ONCE AGAIN, the treatment of visitors to Barbados has been brought under the microscope by two different incidents which occurred recently.
One involved the attack on two females by a cutlass-wielding man along Black Rock Main Road, St Michael, in a robbery attempt.
Both visitors sustained injuries in the attack, just weeks after a male visitor was shot in a robbery attempt in St John.
The other incident occurred at Apes Hill Polo Club where a young boy was struck in the head by a ball while watching polo. The parents complained about a poor response by club officials when they tried to seek help for their son, who has cerebral palsy.
Online readers continue to be concerned about the rising crime on the island.
On the incident at Apes Hill, here is a sample of their views:
Tony Waterman: They are just a bunch of crybabies. Maybe since they knew that the kid had cerebral palsy and would not be able to protect himself in that type of environment, they should have found the safest spot for him to view the game.
Orson Arthur: The first thing the club should have done is get the boy to the hospital, and have his head looked at. It has nothing to do with what he has. The club has insurance and they are responsible for the people on their property.
Chris Wright: I’ll bet if it were one of the players an ambulance would have been on the scene, or the player rushed to a medical facility very soon after the incident. Shouldn’t the same be done for the child?
Sodi S: Disgusting. If everything happened as the parents said it did, it is irrelevant whether Apes Hill was responsible or not. They could have at least acted like they cared.
Pan Willie: It always appears to victims that action is not forthcoming or too slow in coming. There are two sides to a story, and we need to hear from the other side. We don’t know whether an ambulance/doctor/some help was immediately summoned . . . . We are not known to be so uncaring, especially in the face of such an accident.
On the robbery of two female tourists in Black Rock:
En Dee: We are paying a small fortune to market this beautiful little island to potential tourists and some . . . (and) continue to attack them when they get here. Can’t these idiots see what damage this type of behaviour can do to the good reputation that most people have worked hard to build?
Bim Bum: Assaults against visitors/tourists must be rewarded with immediate long-term jailing. Any assault against a visitor/tourist is an assault against the economy of the state and against every Barbadian citizen. It is a treasonable offence.
Lloyd Gulston: Crime is on the rise or will rise as situations become dire.
Sherrylyn A. Toppin is The Nation’s Online Editor.