Patrick van der Eem

51 Responses to “The ongoing boycot Aruba saga”

1. April 14th, 2008 at 9:18 pm

   Katie Rendon said:
   

   ARE YOU FOR REAL… WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR POSITION ON THIS. YOU WERE SO SUPPORTIVE OF BETH.. PATRICK DID THEY THREATEN YOU AND YOUR FAMILY OR PAY YOU OFF.. ITS NOT LIKE YOU.. IM VERY CONFUSED AND DISAPPOINTED..

   RESPONSE PATRICK

   Dear Katie,

   Yes, I am for real.

   I have never changed my position on the boycott. Actually, this shows the kind of misconceptions that can also explain the continued calls for a boycott. How can you say something like that. Katie? From the moment of the broadcast, for insiders even earlier, I have explained I did this for the Aruban people to redeem the island. After three years of law enforcement being unable to bring Joran down, I took the case in my own hands. Whenever the boycott was discussed on my website or at scaredmonkeys.com I made my point of view clear. It has never been different. I love Aruba, I love the people of Aruba and I love the people of the USA, the country I visited for the first time when my grandparents lived in Miami. It worries me even more to notice what the level of information is on what you, and therefore the people for all this hate against Aruba, base their decisions on. Do you follow all these calls for a boycott with the same ignorance you put things in my shoes?

   I am very supportive of Beth and she is supportive of me. It is very peculiar that you wrote this and it makes me realize something else, Angela. You suggest if what you think is good to do today is very supportive to Beth. Have you ever asked her? Have you talked about it with her, like I did? If not, why do you think you have to represent people you don’t even know?

   I respect the people of scaredmonkeys.com. It is a great website. Many internet forums are people who just shout dumb or use continuous four letter words, but here I though a discussion was going on. I never assumed the name was anything more than a parody and did not apply to the people who chat there. Many websites are filled with people who are nutty conspiracy theorists, but I never thought about that when I think of scaredmonkeys. I believe that all what the people did there was with such a good intention, also the earlier boycott calls, but things changed. It is just a disappointment to see that even such a clear point of view as mine is regarded by you as something that must be the result of a threat. I don’t let anybody threaten me, dear, so much should be clear when I step into the lion’s den to fight the on-going calls for a boycott. I am Patrick, and not a ‘scared monkey’!

   Greetings and best wishes,

   Patrick

2. April 14th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

   Soph said:
   

   Hi Patrick,

   Trying to help here — most, if not all, of the people at Scared Monkeys consider you a hero. Perhaps you could suggest a specific activity to honor Natalee’s memory and your work on her case by volunteering at Dave Holloway’s website at:

   http://www.nataleehollowayfoundation.net/volunteer.html

   Good luck.

   Soph

   RESPONSE PATRICK

   Yes, I have proposed to Beth that she requests the Aruban government to organize a Natalee Alert on the island when in future again a tourist goes missing late in the night. I’m working on it, but first I want to finish my book to get the real story on the table and to show the full width of Joran’s confession to the public.

   Greetings, Patrick

3. April 14th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

   Vicky Davis said:
   

   Hi Patrick,
   I didnt mean to send that email to you..but since you got it, Let me explain a few things to you.
   The GOOD people of LIERUBA held up signs telling BETH to go home…The GOOD Oderber made Beth apolize to the ppl of that island…HER DAUGHTER is still missing there and they wanted her to SHUT UP and go away…Charles Croes said he wished Natalee had just stayed home, Well, I bet anything NATALEE wished she had just stayed home…That filthy PIG URINE is SICK…like so mant other DUTCH boys on that Island that have now left. There is corruption there and a huge COVER UP…Crimminals abound there and until there is JUSTICE FOR NATALEE we the PEOPLE will not go away…GET IT STRAIGHT…WE ARE NOT HAPPY…We will BOYCOTT LIERUBA until there is JUSTICE…..PLEASE, dont insult our intelligence by comparing the US to that VILE place….We know there is crime here but, we dont promote ourselves as a SAFE HAPPY ISLAND…GET IT…
   So, until ALL of the perps that attacked Natalee and caused her to remain gone are persecuted…so sorry…but LIERUBA will be BOYCOTTED.
   Vicki

   PS…You can post this also….

   PATRICK’S RESPONSE

   Hi Vicki,

   Yes of course I will post this too, after all it’s worth a good discussion.

   Generalisations are never good, your word game of LIERUBA is childish, coz not everybody in Aruba is lying, like not everbody in the US is lying. That is racist.

   The people who held up those signs are not good people of Aruba. How many were they? 20?? We have 110,000 people there. Sometimes idiots held up idiot signs in the USA or elsewhere too, and that makes them indeed idiots.

   I have never heard that Oduber made Beth apologize, for God sakes, I hope she never did, because Aruba has to apologise to her. Where can I read that by the way.

   I have responded already about what Charles Croes said in my earlier response to a comment. It is not civil. I find your words also not civil. Never lower yourself.

   It is a lot of bias to talk about “so many Dutch boys” in this sense. Again it is racist to think that “Dutch boys” are filthy pigs and there is no proof at all that they are more or less “filthy pigs” than any other boys in the world.

   “Criminals abound there” is a silly thing to say. There are more criminals abound in the USA. That is a proven fact. Unfortunately. It does not make me happy or so. When you write something like that, then don’t become all belligerent about your intelligence, Vicky, when I compare the crime rate in the USA and say that Aruba is a safer place. It’s a fact. Start with your own sins, before you attack others is a very old and good thing to take to heart.

   I know the issue is also that you feel the case of Natalee is not dealt with correctly. I agree. But I’m not biased and racist and I do not judge on things I’m not qualified to judge. I judge Joran because I’m qualified after 6 months listening to him. Your email address is “justiceformatalee” and I brought justice for Natalee and more justice will be brough. But you can only show disrespect. There was disrespect in Aruba also. But I do not believe disrespect has to be fought with disrespect. I believe respect battles disrespect, Vicki. I brought justice to help all the good people in Aruba.

   It is also not true that your tourist authorities do not want to promote the USA as a safe place.

   I am making a point that cannot be too hard for you to understand. People who think they are God themselves and have the right to call for a boycot should once try to engage in a higher level of thinking.

   If in one place the number of crimes is 100 per 100,000 people and in the other place 10 and the boycot is a true and good weapon, then you must boycot the place of the 100 crimes first. That means you must boycot your own streets also, Vicky and the streets of many other countries. It’s that simple. But as an activist, as yo are, and I do respect people who fight for a cause, then your energy is so much better spend to focus most on the more rotten places. Maybe you are not a person of reason, but don’t try to sow unreason, because then the only thing you harvest is unreason in the end.

   I want the perps who attacked Natalee to be prosecuted also. For sure it was Joran. He got help and the prosecutors in Aruba, de Vries and myself are working on it. You dont’ boycot a country for that. if this is the level of thinking in the world, peace will never arrive, nd certainly not your kind of peace which seems to be undirected racism and hatred. Still I hope you will find peace, Vicki.

   Greetings,

   Patrick

4. April 14th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

   mishy said:
   

   Patrick,

   Yes, I have seen you on tv. Thank you for getting more info out of Joran than the ALE were able to do in the past 3 years! I didn’t know if this was you or not. I have a question for you, and I promise I’m not trying to be rude. Knowing what you know about Aruba and the way this case has been handled and the horrible way Natalee’s family has been jerked around, what motivates you to call down the boycott? And further, do you really care about Aruba that much?

   Take care Patrick. I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon. And thanks again for helping Beth and Dave get some answers! You’re OK in my book

   Mishy

   PATRICK’S COMMENT

   Dear Mishy,

   I disagree how the Aruban authorities handled the case. That is exactly why I took it upon me to expose Joran. In that sense you can say the boycot earlier was useful. I wanted to heal the wounds, although I do not want to deny I had more reasons. Now that Joran’s mask is ripped away, I ask for the reward not to boycot Aruba any longer, because it hurts the normal people there. If you read the whole string and all my arguments you will understand better. Yes, i do care a lot about Aruba, it was a happy place for me. Aruba is not the place that everybody wants to make of it, we are not without faults, but no country is, also not your own. Many think that the Aruban authorities reacted as they did because they wanted to keep up the good face of being a safe country. if so, I do not believe that by the way, then it was silly and unproductive. Besides that, Aruba, is statistically a safe place but statistics cannot absorb the pain of Natalee’s parents. I know from Beth I did that with my actions at least. But an ongoing boycot is unfair. it also spreads false hope. What will you say to a tourist who becomes a victim of crime in any other holiday destination he chooses over Aruba, where statistically there is more crime? it just makes no sense.

   And i don’t think you are rude at all, mishy, you sound very sensible and wlling to liten to arguments.

   God bless you.

   Greetings, Patrick

5. April 14th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

   Observer said:
   

   Hey Patrick..We all realize the normal Arubans are mostly good people and most agree there Governemnt is corrupt and evil..But the only time they spoke out wasn’t about the obvious Cover Up and terrible misjustice..It was to get Beth to shut up and get off the island,saying Natalee was partying in Brazil and that Joran was innocent..That Government can’t even make a decision without consulting it’s tourism authority and that is terribly wrong.

   When are the Aruban people ever going to stand up to whats really killing there country and tourism? Hans Mos blaming Natalee’s Family and the American media is just plain sick! I would like to suggest that you go read Dave and Beths book as that will reveal a small fraction why Aruba needs to be Boycotted and why we are angry as Hell!

   PATRICK’S RESPONSE

   Most answered in the string. Something new I am very interested in. When and where did Hans Mos blamed Natalee’s Family and accused the American media of being just plain sick??? Please, send me this, whomever can find it. I never saw this.

   I spoke many, many times with Beth. I think Beth is fantastic, a supermother and a very honest and true person. She knows my point of view very well. In a restaurant in New York my spokesman informed her that I did not want to claim the $ 250,000 reward, but that I would love the boycot of Aruba to stop.

   The fact that you are angry like Hell, flamethrower, heck, the fact you take such a name in your email address, shows you live already in Hell. Life is not about throwing flames, life is about accepting each other.

6. April 14th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

   A New Girl said:
   

   Patrick:

   Please keep in mind, not everyone on the SM website agrees with the boycotting aspect as an action to remediate the injustice of the Holloway case.

   To keep it brief, most of us (as are you) are really still seeking one simple thing: TRUE justice for Natalee Holloway and her family.

   We do appreciate you, all of your efforts & help and all the support you have already shown Beth Holloway. Please do not think we are not thankful for that.

   Peace =)

   PATRICK’S RESPONSE

   I know, dear. I do not generalise at al. I would love to see more justice also. For instance: what will they do with Joran’s confession that his father smuggled a cell into his cell? But failing to bring more justice than I did, does not mean the legal system of Aruba fails. In my book you can read Joran was very crooked also. Some criminals are masters in misguiding the police. Thanks for your support.

   Greetings,

7. April 15th, 2008 at 1:13 am

   interested said:
   

   Patrick
   There are places in the US that I do not travel to.
   My safety and that of my children is more important than the economics of the city.
   If my young blond daughter disappeared, on Aruba today, I don’t feel that my situation would be different than the Holloways. Would the FBI be integrated and not observing? Would the Minister of Tourism send tourism workers over to Justice to help? Would court rulings be posted with the judge’s name? Would psychics be paid travel time to report on my family?
   If the government of Aruba enforces consequences, for your fine work, then we can discuss your request. It is not a small request. I have spent 3 yrs. researching and worried sick over this case. It very well could be that those from SA are more suited, as tourist, to Aruba. The US standard may be too high. The only thing that I’ve seen, that has been somewhat intelligent and straight forward, was Nico Jorg’s outline of possible charges and the judges (once again, not named) did nothing. Nope…not safe yet…

   RESPONSE PATRICK

   Dear Kate,

   You mix-up safe places with places where the crime solving percentage is high.

   When you write “there are places in the US that I do not travel to” this is different from what I said. It will be very difficult or impossible to find a place in the USA where the crime rate is lower than Aruba. DisneyWorld maybe. Perhaps a few other places. But I’m can give you a challenge. I’m 100% sure that less than 0.25% of American soil has a lower crime rate than Aruba. I’m also quite sure you will not find one area of the size of Aruba with a population of 100,000 where the crime rate is lower than Aruba.

   Do you think, Kate, you can find for me 5 major crimes in Aruba since the case of Natalee?

   And as far as crime solving goes, I have not dived into those statistics, but I would not be too certain if I were you, not to say the least, that also these numbers are unfortunately not very flattering for the USA.

   I don’t like it when false arguments are used, when logic is put aside. Your young blond daughter (do you have one?) will be safer in Aruba than in many, many, many other places. I love the USA, crime or not. We all have to fight crime. But don’t tell people any fairy tales.

   In Aruba a major case went wrong and was not handled well by the authorities. Terrible and some elements of it even disgusting. But it is nonsense to say that nothing was gained after that.

   No, your FBI has no jurisdiction outside the USA as well as other law enforcers have no jurisdiction inside the USA, that is how the World is organized, Kate. It does not make Aruba per definition a safer place if the FBI would have jurisdiction, because Kate, look at the statistics again. If I were the Aruban government I would certainl;y receive them with open arms to observe the process and advise. I think next time an American tourist dissapears lots of actions will change.

   Personally I don’t understand your question about touridsm workers.

   Court ruling are public in Aruba, like anywhere else under Dutch law.

   If I were the Aruban government, Kate, I would pay for the psychics, just for good image. But I want to tell you, Kate, that I believe zero % in the effectivity of psychics in crime. Mr. Peter R. de Vries who personally researched 450 murder and dissapearance case, solved 10 murders solehandedly, exposed three hitmen, etc, etc, never found one millimeter of proof that psychics had been useful in murder cases. I think people who believe in psychics should pay for themselves.

   The justice department is enforcing consequences to my actions. Please stop saying ‘government’. In your country the judicial system is also independent, that is how your founding fathers wanted it. It is called checks and balances.

   You say you research 3 years, I believ you, coz I alsways take everybody on their wolrd first. But in this three years you never reserached crime and crime solving statistics???? And you still call for a boycot??? Kate, sorry, that I do not take lightly. That is called scientific bias!

   Which US-standard is too high, Kate. Please don’t only say it. Please show me the research.

   Greetings,

   Patrick

8. April 15th, 2008 at 1:30 am

   katablog said:
   

   Patrick: I read your open letter on Scared Monkeys blog. While I certainly do not agree with some of the things posted on that blog, I can answer some of your questions:

   You asked:Are there really any complaints how the justice department of Aruba is handling the case of Natalee at this point in time? What are they?

   My Answer: You bet! Joran van der Sloot has confessed to being present when Natalee died, not just when you taped him but also at the very beginning of the case. This can be proved out by the police announcing that one of the suspects had confessed and was leading police to the body and the investigators quizzing the Holloway Twitty families about whether Natalee has a seizure disorder. One only has to put two and two together.

   Since that time, Paulus van der Sloot’s judge buddies have prevented Joran from going to trial and answering for what he did to Natalee. In the USA when judges stay at the home of the perpetrator - we call that a big conflict of interest.

   We heard that van der Stratten was not only a good buddy of Paulus but Joran’s Godfather, yet he remained on the case for some time. Even Joran admits van der Stratten offered him time in a mental institution instead of facing trial.

   Van der Stratten was replaced with the Cousin of the Kalpoe brothers! Then brought forth his “secret witness” that Natalee bought drugs who turned out to be none other than his brother-in-law!

   You bring up crime in the USA. Yep. We have crime. But Patrick, this is not about crime, this is about a corrupt judicial system that allows relatives to investigate the case while Rick Smidt the judge stays at the van der sloot house!

   We have seen Natalee and her family absolutely lied about, slandered in hideous ways by Aruba, all while trying to cover up what Joran did and Aruba allowed him to get away with. Beth has been threatened off the island. Natalee has been called every name in the book. Stories have abounded from Aruba about Natalee being sexually abused by Jug, running away because she was pregnant, being spirited off the island by her parents who supposedly wanted her dead to collect insurance money, etc. How much should we take before we call for a boycott to save Americans from Natalee’s fate and the fate of her parents who just wanted their daughter’s body? Of course we call for a boycott. Who wouldn’t? Why would any one want to go to Aruba, knowing that IF something happens, if a crime is committed upon them, they will not receive justice, but a song and dance to protect the guilty.

   Rocks were painted in a very strange way and place. Videos were released which show a man who has the same balding spot and same watch as Paulus at the Casino sitting next to Natalee, but no one would release more of the tape to prove that it was the “cook” - which is Aruba’s contention, Dave was prevented from talking to some people on Aruba who might have had information for him. All family members were followed all over the island. A fake letter from Natalee to Paulus was produced to try to make us believe Natalee ran away - no further investigation of Paulus or the letter; we saw cloth that strongly resembled the top Natalee was wearing being recovered and then that also disappeared, van der Sloots replaced furniture in their home while Joran was in jail, a bloody mattress found and we were quickly told it was “dog’s blood”, all sorts of evidence appeared and then disappeared, it was announced that blood was found in the Kalpoe car but turned to chocolate and cleaning fluid by the time it reached the lab.

   Where does it stop Patrick? Yes, we see a cover up involving both investigators and Judges. We see the conflict between Paulus’ friends being investigators and judges in a case where his son was the last person seen with a living Natalee. How could we see anything differently?

   RESPONSE PATRICK

   I never asked the question on top of your letter. Please forgive me that when you quote me wrong, that I am not reading your letter further or answering. That is a fair principle. Quoting people wrong and changing what they said is also a reason why we have all these problems between our two people at this moment!

9. April 15th, 2008 at 3:28 am

   katablog said:
   

   Here’s where Aruba’s PM said he wished the “case would go away”, note Charles Croes statement too.

   That girl, Natalee, I wish she’d stayed home. I hope she’s found alive there. Because no one would care. No one. The kid is just not worth all this trouble, this heartache. Is Natalee worth it? Is she?” (Vanity Fair)” ~ Charles Croes

   “I am sick and tired of the case (Amigoe, 1-23-06).” ~ Aruban Prime Minister Nelson Odube

   PATRICK’S RESPONSE

   I have already commented to this, please see the string.

10. April 15th, 2008 at 3:29 am

    marie louise said:
    

    Patrick,
    1. when camera 2 still rolled after Poentje Castro’s interview with you, you said that you did not do it for Aruba but for the money.
    2. Copy-paste question above: Soph said:
    Hi Patrick,
    Trying to help here — most, if not all, of the people at Scared Monkeys consider you a hero. Perhaps you could suggest a specific activity to honor Natalee’s memory and your work on her case by volunteering at Dave Holloway’s website at:

    http://www.nataleehollowayfoundation.net/volunteer.html

    Patrick, you do not answer the question about Dave. You keep on talking about Beth
    3.You blame law enforcement not being able to bring Joran down. Which LE? Aruba’s? Bringing Joran down on what? You know it? Tell the world. Then you are of help, so far you weren’t. Sorry.
    4. Copy-paste: Some criminals are masters in misguiding the police. You are right about that one.

    RESPONSE PATRICK

    Poentje Castro has been a strong advocate that Joran never had to do anything with the dissapaerance of Natalee and was totally innocent. He is biased reporter and I’m sure you people will ‘love his views on this case…’ Anyhow, I responded on my website to the recordings already. The channel was put on black in Aruba and it has never been broadcasted. Until today I have never received a uncutted version. I believe in the American dream. That is how my father who had nine McDonald’s franchises raised me. I want to become a millionaire, but with my hydraulic business. Not with the Natalee case.

    I always said there were more reasons why I did it. My love for Aruba is one of them. Even in the fragments broadcasted on You Tube I never said that “I did not do it for Aruba”. Changing words creates misunderstandings between people. Stop doing that.

    I did answer the question about, Dave, with the ‘Natalee Alert’. The fact you don’t like an answer, does not mean it is not an answer.

11. April 15th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    VicVckiki said:
    

    Patrick, I think you are a fake. Your father owns 9 Macdonalds????hahahahha what does that have to do with anything??? Also, when you rspond to me can you spell my name correctly? Its VICKI. Thanks….What do you mean you never heard Odeber make Beth apolize???It was on TV for Goodness sakes…We have followed this from the beginning. Almost as soon as Beth knew Nat was missing. We the PEOPLE here in the US have followed this. We didnt just come aboard 6 months ago…Please do your research and then try and speak like you kn ow something. The only reason you came aboard is because your brother lost his business…but why sweat it when your Daddy owns 9 Macdonalds???
    I am hardly a racist..I just believe in JUSTICE..and calling that EVIL place LIERUBA is kind comparred to what I really want to call it..

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    It means I have been brough up with American values. They are certainly not your values. If he said it, Oduber should not have said it, but with you I’m not so sure you get things right. I’m sure Beth is very happy with your intentions. But are you sure Beth is still happy how you behave now? You are a bad reader, there are many other reasons why I did it. You write like a racist and if your justice is just to shout something and call people ‘fake’ we can all be glad that you are not a judge.

    Kind regards, Patrick

12. April 15th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    Katie Rendon said:
    

    Hi Patrick
    I was just shocked, I had no idea that you were against the boycott. I was quite surprised as I read on. I did not mean to offend you if so I apologize. Patrick yes there is horrendous crimes in our country. The thing is in my opinion: our judicial system is quite different from Aruba. We do bring criminals to justice in a court of law. we seek justice we also investigate all aspects of the case. this case didnt seem to be fair.. witnesses were intimidated…. evidence disappeared… the accused changed their stories so many times… and most of all the way beth and dave were treated was unjust and cruel. Patrick put your self in their place, they were told that their daughter ’s body had been recovered and than that statement was recanted. the investigation was done poorly and a lot of evidence destroyed. It seems like paulus has alot of friends in the judicial system that assisted him.. it also seems like everyone is related to eachother… paulus and his comrades broke of alot of ethical boundaries. Patrick I am reasonable and will listen to what you have to say, I value your opinions. So please help me understand….. and I did go to your website.
    I dont know patrick if you have ever heard of scared monkeys.com. Its a forum where many issues are discussed… Natalie is dear and precious to us not only because she is american… but because the manner in which she died and the way the case was handled from the very begining.
    Sincerely Katie

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Katie,

    You don’t have to apologise. I don’t know where you got the idea that in GENERAL the Aruban/Dutch legal system wouldn’t work as effective as the American one. You can differ of opinion about the length of the sentences, because in general they are much shorter in The Netherlands and Aruba. Both countries have statistically less crime and significantly less murder cases, because we don’t give permits carry weapons (it’s even a crime that carries a maximum jail sentence of 4 years). Of course it is also not true that there are no miscarriages of justice in your country. It happens everwhere. And not for all people all aspects of the case are fully investigated. I agree that Natalee’s case was treated very badly, but to put all the blame on the law enforcers is also wrong. Joran made it very difficult with his initial stories and refusing to talk. I am very curious how Paul van der Sloot is going to talk in the civil suit. From the Joran Tapes, we know that he smuggled a mobile phone to his son in the detention centre. If your son confesses that up, I consider it to be hard evidence. When Joran heard he was recorded, he tried on Dutch television to say that he just made things up for me. The full tapes show a total other picture and I always thought that the detail of the smuggled mobile phone shows how sincere Joran was in the car. You don’tdsay something like this.

    But the essence is for me, Katie, that how badly this case was treated, I am asking to stop the boycott, because I hope that my actions redeem what the officials did wrong. The other arguments are in the string. I did went in the shoes of Beth, so to speak, that was a major drive for me to continue, because I have a little daughter myself and during difficult moments in the operation I thought often of that.

    I can understand why there was a boycot. I’m not attacking that. I can say it in many ways, but I find certain aspects of the on-going boycott also hypocrite (see again my arguments). Some people, like Vicki, they want it for 1000 years or 100,000 years if they would live that long themselves. They have no heart to forgive and they have no common sense to see why arguments about crime rates do make sense also. They only know rage. This rage and hartred consumes them too and I don’t wish that upon anybody.

    Ah well, I understand, I can’t convince everybody. But I stand up for what I believe.

    With kind regards,

    Patrick

13. April 15th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    Vicki said:
    

    Please get this straight…We do not represent the family. We the People can speak for ourselves…Do you not understand this…we are furious about the way Natalees family was treated…Why should you have any thoughts as to any reward money? You didnt really do anything…but hang around an idiot for 5 months.You should have let the fool speak for crying out loud…We will NEVER give up or go away. You talk about checks and balances…Until there is a balance for the check LIERUBA wrote, it will never be right. BOYCOTT MARCHES ON…

14. April 15th, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Maria said:
    

    Really Vicki; they way you talk says more about you than anything else.
    Stop hurting innocent people that have nothing to do with this case….that’s all Patrick is saying; and nobody in their right mind would think otherwise if you ask me.
    And really; Patrick didn’t do anything? He gave up a couple months of his life to help people he didn’t know, his family (his kids!), friends, work….all on hold for that time. Not knowing how long it would take or if anything would come out of it.
    He got a confession out of Joran….something not any of your actions would have or will accomplished I think.

15. April 15th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    katablog said:
    

    Patrick: that was a total cop out. I mentioned that I was responding to an Open Letter posted on Scared Monkeys - apparently you sent it to some poster from Scared Monkeys, titled it “Open Letter” and then you now say I’m misquoting you because it’s not exactly what you posted above. But you did write it, didn’t you.

    If you truly want to understand Americans “beef” with Aruba and why some of us are calling for a boycott, you won’t just dismiss what I have to say.

    Rather, it appears to me that what I said was far to much to the point of the issues; hence the dismissal. Notice I was very civil in my reply but I pointed out all the ways that injustice has been done.

    You want to rattle on about crime rates because Aruba doesn’t report all its crime and therefore can brag a lot crime rate. Actually how low Aruba’s crime rate is doesn’t make any difference. What does make a difference is what happens when crime is committed on an American. The injustice in your “justice” system, the corrupt investigators and the corrupt judges.

    Americans need to know that IF something happens to them on Aruba, they will be ignored and corruption will follow.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Kat,

    My question is “Are there really any complaints how the justice department of Aruba is handling the case of Natalee AT THIS POINT IN TIME? What did you do? You rehash the past. You don’t answer the question. Because that is so weird (and in my opinion shows how blocked you are on the issue), I assumed you quoted my question wrong. A logical mistake. Nothing in what you say answers my question.

    And, Kat, when you say “I bet…” I got a little bit more insight again in what might be the case with a lot of critics. How do I judge then the many comments made. I know a lot of wrong things that the authorities said and did happened, but how many more are the result of “I bet…” Is that the level of the judicial system that we should get. That judges and prosecutors say “I bet this happened…”

    About corruption in judicial systems, don’t play ignorant and deny it does not happen in the USA too. Even in this string there is one example. For further comments on my points of view read the string and especially my reply to Sadie.

    Greetings,

    Patrick

16. April 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    katablog said:
    

    Oh BTW Patrick - US crime is not due to permits to carry guns. Most crime in the US is committed with illegal guns (guns not registered, no permit and bought on the black market).

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    That’s an opinion. Mine is different.

17. April 15th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    katablog said:
    

    Oops, Patrick, you lied; This is now copied from your letter above and I will include the first sentence so that you recognize the paragraph.

    “I believe the continuous call of a boycott of Aruba is getting the quality of a ‘witch hunt’. Are there really any complaints how the justice department of Aruba is handling the case of Natalee at this point in time? What are they?”

    I copied the last two sentences and answered them - you claim I misquoted you. Again, looks like you were looking for a reason to ignore what I wrote.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Kat,

    Lied? it shows something about your nature. If something is not to your liking the first thing you can think of is that it is a lie. Why should I “lie” about something like that on an open public blog??? There is a saying that people who are quick with accusing others of lying are… I misunderstood you, because while fast reading, trying to asnwer everybody here, you quote my question and then you asnwer that question with examples of the past. How silly is that? Discussions like that are a waste of time.

18. April 15th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    Koos said:
    

    My family experienced injustice in the US…my sister survived her ordeal (thank god). The guy got away with it because he was the son of the sheriff. Of course that’s not in the official papers…you will understand

    She / my family were treated awful and didn’t get justice but we still go there and have great times when we do. We don’t boycott (or call for a boycott) a country because of what happened. We put the blame where it should be: and that’s not with every person in the US. My sister let go of her wish to a different outcome…she needed to let go to move on & because of that we were able to do the same.

    It doesn’t matter who gets hurt or where this happens…it shouldn’t happen & people who do criminal things should be held accountable. If that doesn’t work there are things wrong; but you can’t make people suffer that have nothing to do with it. There is no way you can justify that kind of behaviour according to me.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Koos,

    I’m sorry to here this, Koos and I hope your sister is doing well. Of course things like this happen everywhere and also the States is not free of bad law enforcement officers who abuse the system. You are right. People who are full of hatred can only see one side of the story. I’m impressed with your ability to forgive and see the larger picture. Take care of yourself and your sister, Koos.

    Greetings, Patrick

19. April 15th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

    katablog said:
    

    Patrick: What I stated about guns is not opinion, it’s fact proven with statistics. You may have any opinion you want but your opinion flies in the face of facts.

    I will tell you something that is just my opinion: with each of your outright denials of what people can see in black and white - my opinion of you is changing.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Kat,

    I don’t care if your opinion of me is changing. You are a misguided person. Countries with liberal gunlaws suffer a lot from violent crimes. You can put your head in the sand as much as you want and close your eyes, but the number of people killed by handguns in the Netherlands (let alone Aruba) does not even equal the number of killed people in an average city in the US. Every human life is a treasure!

20. April 15th, 2008 at 9:22 pm

    bastibro said:
    

    Hey Patrick, ik snap niet dat je nog met die gasten van dat scared monkeys in discussie gaat man!
    Die hebben al lang bewezen niet open te staan voor ook maar iets anders dan hun eigen verhaaltjes, Het is een intollerant boeltje daar en doet me denken aan de kkk hahaha.
    Ik mocht niet op hun forum omdat ik(vermoed ik) te objectief ben.
    Thanks for all the gOOd work en vermoei je niet met ze. Je krijgt toch geen speld tussen hun duistere theorietjes

    God Bless,

    Bas

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Bas,

    I think it is important to go into discussion with them, because not all of them have this KKK attitude that you notice. I agee sometimes it is difficult to include reason in intolerant people, but that is not a reason not to try at least. Besides that, what happened in Aruba around the case of Natalee was not always pretty to say the least and they also must have the opportunity to blow off steam.

    That they banned you from there forum is bad. You often see that people who wave the flag of freedom of speech for their own benefit, deny freedom of speech to people who do not agree with them. They just do not understand that freedom of speech is is a great right made to give space to different opinions than their own.That says more about them, then about you, Bas.

    Regards, Patrick

21. April 16th, 2008 at 12:38 am

    Observer said:
    

    Patrick,

    I see you chose to copy a small part of my email on this website as you must have realized how wrong you were in your open letter. Mos told Beth and Dave when they last went to Aruba that the American Media and the Family hindered/obstructed this case and he said that in the Media as well..It’s mind boggling that after all this time he couldn’t answer any of there questions. Also very troubling is who he is blaming for obstructing the case when the Aruban Govt and the suspects are caught red handed destroying any hope of a honest Investigation for Natalee.

    I appreciate you trying to help Natalee but why would you collect 250,000? Natalee was not found,Joran revealed very little truth and you failed to ask him any important questions. You know very little of this case and it’s very irresponsible and unfair of you to say Aruba should not be boycotted or for you to claim you know what happened early in the case. To seek the truth you have to go back to June 2005 as everything since then has been in the wrong direction.

    I love life and you are speculating again on my email flamethrower which I used because I played baseball. I am angry as hell at what they did to Natalee and her family and what they continue to do almost 3 years later. You really need to read up on the hell they have put this Family through..Like so many others you don’t have a clue. Please do some research and if you are who you say you are you will be every bit as angry as we are.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    I do never cut and paste any message that I put here. Are you now going to blame me that two rewards were being put out. One for solving the case and one for finding the body? Very little truth? What do you know? Speculation is one of the strongest weapons I start to see with a lot of people in this group. Even in the broadcast it was already a hard confession, of course there is so much more on the 20 hours of tape. Personally I think you are mistaken with the name of “Hans Mos” in this case but I can’t be sure. Anyhow, I do know that Hans Mos from the moment Peter R. de Vries has been showing him the tapes has been working incredibly hard to get the evidence on the table that Joran did not only dispose of a body (carries a maximum jail sentence of 6 months in Holland), but to find the evidence that Joran can be accused of “murder” or “manslaughter” because it became clear from huis confession that he never checked if Natalee was really dead.

    What difference does it make if you choose a nasty aggresive name - under which so many people died a terrible death - for your email address or for your sport?

    What do they continue to do 3 years laters? Please, people put that information on this site, that is news. To that I will respond immediately? I am very interested to hear what bad things they continue to do to Beth, because if so I will be the first to defend her. What? Give me your clue.

22. April 16th, 2008 at 2:12 am

    Sadie said:
    

    Patrick, I believe in you. And I agree with most of what you say. I also believe there are some things you may not be aware of as to the treatment of Natalee’s family by some members of the ALE, government, and others, both directly and indirectly involved in the ‘investigation’ of Natalee’s disappearance. If this boycott is really not affecting tourism, as is stated by the ATB, then why would you or anyone be concerned about it? I do believe it is somewhat effective…if only in a small way…if it stops one young woman from going to Aruba…from being drugged, possibly raped and God forbid…gone missing …then it is worth the time and effort of the boycotters . It is a voice, perhaps a small one…but it is heard. I do look forward to reading your book. I am sure there is much you have yet to tell. Thank you for giving NAtalee’s family some peace in their souls. I detest seeing many of the posts to you…but thankful that you realize that most are frustrated outbursts from people who have seen the injustices, rolled with the ups and downs and really do care that a young woman is missing…and shouldn’t. Who are angry that Aruba still takes no responsibility for protecting the tourists lured to the island under a veil of safety. You really are a hero as far as I am concerned. I would be proud to call you my friend. You managed to obtain what I believe to be the truth out and allow Natalee’s family to stop wondering…..could she still be alive? What really happened to her? I understand your reasoning for asking for the boycott to stop. But I really do not think the ‘innocent’ people of Aruba are affected by it. God Bless you and your family.

    RESPONSE PATRICK

    Dear Sadie,

    Thank you for your kind words about me.

    I have nothing to do with the ATB and I have honestly not dived into statistics about how the boycott affects Aruba today. I think the group calling for a boycott today is indeed too small. What probably more affects Aruba today (and other countries) with American tourists is that your economy is so weak and the dollar lost its value.

    But that is all besides the point.

    I just don’t like hypocrisy (or your case probably just unwilling ignorance of the facts). You write “if it stops one young woman from going to Aruba from being drugged, possibly raped and gone missing then it is worth the time of the boycotters”. But Katie when that same woman stays in the USA she has a far higher chance to be drugged, raped, gone missing, shot, become the victim of a serial killer, drive-by shooting or school shootings, robbery, assault or any other crime in almost every community in the USA. When that woman would live 24/7 in Aruba (or many other places in the world, but not all of course, there are bigger risk areas!) she has an extreme lower chance to become the victim of a crime. There is no way around this fact.

    That is also why I dislike the call for a boycott now, because it makes no sense. Maybe it had a function in the past, at least it was one of the reasons for me to work all these months to get the confession of Joran.

    Today it only sows hate and when you do that you harvest hate.

    Natalee’s case has been mishandled in Aruba, there is not doubt about that. I do not have to research that for six months as some people want me to. Things said and done by the authorities should not have been said or done different. In fact, even if the case was handled far more worse that it has been, that’s still besides the point. Because for every one case in Aruba (and there are not many), there at least one case in USA where matters were also dealt with in the wrong way, where bad people abused the system, corruption took place or was unveiled.

    Let’s all protect our daughters and sons and fight crime, but don’t live in denial of the truth. Don’t take the responsibility for one young woman who stays in the USA and, god forbidden, falls victim to crime while she would have been safe in that same period of time in Aruba. I do take the responsibility for the other way around and that is why I worked so hard to expose Joran. Let every criminal who has plans in Aruba (or the USA) know that if the law enforcers don’t get them, there are always the good people who will not sit back and bring them to justice.

    To direct energy to that, Sadie, would be so much more effective then to waste all this time to call for a boycott of a country (Aruba or another) that has less (the statistics) or even the same (common sense) crime rate. That would contribute really to the safety of that young woman.

    Greetings,

    Patrick

23. April 16th, 2008 at 6:21 am

    ldstlou said:
    

    Patrick,
    You never responded to my personal e-mail…Why? Would you mind responding now?

    Patrick,
    It was a pleasure to receive an e-mail from you, I had no idea you were on this e-mail list. I have nothing but respect for what you have done for Beth and Natalee. It must have been very difficult for you, dealing with Joran for all those months, but very rewarding to you in the end. I am so glad I had the opportunity to hear from you, and to respond to you.

    I have had the pleasure of getting to know some members of Natalee’s family and they have nothing but great things to say about the local Arubans, I am sure they are absolutely wonderful people. Everyone on this email has their own opinion, including yourself. I just want to take a moment and express my opinions on the matter and hope you will respect my view as I respect yours. I have a 7 year old son. He is the light of my life!! I don’t know if I could survive if something happened to him. I know if he died as Natalee did, I would find away to make it through until I could find Justice for him and bring him home for a proper burial, just as Beth is doing. I would owe him that. As a parent I am sure you can understand that. I lead the protest here in St Louis a few weeks ago. Our message was simple, no Justice for Natalee, no Tourists for Aruba. Although I have no ill feelings towards the people of Aruba, how could I, I have never met them, I do however believe strongly that if you are going to invite people to your home, you must insure their safety, I have absolutely no confidence what so ever, that the police and officials of Aruba have our safety and best interests in mind. None Patrick. My lack of confidence does not come from hatred, nor prejudice, it comes from experience, it comes from watching this case from day one. It comes from seeing the reality of how Beth and her family were treated, how Dave Holloway was treated, and how Aruban officials made a choice when Natalee disappeared, and that choice was that American tourism dollars were more important than sending Natalee home.
    Now as a mother, I teach my son, the choices that you make have consequences. Aruban officials and their Tourism Associations made a choice, they decided it was more important to keep their reputation as a “safe island” than to bring Natalee’s murderers to justice. Their choices have consequences, one of which is I , as well as many others, no longer feel Aruba is a safe place, nor an honorable place. There is absolutely no honor, nor pride in how Natalee was treated, nor in how her family and friends were treated. I believe in honor, I believe in respect. I think you do also Patrick, I think you have shown those qualities are important to you. I think you believe in liberty and justice therefore I hope you understand my reasons for protesting Aruba’s Tourists Associations coming to American seeking our hard earned dollars we save for our families to rest and enjoy our much earned vacations, without showing us the respect we deserve for choosing Aruba. Aruba lost my respect Patrick, as a result of their choices, they lost the respect of a lot of Americans. Until they earn our respect back, I will protest their attempts to draw us to their island for our family vacations.
    You are correct in saying crime happens everywhere. We have plenty here in St Louis!!! The difference Patrick is that here in St Louis, if a crime occurs, I have every confidence in the world that I can go to my police and local politicians and receive justice. The irony of Aruba billing itself as the safest island is, that in order to sell that notion, they can’t acknowledge that they have any crime. As a result of billing itself as the safest island, when they do have a crime, they have to cover it up…can you see the vicious cycle? And almost 3 years later, we don’t see anything has changed.
    So until Aruba takes responsibility for their crime, which as you said, happens everywhere. Until Aruba takes responsibility for what happened to Natalee. Until Aruba takes responsibility for the cover up of Natalee’s death. Until Aruba takes responsibility for what they put Beth and Dave and Jug and all of Natalee’s family through. Until they take responsibility for what they put members of Scared Monkeys through. Until Aruba takes responsibility for watching family and friends digging through mounds of garbage and sending them on wild goose chases to crack houses. Until Aruba takes responsibility for funding websites designed to counter our efforts to find Natalee. Until Aruban officials acknowledge that they spent millions on disinformation campaigns and campaigns to discredit and disgrace Natalee’s reputation and that of her family and friends who til this day, still mourn her and long for a proper burial. Until I know for sure, that the youth of Aruba have stopped looking at our daughters as “easy prey”; slip them a date rape drug, rape them and drop them off at their hotels just in time for them to catch their plane home.Until Aruba takes responsibility for their choices, I will be there at these protests with my message, No Justice for Natalee, No tourism for Aruba. I hope you can respect my opnion, as I have respected yours.
    Thank you,
    Lisa
    “ldstlou”

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    I get a lot of personal emails, which of course I cannot all answer, although I try at least to respond on a personal level to people with a personal problem. I looked everywhere for yours. I have tow email addresses I use. patrickvandereem@articulateonline.com and petercschouten@planet.nl for press and sometimes issues like the open letter of Vicki that I replied with an open letter. Discussion about the case of Natalee can be held here in the blog. I can’t have this discussion with hundreds of people on a personal level. Here you can find my thoughts, opinion and answers to questions. I think there is no reason to complain about my responses. It is not possible however to answer the same opinions and the same questions too many times. I have a business to attend to.

    Now you send your email to this blog, I pay attention to it. I hope with all my heart that never anything happens to your son. All the answers on you other statements are in this string. Experience is not one case, certainly the case of Natalee is A experience. Statistics show experiences. It is for sure that you and your son face more crime in St. Louis than on Aruba, buit even that is repeating myself.

    How do you know for sure now that the kind of rape you describe continuous to happen in Aruba? Use my blog to deal with such cases here if the exist, but don’t assume just like that things happen that do not take place.

    How do you know for sure that these rape cases do not happen in St. Louis and that there are less of them there then in Aruba or any other place in the world?
    I’m sure you don’t know. Otherwise you would not say it like this.

    I wish you and your son a very healthy crime-free life!

    Greetings,

    Patrick

24. April 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am

    observer said:
    

    Hi,

    Here is one of the several reports where Mos said Natalee’s Family and the American Media hurt the Investigation and thats why it failed. On another occasion he said they obstructed the Investigation!! I have seen Mos say it at least twice on Video and from the mouth of Beth when she met with Mos in Aruba. Of Course he wouldn’t answer any questions and Beth and Dave were interrogated for several hours about everything from dealings in Colombia to natalee using drugs..

    John Kelly
    On the Record w/ Greta
    December 4, 2007

    VAN SUSTEREN: Well, I sat with the prosecutor, and I actually thought he was a pretty smart guy until all this unfolded. But he told me that the reason the investigation had failed was because of two reasons.
    One is the family and bringing in the DA who happened to be there on the island at the time. And the other is the media. That’s why he said that this has failed.

    RESPONSE PATRICK

    Dear John,

    I don’t see the name of Hans Mos in this. Are you sure it was Hans Mos or another prosecutor?

25. April 16th, 2008 at 11:33 am

    Dennis Vaughan said:
    

    to patrick, you and peter can put your feet under my table anytime you want to. i applaude and am eternally grateful for what y’all have done to help natalee and her family. but i have to agree with lisa’s comments on the island of aruba as a whole. crime occurs everywhere in the world, but aruba’s business and govt. leaders have conspired to create a sense of security and sells that to the tourist, and absolutely refuses to prosecute crimes against tourists by blaming the victim. i see no reason to think they’re going to do anything different about the next person who “vanishes” from the island.
    dennisintn

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    If they ever give me a visa for the US I might take you up on that offer when I’m in the neighboorhood. Which other crimes against other tourists and do you know if this more crimes against 100,000 tourist than in another country, including of course yours? How come you see no reason? What kind of information do you have? Or is it just a speculation?

    Cheers,

    Patrick

26. April 16th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    katablog said:
    

    Re observer’s post about what John Kelly said. Yes, it was Hans Mos who was indeed the prosecutor in Dec. 2007. I also heard that statement by John Kelly (attorney for Beth) and it was Hans Mos to whom he referred.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    I will check it with Beth and Kelly and then reply to it.

27. April 16th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    ldstlou said:
    

    oh get real Patrick!!!
    I received an e-mail from you…your open letter…never asked for it, I don’t believe you were on the original e-mail list, but it ended up in my e-mail box never the less and I responded to it.

    What a cop out your above response is!!! I agreed there was crime everywhere, it is what a society does in response to crime that we are talking about. It is Aruba’s lack of response that causes us to protest.

    I am offended that you think it is ok to speak for Beth or anyone else. Before you do, I would suggest you read Beth’s book, read Dave Holloway’s book, read the history of the case, read the early forums on the various blogs that were covering Natalee’s dissappearance from day one.

    As to the pattern of American girl’s being date raped all you have to do is look at the discovery list of the Dr. Phil case, read joran’s book, or the Greta transcripts where joran says “it happened 20 times before”

    Want more proof? Go back and read the story in Diario of the poor little girl that was gang raped in the Aruban schools, video taped and shown amongst the other students.

    As for using your blog as a place for discussion, I will stick to Scared Monkeys. There I can find 3 years worth of detailed, thorough, documented facts as to this case.

    You did a great thing Patrick, but you are not an authority on Natalee’s case nor do you understand what Beth’s plight has been or you never would have suggested we stop the protests and boycott, instead you would be encouraging the officials of Aruba to stand up like men and take responsibility for their actions.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Dear Lisa,

    It seems that when you do not agree with certain scared monkeys that you always “cop out” or “have to get real”. Of course the only “real point of view” is per definition your poi t of view. Well, then you can as well discuss with the mirror, Lisa. By the way, although it is incredible, that this is an issue I found out that I did send you an email. I asked in that email if you mind I post your blog because it was send to one of my personal emails and had some personal facts. Quite polite I would say, but of course also that cannot please certain people. The email of my spokesman (all messages are forwarded to me) was on the email list, it’s clearly there. Is this the level of investigation you follow before you make wild statements?

    I have never spoken for Beth, who I by the way meet regularly and me as well as my spokesman have quite intense contact with her. I would say that one of the amazing things is that al lot of scared monkeys take extreme liberties to speak for Beth. Not only did I read Beth’s book, I also had to be together with her in a television interview about this book. I understand Beth’s plight very well, more first hand than any of you. What a silly thing to say. And I feel extremely qualified to speak about Natalee’s case, Lisa.

    People get gang raped in the US too, a lot more than in Aruba also as a percentage. By the way where is the evidence of all these gang rapes in Aruba the last three years and since when is Joran a crime fighter or statistician? Dr. Phil knows very well how many gang and date rapes take place in the US every day. I don’t take pleasure in pointing all the time to the high crime level in the US, but why are you denying it? Are you trying to tell me suddenly that all these awful crimes happening on your own soil are made up?

    Kind regards,

    Patrick

28. April 16th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

    Soph said:
    

    Hi Patrick,

    Maybe this is the conflict between you and some posters, if I am understanding everyone correctly:

    Patrick’s position - Yes, things did not appear to be handled well at the beginning and at least in part to try to achieve some measure of justice for Natalee and her family, Patrick gave up several months of his life and put himself in a position that horrified and disgusted him, listening to Joran, at times wanting to throw Joran out of the car or jump out himself, he was so appalled. Patrick brought to light Joran’s involvement to the best of his ability and there are a lot of hours of the tape that haven’t been made public that may have other information useful to law enforcement. Patrick made pubic his opinion that the boycott does not hurt those responsible for the harm to Natalee and her family but instead hits lower income Arubans that have no knowledge or involvement in the crime(s). Patrick asks for those that appreciate his efforts to no longer support a boycott. He doesn’t say he doesn’t respect anyone’s opinion. To the contrary, he says the boycott helped to motivate him to take the actions he took but now that it is done, maybe take another look at the situation. Patrick, to my reading, seems to indicate as a bottom line, ‘Let’s move forward from here.’

    Summary of some posters’ position — In Joran’s book, I have heard, he quotes Jan van der Stratten describing himself as a close friend of Joran’s father and yet he was in charge of the investigation. Some believe he is Joran’s godfather. Over and over again it appeared friends and relatives of suspects hindered the investigation, such as with changing the search warrant at the VDS home on the day it was served, much to the dismay of those investigating. Although most appear to be appreciative of Patrick’s efforts, it does not resolve the appearance of impropriety, if not actual corruption and malfeasance. Having experienced so much disappointment and again, at least the appearaince of impropriety, many posters are ‘once bitten; twice shy’ and are therefore quick to assume it’s more of the same experienced by the family and the public for nearly three years. These posters’ position, to my reading is, “We won’t move forward until the past has been resolved and at least some (more)answers given.”

    My opinion: Crime statistics from Aruba, whether accurate or not, seem to me to be a red herring and distraction from the real issue here. Patrick is asking to move forward and many will not do so until there is justice for Natalee or at least until Natalee is brought home. In my opinion, this is a very simple issue that doesn’t need to be complicated and the attacks are totally unfair. Agree to disagree about the boycott and move forward in your own ways. Nothing is served by insulting or attacking each other or the crime statistics of any country when what we’re really talking about is one case. I have never seen Patrick defend Joran or have a kind word for him or his actions. On that point, it seems the posters and Patrick are in full agreement. Beyond that, it does not seem productive to alienate each other or blame anyone other than those responsible for the crime(s) committed. Patrick and Peter haven’t stopped working on this case yet, is my understanding. Is it the goal of some posters to cause them to stop? Anger and frustration should be aimed at those responsible for any crime and cover-up, not those trying to expose the criminal(s).

    Started out to be my two cents; ended up being more like $20 and change, sorry. But these attacks on the person who has done the most so far to bring justice really bother me.

    RESPONSE OF PATRICK

    Dear Soph,

    If only the government leaders, authorities and law enforcement officers of Aruba would have written so well and intelligent as you do, all the shit would have never happened except of course what poor Natalee had to go through. And I’m not saying this because of your kind words (although it would be hypocrite to deny that praise does not make a person happy!), but because of the insight and redemption quality of your writing. It is worthy of a leader.

    Let there never be a misunderstanding how much I loathed Joran while I had to be his friend for this long, long period of time. In the 20 days or so I was locked up with her to create the story of my book, I once had a long chat with my co-author Lizzy Byars about the Stockholm-syndrome (in the case of Patty Hearst that you will start to love your kidnappers). She wanted to figure out if there is something like a Patrick-syndrome, meaning that when you have to befriend yourself as infiltrator for a long time with a black-hearted person, there mut be moments that you feel endeared to that person or see some good sides, or maybe start to like certain aspects for him. The idea of such a Patrick-syndrome is of course intellectually very challenging. It was a smart thing to ponder about by Lizzy, but I never hesitated one second and always said the same: No, there was nothing likeable, nothing pleasant, nothing endearing. You will read all the details in my book, also at what expense it all came.

    I agree with most of what you say, and soon I am also going to close this discussion and move on. Next week I will be on my holiday for 9 days, so then I will anyhow not be responding to blogs.

    I have never tried to insult anybody with the crime rates in the USA. God, I love that country. Let me give you a short paragraph from my book:

    “I still went back to Curaçao from time to time with my brother. We took the fifteen minute flight to see my grandparents. It was fun visiting them, but even better after they moved to Miami. My brother and I made the trip several times and that’s where my love affair with American culture started. My fondness for fruit loops cereal has been past down to my own kids. Everything amazed me from the television shows to the grocery stores. We even got to go to Disney World. What kid would not fall in love with a place where you can go to Disney World? I wanted to eat, sleep and drink the culture. There was just so much to experience, from a grand slam breakfast at Denny’s to watching an episode of the A-Team. I fell hard for it.”

    But when I put the high crime rates in your own country in my responses, I had a certain objective (you almost beautifully summarize it as “Let’s move forward”.) I’m not a Christian. But I’m sure they are taught: when you want to critizise the fault in others, than start first with your own faults. The energy of all these people, clearly very motivated and inspired, would be so much more effective if they are going to fight crime in their own neighborhoods, cities and country. Then I will do it in my neighborhood, city and country and I did, not with words but with action. I do not have to prove anything about that to anybody anymore. And when I have a chance to help again I will not turn my back. As an ex-criminal and convict I realize that me “fighting crime” might make people laugh, but I will always keep my eye on possibilities to help victims to redeem myself. If you could read my Dutch blog you would have noticed.

    Have a wonderful day, and please run for office, you write as inspiring as Obama.

    Greetings,

    Patrick

29. April 16th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    ... said:
    

    Whats going on is troubling me,
    will there be a new century
    lookin at the world today…

    Babies having babies
    brothas killing brothas
    where were living

    Mothers have no say..
    Children walking away, walking astray
    Street life is what they portray
    Do as they please
    Whether its good or bad,bad or good
    Commiting crime with ease
    Young men selling on the street

    TAKE ONE STEP AT A TIME
    KEEPING LOVE IN YOUR LIFES

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Nice !!!!!!!

30. April 16th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    Bas said:
    

    Hi Patrick,

    could you ask Beth to give her views on the boycott to someone at SM? At least they can hear then what she thinks / feels about it…even though ‘THEY’ the people think for themselves

    Thanks for everything you’ve done, still do & will continue to do for Natalee and her loved ones.

    Hope you have a great holiday!

    Cheers,
    Bas

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    I’m hesitant to do that, Bas. Beth told me many times that she found peace now, that a new period in her life can start. I think she deserves that. I have emailed her about the question on Hans Mos, because I am quite happy with him handling the case. He has shown very good action after Peter R. de Vries showed him the tapes, in all my hearings as witness at the Aruban police office and when I send some new information. So it surprised me a little bit. Because that item about Hans Mos was just a factual thing, I choose to email her, but honestly, what I know of beth she does not want to get involved again on an endless discussion. Well, she knows of course I have my website. And she also reads my book before it is printed.

31. April 16th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    ldstlou said:
    

    Beautiful post Sof. Absolutely wonderful. I think the most important part of your post to me, is that it shows you have listened to both sides and understand, you may not agree, but you have listened and understood each position. Patrick is also right on it when he says the officials of Aruba would not be having problems with tourists if they had done the same.

    Patrick, you listened to the story and absoluetly you responded, you did something about it. That is commendable. It is beyond commendable because you have opened new doors for Beth to get answers and receive justice. I never denied you that. I spoke of your good works in my post to you and I spoke of your good works at my protest here in St Louis.

    My point is simply, Aruba needs to do the same, and they have done nothing to show me they have.

    One more point, it is comments like the following “The energy of all these people, clearly very motivated and inspired, would be so much more effective if they are going to fight crime in their own neighborhoods, cities and country.” that put me on the defensive. Please don’t assume Patrick that the people involved in the boycott and protests do not do anything to fight crime in their own neighbrhoods, if anything, you should assume the opposite. I am very involved in many issues in my neighborhood and in my community. I think most of the people who are involved in the boycott are activists by nature, just as you are. Please don’t assume we are hypocrites. I am no hypocrite and fighting for justice for Natalee is not my only fight, but it is one that is very near and dear to me, and one I will never give up until I see changes and until I see justice for Natalee.

    RESPONSE OF PATRICK

    Your comment that Aruba has done nothing is baseless. Lots of things happened. But their is a block to pick-up the good things. For instance all the hotels have scripts nowadays what to do if a guest goes missing. I spoke with one of them, a former American police chief, and he had things well in order. The last three year there has not been a single case of date raping tourists or any dissapearances. Hans Mos and his team are working very hard after the confessions. I saw it with my own eyes. Also the police has in general new scripts if ever a case like this would happen again.

    I didn’t say you did not do anything or even enough for your community. I meant to say that all the energy going into boycotting Aruba could be EXTRA energy to fight crime AND miscarriages of justice in your own country. Your own faults first… especially now after all these years.

    Anyhow I wish you the best.

    Greetings, Patrick

    My remarkt about “

32. April 16th, 2008 at 9:10 pm

    Bas said:
    

    Hi Patrick,

    thank you for your response. And of course I can understand if Beth just wants to focus on healing after finding some kind of closure. She probably wants to give the rest of her energy to the ongoing case / ALE and the civil case in Holland & not be to consumed by all the stuff that goes on besides that.

    I just asked since it seems a hot topic and maybe some would feel differently when they would hear wat Beth has to say about it. I’m really against a boycott…I know people that lost their business on Aruba; so the request was a bit selfish But I think you understand.

    I think the Hans Mos quote was taken a bit out of context. Recently the ALE also requested in a press release the media to back off a bit….when there is so much press attention…I could understand it would make investigating a bit difficult. Sometimes it needs to be done in secret to get answers…as you know ;-).

    And probably the family has made mistakes…their daughter is missing; who would find it strange people will do just about anything to get her back / to get answers? And when you read Beths’ book it clearly states they did what the ALE asked them to do for a very long time…maybe there’s more that’s happened…well hey…what would you do if your daughter went missing? Maybe not all of their actions were helpful to the police….but who could blame them?

    Again thanks for your response. All the best to you & your loved ones; no matter what other people might think I believe you’ve become a true example of one fine human being!

    Bas

33. April 17th, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Scarlet said:
    

    Dear Patrick:

    I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to you for exposing Joran to the world. You are my hero as Mr. DeVries is for caring about Natalee and her family. I do believe that you brought peace to Beth. She is one special lady that has endured what most of the parents in the world fear most, losing a child. Dave Holloway is the father that also loved his child so much. I admire him for all he stands for.

    It makes me sad to hear your opinion that Natalee will never be found. Natalee is everyone’s child. She seemed to almost everything in her life right. She did not deserve to be discarded in the ocean like a piece of trash or to be fed to the fish.

    I am a mother of a daughter and a son both close to Natalee’s age. I cannot imagine the pain these families have endured.

    Do you think Joran will ever be brought to trial for what he has admitted to in the disapperance of Natalee? Will there ever be closure in your opinion for the many that hope justice will finally be served for Natalee?

    I do understand if you cannot give an opinion on my questions. I will always think of you with respect and wish for all the good things in life for you and your family.

    Best Regards Always,
    Scarlett

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    When Joran is brought to trial for disposing a body only, the maximum sentence under Dutch (thus Aruban) law is 6 months. It hardly ever happens that judges give the maximum sentence, but I can imagine that in this case they would go for it. But hell, 2 months or 6 months, makes little difference and for a guy like Joran, you will read in my book why, a short sentence in jail would be even dangerous, kind of a academy for him. The prosecutor is working hard to try to charge for murder or at least manslaughter. The first is not easy to proof, but possible, the second carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years, a judge might sentence 9 and standard that means 6 years in jail. On the basis of his confessions he made to me I believe the evidence is there, but of course there needs to be supporting evidence, because one piece of evidence is no evidence under Dutch law. O.J. Simpson got away with murder and then ran into a civil verdict. Joran faces the same mess in his life when Beth’s civil suit is succesful.

34. April 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    A New Girl said:
    

    Since DNA doesn’t lie…the majority of Americans realize OJ was a murderer and it was a complete mockery of our Justice system! Since 2005, Arubans have publicly displayed the complete mockery of their own legal system with allowing Joran Van Der Sloot to go unprosecuted and releasing him, his Father Paulus and the Kalpoe Brothers from prison.

    As you pointed out earlier…many injustices have been done and just like OJ’s life here in the States ended up in the crapper….common sense would tell you that Joran’s will be the same here and abroad. We are in agreement with you at least on that part, and his life does deserve to be left in ruins after all the pain and harm he has inflicted on innocent people.

    Let’s hope this civil trial is the beginning of his nightmare, which thanks in part to the admissions you got from him on tape, literally began several months ago.

    J4N and Peace to all involved (except for the perpretrators of this crime!)

35. April 18th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    katablog said:
    

    selectively posting those posts that you choose to post - is that the freedom of speech you talk about Patrick?

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    In the last six or so posts I got from you, you are just repeating yourself.

36. April 18th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    wrong said:
    

    Joran will live a good life. he can pick and choose many EU countries. he will be fine. many EU countries never even heard his name.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Well, at least Holland, Belgium, Germany, UK, Poland, Austria are not the best ones for him. Let’s first see what happens next.

37. April 18th, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    Vicki said:
    

    Wrong, you have picked the correst name for yourself…hahahahahahaha never has anyone been so WRONG…he will live a hellish life,paying for his sins againt God…than when he really dies and the demons come and get him he will know that he sinned. God does not like UGLY and he will get his. Thats when true justice will happen…but it will also happen to his prents for their involvement and his friends and his brothers and the EVIL ppl who have kept this UGLY secret for so long…Crawl back under that ROCK you just came out of and take MARIA with you.

    RESPONSE PATRICK

    I think you should go to the same psychiatric clinic as Joran. You have a brilliant cover there to get some more story from him.

38. April 18th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    Justice for Natalee Holloway said:
    

    Patrick, Like so many posters from Aruba you are very quick to point out that the US has crime. You are absolutely correct, Patrick, the US has a lot of crime, but this is not about the US. It’s about Aruba. This is a diversion tactic that you and your fellow Arubans put forth in an attempt to change the focus from the Natalee crime to general crime in the US. It simply isn’t about us this time, it’s all about Aruba. Aruba is responsible for the corruption and the coverup that followed the horrific disappearance of a promising young American woman who chose to celebrate a significant event in her life on your island. The way in which her disappearance has been handled is deplorable. After three years, we continue to learn of the depth of the corruption and coverup. It would most assuredly be a valuable learning experience for you to read the many hours of research and documentation of corruption and a coverup that exists at the scared monkey site. I am confident though, that you are already aware of this and you have probably personally experienced much of what we have put forth about corruption and coverups.
    Contrary to the implications that you have made, we are not ignorant enough to believe that we hold every man. woman, and child on Happy Island directly responsible for the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. It’s insulting that you would even suggest this. We do know that those who are directly responsible have been protected. We have no way to break through this web of protection with only our voices and requests. Our boycott of Aruba is intended to force the citizens of Aruba to demand what they already know should be the right actions from their government. Three years of pleas for justice have been to no avail. Perhaps by affecting the personal bank accounts of the Aruban citizens, we will finally see the culmination of our demands for justice. The Aruban people have certainly been quite vocal of late in demanding salary and overtime increases. Perhaps they will eventually also demand justice and right actions. Our basic requests are not at all outrageous. We are asking for honor and truth. These are two human rights that should be afforded to everyone on your island whether they are Aurban or foreign tourists.
    We are appreciative of your efforts to expose Joran van der Sloot. We were supportive of you when you met with resistance on your recent trip to Aruba. You have most certainly been effective in keeping this crime and Joran, himself, in the media. We celebrate that your actions have most assuredly brought a great deal of stress and discomfort to the perpetrators. We also accept that as an Aruban it is most likely painful for you to witness any financial loss to your island. However, you must also be cognizant of the fact that we did not create the Natalee Holloway incident. Aruban/Dutch people created this problem and it is Aruba who must step forward with the correct resolution. Until this happens, we will continue to boycott your Happy Island for what was done to Natalee Holloway, for what was done to her parents, and for what has been done to other American tourists who have ventured onto your island.
    We want justice, Patrick, and we will not stop until it is delivered by the government and people of Aruba. We will continue to boycott your island and I have no doubt that you would do the same if this had happened to a Dutch or Aruban girl on the streets of the US. Your pompous statements will only serve to fuel our anger and our resolve. I am sincerely disappointed to learn that you have known the van der Sloots for seven years, lived across the street from the Kalpoes, and staged the entire video with your friend Joran. You should be ashamed of yourself. I, for one, will not be purchasing your volume of fiction and I have no intention of stopping my boycott of Aruba.

    RESPONSE PATRICK

    Dear Mr or Mrs. Smith

    I don’t see any new point of view in this that has not already been discussed. But you had not posted yet, so I give you some space. I notice again that you are also one of these scared monkeys who have consipracy on the top of their minds. It is not a diversion tactic and I don’t have fellow Arubans I even spoke with this about. Of course it is important to realize that a kid - just as example - lives in a far more dangerous world in the USA as far as crime goes, than in France, or Germany… or Aruba. In the sense of a call for a boycott that says all. Cover-ups, corruption and bad actions of dirty authorities also happen in the States. Let me say it very simple, if Natalee would have been black for instance the media would have not paid that much - if any - attention. Also that happens in your own country many times. Focus on your own faults, I have already focused on the one that happened 3 years ago in Aruba and I’m still working on it.

    For the rest, see Soph, she all summed it up correctly.

    Greetings,

    Patrick

39. April 18th, 2008 at 10:53 pm

    Jorik said:
    

    Dear Vicki,

    if God doesn’t like ugly; God probably won’t like you either….ever thought of that? Hating someone & wanting innocent people to suffer is not something to be proud of…you think God will give you an A+ for that kind of attitude?

    Though I don’t know why I will submitting this comment….It won’t reach you I think….I’ll just reserve a seat under the rock next to Patrick & Maria…to save you the trouble to reply

    Patrick; thanks for all you’ve done & I’m looking forward to your book! Enjoy your holiday & all the best.

    Jorik

40. April 19th, 2008 at 12:30 am

    Jorik said:
    

    Hi Patrick,

    I just noticed Justice for Natlee claims you’ve known the van der Sloots for 7 years and lived near the Kalpoes….and you didn’t respond to that…is that true? I doubt it but since you didn’t comment on it at all…..a bit weird.

    Greetings,
    Jorik

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Total nonsense. Probably coming from this Casto tape. Funny how they believe that stuff, coz he is known as one of their biggest enemies if they really would care for Natalee. I start to doubt more and more the other information these people spread around. As far as the Kalpoe brothers go, they must have been in their nappies when I left Aruba.

41. April 19th, 2008 at 12:36 am

    bastibro said:
    

    Hey Patrick,
    I think you did great works for the Natalee case but have one doubt..

    How long do you know the van der Sloots?
    There`s a lot of speculations about you knowing them for 7 years.
    What`s youre reaction to that?

    May God Bless U,
    Bas

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    All the BS from the Castro canard has been mentioned on my site already. People who say this are all conspiracy freaks! Not even worth the trouble.

42. April 19th, 2008 at 2:59 am

    jason said:
    

    American, Dutch and Aruban people all stand united in hope for justice for Miss Holloway. It is a very sad story much like many other sad stories but people do not believe the crazy conspiracy theories from the scared monkeys blogsite Americans are not boycotting Aruba at all. Those few people from that blogsite have never even heard of Aruba before or never going to go anyway so they say they boycott. American citizens know Aruba is a safe place and everywhere is crime, government of Aruba did not cover up Miss Holloway’s case. The case will be solved and joran will be punished as soon as they find all of the evidence they need to make sure he is convicted for good, anyone educated knows that it takes time sometimes a very long time for justice to be served.
    Patrick, you cannot reason with facts or logic with people like vicki and any of others from the blogsite scared monkeys. Do not base your views of American citizens on people like those, they are just a very few xenophobes and very racist. They always take very small bit of information about Miss Holloway’s case and about any news from Aruba and twist it and then blow it all up out of proportion and make it a conspiracy or twist it up just to trash the country of Aruba. If you were to ask them they would not even know about all of the crime in the United States because they do not educate themselves about it, only the few cases that they hear about on television. They only pay attention to news about Aruba not news about United States their own country. So they stay uneducated and say crime in United States gets solved and criminals pay for their crimes and nothing happens in America only in Aruba, but educated American citizens are aware that it is untrue. Anyone who is educated knows that the United States has rampant crime and so many never get solved also too many other problems such as many citizens living in poverty without any healthcare and our government doesn’t help them. Educated American citizens also know that there is also much police corruption in many of our police departments and so much corruption among politicians in our federal government. they do not acknowledge or care about that.
    There will be justice for Miss Holloway but justice must never be be rushed or cannot be demanded.
    Please you need to take care now Patrick, you are their enemy because you oppose their hate. They can never see themselves for the racist and hypocrisy in what they say and do so they attack. They stalk you now, they make threats and the blogsite administration approves threats. You can take care of yourself but protect your wife and children and rest of family. Some there have already said you will pay and you will be taken care of. They are searching for everything about you and your family.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Hi Jason,

    I agree with many tings you say, but I never believe reason with facts and logic is wasted. The blogsite also has intelligent people like soph and many other. I don’t know if there are more crazy or more sensible ones. And sometimes it is good also to show the world how these people think and write. Not much comment is necessary then, they just expose themselves. Every post is the voice of 1,000 people. So, how scary is this Vicki for instance, who even has the idiot idea that when I point out the injustice done to black people calls me a racist. Posts like this show well how little sense these people has and that puts all their other little conspiracy theories and the so-called facts that they take for true.

    One thing I overlooked from the beginning though. I actually, yes it is silly of me, never realized that the name scared monkeys, is meant to be racist. When I first saw it and their logo I thought it was creative. Only later I realized that they probably refer to how they see people in Aruba. Does anybody knows how they got that name? Now I think it is a little ironic. Coz all these isolationalist who are scared of the big bad world outside the USA, well, do I have to say more. Or was it really meant like irony and do they mean themselves. How is it? I hate racism.

    Of course I do not believe “the government” of Aruba or “the autorities of Aruba” organized a cover-up. The only thing I can say is that some of them did not react very sensitive and said things which hurt Beth and Dave and all people in the world who are shocked when a young girl’s life ends like this. About a cover-up of the people who have a direct interest in the case, or when it is about spreading manipulative information, like Castro duid about the case and about me, well, there I can imagine people are unhappy. But that is the action of those people.

    Oh, and Jason, I’m not afraid of anybody, so don’t worry. I can take care of myself.

    Greetings,

    Patrick

43. April 19th, 2008 at 4:27 am

    Justice for Natalee Holloway said:
    

    Boycott = a group’s NONVIOLENT refusal to have commerical dealings with an organization in protest against its policies.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    A boycott is a violent instrument, which hurts the little people most, actually the people who are always the biggest victims of crime. The only non-violent protest against crime takes place in a court-of-law or in democratic institutions (with all their failings). However a focused boycott can be a good instrument, for instance against a company that makes products through child labor. Of course that also hurts the little people working in that company and that is why such a boycott should only be called for when the evidence is based on pure facts and not consipracy theories, judged by people who are trained to do so.

44. April 19th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    ldstlou said:
    

    Patrick,
    Did you know that it was Natalee’s family and the politicians of her home state that initially asked for a boycott? I don’t believe the boycott began as a result of conspiracy theories, it began when the family hit a brick wall in the investigation and cooperation by the authorites in Aruba. It began to put pressure on Aruba and it continues to put pressure on Aruba to provide Justice for Natalee.
    Natalee still has not received justice Patrick. Jorans taped recordings brought a lot to light…but there still has not been any justice received for Natalee.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    I know it was Govner Bob Riley and Beth. That was the past. Please read my posts. Interesting idea… to boycott people because Joran might be too tough to crack by the authorities. You need evidence to throw people in jail. We have his confession on tape, a good basis.

45. April 20th, 2008 at 12:38 am

    ldstlou said:
    

    Patrick…I have been defensive to your comments, but it is because in my heart I believe there was a cover up of joran’s crimes for the sake of tourism, I believe that with all of my heart and soul. It was confirmed to me when Jug Twitty and Beth said within days the authorities were asking them if Natalee had a history of seizures or epilepsy. I am not going to change your mind and you are not going to change mine so shall we agree to disagree?

    However, my defensiveness and explanations as to why I continue my protests are separate from how I feel about what you did for Natalee, Beth and the case. As I have said repeatedly…without your work, the case would probably be dead. Great job and looking forward to reading your book.
    Now the world truely knows who joran REALLY is thanks to you!!!

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Okay, let’s agree to disagree.

    I’m very sensitive in the area of “I believe with all of my heart and soul”. I’m not a very learned person, but I do know this. I went on the wrong path when I was 15 and started to pick-up my life after my first jail sentence when I was 20. Since then of course there are still people “who believe with all of their heart and soul” that I must still be involved in crimes. I never started to dress like a lawyer or a business man and I did not suddenly started to talk defty. I am not a good writer, but I can hire one. I’m not a cool media person, but I can hire one. LOL. One of the reasons that I’m not making all that money people think I make. Writing is a skill, thinking is a skill, but knowing is the real brain. Not believing. Dear, if we judge all that we don’t know because we ‘believe it with heart and soul”, almost the whole world would be bashing each others brains in again. Because we are all… scared monkeys in heart and soul.

    I posted on this website the story of a woman who got a life sentence because Holland believed she was the biggest serial killer this country has ever seen. Se spend more than 2000 days in jail. All the stories spread about her made people ‘believe with all their heart and soul”, even learned judges, that she must have done it. Especially because her life was… different. Because she was condemned for being a prostitute when she was 17.

    When I told the people in Holland just after the Natalee broadcast that I served a jail sentence because I started dealing heroine at the age of 15, the press was so dissapointed that they could not discover this themselves, that they started to make-up stories of things that I did in my past - funny enough one by one less serious that the truth that I had already revealed - and said Patrick is lying about his past!!! Although it was probably to sell more copies, these journalists and the readers “believed with heart and soul”, yeah, that must be who he is.

    Finding the truth is very difficult with people like Joran and everybody who helped him. I don’t “know” if the there was a organized cover-up for the sake of tourism. I do know that it is not very smart to believe that. You know why? Because Joran is not important enough for that. He is not even Aruban. His father was not even a judge, he was a judge-in-training (a six year course). That might give him a network, that might be old-boys-circuit stuff, but it is not enough for a government conspiracy for tourism. I tell you what, if there would have been such a thing, it would have been so much more easier to try to frame Joran for a long sentence without enough evidence. What would the government care about Joran? Joran was 17 when he let somebody dump het body at sea. Under youth crime rules that’s a few years of jail. Case closed.

    There are so many little facts that throw people off. Take this one. Prime Minister Oduber says “with heart and soul” that Joran is “persona non grata” in Aruba. Applaud, applaud we all say. But can Oduber do anything about it when Joran would show his face tomorrow in Aruba? (I do not advise him to do so by the way, because his welcome will not be sweet). Can Oduber do that? There is a constitution in the Kingdom of the Netherlands which grants people the right to travel free. This constitution is not a conspiracy. It’s there to prevent that governments start to restrain people in their freedom because they would “believe with heart and soul” that they are wrong. So, when Joran shows up tomorrow in Aruba, all you people will say with “heart and soul”, see thee is a conspiracy.

    “Heart and soul” must be used for love, dear. Not for knowing. Convictions and sentencing bad people, and bad governments must be based on knowing. What I do know is that the Aruba government did not show much speaking, writing and thinking skills. They should have hired beter spokesmen!

    With love,

    Patrick

46. April 20th, 2008 at 12:57 am

    bastibro said:
    

    Patrick,
    You met Joran in a casino in holland.
    Was that the first time you talk to him?

    I ask this to disempower the conspirecy theory`s that many have now!

    Be blessed and have a nice holliday

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Yes

47. April 20th, 2008 at 10:24 am

    Cece said:
    

    Hallo Patrick

    Heb ff haast dus geen tijd om in het Engels commentaar te geven.
    Vind je steeds beter worden in commentaar geven aan de Amerikaantjes die af en toe toch een beetje wereldvreemd zijn.
    Ik moet lachen als ik je foto zie volgens mij ben je écht een Tropenkind.
    Wanneer schrijf je je volgende stuk of is er geen nieuws te melden?
    Ik vind dat het zo stil blijft over de zaak maar waarschijnlijk is dat omdat er achter de schermen (hoop ik) keihard gewerkt wordt om bewijs te leveren.
    O ja, vergeet ik zowat , vooral die ene zin van je over als het een zwart meisje was geweest dat er dan nooit zoveel ophef over geweest zou zijn.
    Prima reactie.
    Jammer dat dat de werkelijkheid is in zo’n mooi land als Amerika. Maar wereldvreemd blijven ze dat zeg ik ook vaak tegen mijn zoon die momenteel in Amerika verblijft.
    Patrick wat ik ook mooi vind is dat je mensen persoonlijk van raad voorziet. Zo zie je maar weer wat er allemaal voor positiefs uit je undercoveroperatie is ontstaan.
    Ik hoop dat er snel duidelijkheid en gerechtigheid komt voor alle betrokkenen!!!
    Ajo Patrick.

    RESPONSE PATRICK

    Beste Cece,

    Natuurlijk ben ik echt een tropenkind, ik ben daar geboren en heb er gewoond tot mijn 13e.

    Er wordt keihard gewerkt.

    Dank je voor je lieve woorden,

    Groeten,

    Patrick

48. April 20th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    interested said:
    

    Scared monkeys blog was started in February 2005, before Natalee Holloway. The logo represents the need for individual activism (not closing your eyes, ears and mouth to problems). It was created before Aruba. There is a whole missing persons sections where families (even black, yellow and red ones), volunteers and concerned people, post.

    You have done the blog owners a disservice.

    PS I believe it was Rudy Croes (not Oduber) that made the comments you quote. He would be the Minister of “Justice”.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    God txs, no racism in that name thus. Why was it named scared monkeys. I like to get the joke.

    What disservice?

    The quote is not from me, but from one of the scared monkeys posts. Kind of funny though in my “heart and soul” post of this morning. In deep voice: “Let’s get that guy coz he said something terrible.” Then later “Oh, sorry, we have the wrong one.”

    P.S. If you refer to the quote that Joran is a persona non grata in Aruba, then I can assure you Oduber said that, maybe Croes also, maybe the whole government thinks it. That would be quite logical with all the hassle he gave them.

49. April 20th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

    bastibro said:
    

    Thanx Patrick!

    We love you in Amsterdam

50. April 22nd, 2008 at 3:34 am

    benh said:
    

    Just what i thought you are a agent of the goverment,all of your responses or to sanatized.You speak like some one trained to distort reality.

    PATRICK’S RESPONSE

    Make sure to check under the bed every morning, Ben. They are doing terrible things in your house…

51. April 22nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    Dolores said:
    

    hey Patrick,

    Den mi opinion bo no mester propaganda e website di scaredmonkeys riba bo site(por ejempel na links). Tampoco no kibra bo cabes cu nan. Hopi di e hendenan aki ta full of hate, y tin di nan cu ta mas loko cu Mr. Joran himself. For di un principio nan a scirbi hopi cos mahos y sin base riba nan site di nos dushi Aruba. Mi ta compronde cu bo ta hasiendo bo best pa juda duna bon informashon y resolve e caso, pero scaredmonkeys si no ta forma parti di e solushon. IMHO

    Good luck y spera cu e caso di Natalee lo wordo resolve cu castigo pa e culpabel.

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