HOUSTON--I THINK ARUBA HAS A PROBLEM PART II

Michelle: Hi Dan in Tx! I'm overjoyed at the success of the Houston protest and you were there to witness every dirty little detail. So naturally, I'm dying to get some juice from this past weekend! How about some Q & A's?


Dan in Tx: Absolutely!


Q :How many people would you say promised to go up to the Aruban booth and tell them what they thought? Did any of them later report back to you? Did any of them tell you what the Aruban response was?


A: I personally sent five or six people to 'visit' the Aruba booth. I can't speak for everyone else in the protest, but I'm sure they did the same since we were sharing ideas and strategies all day. A few of those people did report back- that's how we discovered that the Arubans actually took one man's tote from him! As for the ATA's response, well...they were pissed. Even the event coordinator for the travel show told me they complained numerous times about us but of course it was out of his hands. Again, I really don't think Aruba has true freedom of speech because Arubans really don't seem to understand freedom of assembly.


Q: You say that all the pamphlets, etc., that you brought were given out ... how many did you bring?


A: We had between 600-700 pamphlets and 125 cloth totes. We gave away all our color pamphlets first, then all our black and white pamphlets, then all our totes, then whatever we had left- the business cards and 'Boycott Bucks'--Monopoly money with Natalee's photo on the front and a map of Aruba on the back. (Michelle's note: John, thanks for your ingenious Monopoly money idea...what a guy! Rock on...)


Q: Did anyone express interest in doing further work on Natalee's case? Did anyone ask to be put on the mailing list? Did anyone offer to donate money to help out with expenses?


A: A cart driver offered to donate the back of his cart as advertisement for Natalee's disappearance (and we do plan to get back in contact with him). A lot of people seemed very interested in the blogs and websites once we pointed them out in the pamphlets. I specifically remember telling one man that the stuff on TV is glossed-over and watered-down; the real details are on the blogs. A lot of people were surprised that Aruba is also a hub for drug trafficking, money laundering, and most didn't know about how the airport is understaffed and unsafe. I think other protesters have seen this before, but one lady told me that she used to go to Aruba years ago but it's not the same place it was. One of my team talked to a lady who canceled her entire social club's trip to Aruba because of Natalee! We did not ask for any money, of course, and we couldn't accept it anyway as part of our protest permissions.


I would like to say that Houston P.D. was very cooperative and supportive, and the convention center personnel did not give us any trouble. The first person who I talked to before the protest even started saw my boycott tee shirt and came up to me and talked about the case with me. This particular man was actually an off-duty H.P.D. investigator.


Michelle: Dan, thanks for all the great information, dedication and hard work! And kudos to the rest of you "aruban boycotters"! I couldn't be more proud of the people who are actually "bringing it on"...so very cool old school. The era of the protesting! Speaking your mind! Politics! Having a cause! It worked for the hippies back then, and we are taking grassroots to a new level with the invention of the internet!


Dan in Tx: I'll be happy to answer more questions if you or your readers have any!