Just Another Day
In Paradise In Costa Rica!
By John Holtz
Today the Costa Rica welcome mat is out for
medical companies, tech companies and
anything Chinese. A few years ago the same
mat was out for real estate developers, call
centers and a bit earlier for sports books
and retirees. A nice diversified platform of
industries to sustain our economy.
But, tourism, eco-tourism is the hen that
laid the golden egg and remains the largest
source of foreign income.
The macro question is can we long can we
sustain our favorable global image? And, I’m
not talking about pollution and being an
expensive place t o visit either.
We have one other industry where we should
not be so proud about how it has been
managed.
Costa Rica is well known for legalized
prostitution (1894) which lures thousands of
tourists each year, mostly North Americans.
However, the under belly of the sex industry
is human trafficking, under age sex and
out-and-out rape on every possible level
imaginable.
But we are a country, indeed a society
highly sexual and sensual by nature. And
that might not be so bad by itself. As
National Geographic once said many years
ago, “The national sport of Costa Rica is
making love.”
In a world inundated with war, hate and
violence, that statement rings nice, don’t
you think, “making love”?
Statistics suggest that legalized
prostitution does indeed cut down on rape
and ups the much needed condom sales sold in
every super market as well as pulperia in
this country. Very much available, no
questions asked.
The sad part, very sad part is the average
sex life of a Costa Rica female starts at
age 12 years old either forced or by
consent. Plus, rape victims have no age
limits in either direction and we rank right
up there with countries such as Thailand,
Mexico, Zambia, etc.
Now that sucks!
United Nations Human Rights Committee and
The Toronto Star wrote about us, “Meet
Stephanie, 12, and Ivette,13, sisters as
well as two members of a fast-growing Costa
Rican work force: child prostitutes. The
country that prides itself as Latin
America's most stable democracy and the
inventor of ecotourism is becoming the
hemisphere's best-known playground for
pedophiles.”
“Every night, as many as 2,000 underage
prostitutes walk the streets of San Jose or
cater to more affluent clients behind the
walls of stately homes converted into
brothels in the city's best neighborhoods,
according to an organization that deals with
the problem at an international level.”
How does one stop this trend? I have no idea
because the poor, especially young people,
cannot go to clubs, cannot watch cable at
home, no Internet and have nothing much more
to do on a weekend than grab a blanket, a
bottle of Cacique, find a field, have sex
and babies because we do not have community
youth centers nor a national mentoring
system. Some, more than some, prefer to sell
their young female bodies, mostly to feed
their families or because they have been
enslaved to do so.
On the other end of the spectrum the more
affluent have their clubs, theatre, etc. but
they also cannot be left off the hook of
being irresponsible and lacking respect as
money gets results here and buys what they
want, including justice.
Please, I am not passing off sex as a
terrible thing nor advocating to make it
illegal. I only argue that it be within the
law, with respect, with responsibility, and
absolutely not with children or by force.
The word “NO,” is so very undervalued in
Costa Rica and perhaps so many other places
in the world. But we live here, not there
wherever “there” might be, and this needs to
be the focus.
Especially lacking value is the feminine,
“No” which lacks validation by our society,
including many Costa Rican courts.
Take for example, April 1, 2010 a convicted
serial rapist of five women was ordered a
new trial only because he was informed of
his 79 year prison sentence by a CD instead
of in writing as required by law. Napoleonic
law ignores “spirit and intent” and lives by
the letter or perfection.
As in most cases, the female victim is
almost always described in court and in the
press as consenting, baiting, and a well
known slut, “who was just asking for it.”
Was she acting provocatively at the time of
rape? Was she inebriated, too alluring
perhaps? That’s hard to do or be in your 80s
albeit perhaps young eighties and still
walking with a swagger.
No matter how alluring, if the lady says
“No,” that really means, “No.” And as an
educated society we need to defend that word
with great honor and dignity!
Rape is a true violation of the mind, of the
body and of the spirit. We do not rape in
this country and if you do, you go to
prison. Or, then again maybe not?
A growing perception of Costa Rica is
this….With cat smiles, I interviewed two
members of the Los Angeles Police Department
in California who along with other cops from
the US booked a 120 person chartered sex
flight to Costa Rica. Their menu; females,
males, and for a little more money, they
were offered access to kids. Remember, these
are cops pledged to “protect and serve”.
(Sure!)
Our reputation as a sex destination country
certainly deters other forms of lucrative
tourism as well as foreign investments.
The point being, prostitution remains legal,
pimping does not and underage and forced
prostitution is more wrong than simply
wrong; no question. It is deplorable and it
is rape.
There is not enough room in this column or
newspaper to get into human trafficking.
However, in gross revenues human trafficking
ranks number two, right behind drug
trafficking and above global arms sales
which is number three. (UNESCO). There has
always been lots of money in poverty, human
misery and slavery.
When pressured, Costa Rica seems to come up
with nice words and clever posters featuring
a colorful Toucan plus a highly publicized
community backed social program to solve our
problems be it dengue or crime in the
streets.
However, in reality how many rapists and
pedophiles have been actually turned in by
the so-called cooperating taxi drivers,
hotels, bars, police and immigration
officers who in 2008 all assured their
complete cooperation? And how many of those
have been tried and gone to prison? Not
many, not
enough at all. “Ya gotta do more than talk
the talk!”
Those with the money and the wrong sense of
values, Costa Rica is just another day in
paradise.
John Holtz is the Executive Director of
theCenter for the Studies of Modern
Management
www.modernmanagement.org and can
be reached at:
[email protected]. |
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