search for Natalee in 2005. Dutch F-16 planes were sent to
scan the entire island for a body recently buried underground. Thousands
of volunteers helped search for the missing teen without any result.
There was a search every day for months. And the government was
spending millions in the investigation.
Arubans felt that they were constantly attacked by the U.S. media, and at
times by the Holloway family. That did not help with having sympathy for
the Holloway family, and it certainly did not help the case. In the contrary
Arubans shifted in a defensive mode, and felt that their pride was being
attacked by the media. Arubans felt nothing that they did to help find
Natalee was appreciated.
The Dutch crime reporter, Peter R. de Vries started to investigate the
case at the beginning of 2007. De Vries has spent months studying the
investigation reports, and interviewing those involved in the case. Patrick
van der Eem –a 34 year old Antillean- approached De Vries in The
Netherlands in the middle of 2007, he wanted to help out solving the case.
De Vries hired Van der Eem as an undercover thug that would make
Joran comfortable enough to tell exactly what happened that night. Joran
told his story on different occasions while Van der Eem was driving, and
it was all captured on hidden camera.
Van der Eem is a businessman in Arnhem who loves Aruba, and wanted
closure for the parents of Natalee. In addition, he was tired of the bad
press Aruba has been getting. With the story of Joran on tape, De Vries
added the pieces of the puzzle together and claimed he has solved the
disappearance of Natalee Holloway. His program was broadcasted on
Monday evening to the Aruban public.
"Joran is a psychopath, he has lied to everyone on the island." said an
angry water-sports businesswoman, who did not want her name to be
made public. "I feel so sorry for Natalee, and her parents who had to go
through years of uncertainty as to what happened to their daughter. Our
island will suffer for a long time too, we will bare the consequences of the
actions of one man. My colleague of Pennsylvania was told by his family,
are you going again to that murder island? A person on CNN also
advised tourists that they are better off in Bermuda.''
Management Consultant, Mathilde Robles said that she knew Joran van
der Sloot by face. "He seems like a nice guy, and I did not want to pre-
judge him. But now after watching the program on Monday, I am certain
that he is behind the disappearance of Natalee, he himself has admitted
it."
Robles is shocked on Van der Sloot's comment, that he can not believe
that this has happened to him. "If the judge does not punish this man, we
the Arubans will," said Robles.
Joran van der Sloot said on different occasions that he felt particularly
sorry for the Aruban community. The image of Aruba as the safest
country in the Caribbean has been tarnished ever since the
disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
According to the government, the case has cost the island tens of millions
of dollars. Tourism from the U.S. fell by 9 percent during 2006. Aruba is
70 percent dependent on the U.S. generating market. There are barely
arrivals from Alabama, the state of Natalee Holloway. The Governor of
Alabama has imposed a travel boycott to Aruba.
Public anger is also directed to the father of Joran, Paul van der Sloot,
mainly because Paul has smuggled a cellular phone to his son in prison.
Many on the island now believe that the family Van der Sloot is out for
the money. Paul van der Sloot said earlier that he would sew the country
of Aruba, because he was held as suspect in the disappearance of
Natalee. On tape, Joran said he will also sew, and wants to cash in big
time for a house in Spain.
Emotions ran so high, there were a few people who expressed that
the Van der Sloot family should be deported from Aruba.