Elderly Cruise Ship Passengers Robbed
Three Woman Robbed Near Cruise Ship Dock
MS Astoria - February 24, 2008
It comes as no surprise to me, really, that three elderly women in their 70s were robbed within view of the cruise ship dock, one injured during the grab and run. I've been warning towns and cruise ship passengers that when cruise ships come to town, criminals will be moving into town to take the ship's tourist for everything they have. When the ship is not in port, the criminals will amuse themselves by preying on the locals. That is the price a town pays for making one-way pact with the devil.
The town of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea is no exception to the rule, unfortunately for three elderly women. Dave Newton a local citizen and business owner tells the story of three women he encountered immediately after they had been robbed.
Newton says he took an interest in the crowd gathering around the three elderly women of German descent, because they were in a bad part of town, a part of town within eye sight of the cruise ship docks, which he can see from his home.
He says he saw the ship come in that day, and assumed these women were from the ship.
Now, the reason he had concern for them as he drove by, and decided to turn around and go back, was because he had been robbed on the street the previous Friday, and a co-worker had been robbed on the sidewalk the Friday before that. He says his instincts told him these women were in "potential danger" when he saw them.
Newton turns around to assist the women, and discovers they are ages 76, 74 and 72. The eldest lady had her digital camera stolen, after she was knocked to the ground and had her wrist wrenched until she let go of the camera.
She says that it had all the photographs of the trip which included Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand. She indicated they could keep the camera, she just wanted the memory card. I don't know about her camera, but a memory card for my digicam can go a couple hundred bucks. No thief would be likely to part with it, just to be nice to an old lady he had wrestled to the ground.
The other two ladies had held tight to their cameras and the thug gave up, I guess the entire robbery taking too long, and he fled the scene without the other two cameras.
Now, I have nothing at all against Mr. Newton, I'm sure he is an honorable man, and had done the honorable thing. But, this is where the story turns really ugly for me. Mr. Newton on the scene now, offers to take the three women to "his place" where he can assist them with contacting police and filing a theft report. That is the biggest red flag of this case.
As a young child I learned to never get into a car with a stranger. These women are far from young, and way too trusting, given the circumstances. I guess in their home town back in Germany, people are likely good, honest, neighborly people you can trust.
It is important that when you go on a cruise, you remember that you are not in Kansas any more and Auntie Em is not going to kiss your boo-boos and make them go away when you fall down. Danger potentially lurks around every corner, and you have to be diligent if you want to come home with those great travel stories, and the photographs to illustrate it.
Having already been mugged in town, in broad daylight, these three women, with over 200 years of lifetime experience combined, thought it would be alright to get into a car with a stranger instead of asking somebody to call police and send them to the scene.
While getting mugged on the street is not lucky at all, getting into that car with Mr. Newton, was indeed lucky, considering they could have jumped from the fire to the pan, never to be seen alive again.
Newton says that he advised the women that it was unsafe to walk around Ela Beach or the town area, both of these having been crime areas involving tourists over the past few years.
I bet you that was not in the cruise line brochure. A known crime area, and the ship pulls right in, lets passengers off, with valuable electronics dangling from their arms.
Still, the ever nice guy, Newton decided to see if he could appeal to the thug or anyone with information to return the memory card with photographs of this cruise ship passenger's last trip of her lifetime by posting a letter online appealing for the return of the memory card. Kudos to Mr. Newton. There are still a few truely nice guys left in the world.
While it shows not everyone in town is bad, his tale of robberies and indeed the warning to tourists, says this is a port-of-call to be avoided. Use the zoom lense on the camera and take photographs from the deck, ladies. You may not be as lucky as these three.
