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[QUOTE=Accompong;214335][B][FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=3]
The beach may be "public" but that doesn't give anyone the right to be a "vendor" there without the proper documentation and licensing.]
How does one know which vendor has the proper documentation and licensing?
Some of the street vendor areas are a bit unsightly, I agree. But I find the street vendors to be part of the Negril experience and would hate to see them disappear. If you want to clean up the boulevard get rid of that disgustingly stinking waste bin. Everyone knows the one I'm speaking of. I think it's near Time Square.
[QUOTE=BoyMackie;214358]When I am on vacation, I don't worry about how the Jamaican government enforces their laws so I buy or don't buy articles for sale based on anything by my needs. What if they don't have the proper documentation and licensing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Accompong
Not my problem but that still doesn't make them in the "right" to be a vendor without it. As time has gone on over the past three plus decades I have been going to Jamaica, I have seen positive but mostly incremental changes in regulating vendors and higglers. One thing is for sure. The government makes money of licensing these people so I believe it will continue to get better organized and enforced.
I work in the hospitality industry in So. Florida and sometimes despise the government requiring all those fees for licensing but it does keep unlicensed businesses from infringing on my business as well.
Again. Just my opinion.
I think if you do the experiment anywhere in the world of plonking down a bunch of "open" (unfenced) resorts for upscale travelers, in an area that is populated but poor, this is the inevitable result. I think it has nothing to do with Jamaican culture and everything to do with human nature.
I know that locals come to Negril from as far as the town I bought my house in (Petersfield, 45 min away) to sell to/beg from/scam the tourists. Jamaicans are squeezed for money. There is work but it pays almost nothing - 5000J/week is not an uncommon salary for unskilled labor. While meanwhile, if you go into any store you'll find dollar-store-quality merchandise selling for 4x what it costs in the US. Services e.g. electricity, internet, etc - cost a lot too. Stress arises from trying to live a westernized lifestyle and support your family, while not having an income that allows for that. It's understandable that a few turn to begging and scamming. It's a small percentage, but there are a lot of surrounding towns, and it adds up.
Re: "blame the victim" - It strikes me that the tourist being hassled is not the only victim. The hassler who has no other way of paying his rent and electricity and water and food bill and kids school fees etc - well, he is also a victim. He's a victim of the Jamaican government's failure to develop the economy, a victim of high taxes and corruption, a victim of past history (slavery, discrimination) and a victim of the world economy's disregard for the global poor.
I am not saying you should open your pockets to the hasslers. Be respectful, but decline. You're not responsible for their families. If you really want to give your money away to needy people, there are far needier people in refugee camps from places like Syria, Myanmar, and Congo, to name just a few.
I don't have the answer to all this. I agree with Accompong's point about not letting the small stuff bother you so much. Hassling is just, well, annoying. Don't confuse it with real crime. I was hassled a lot in 20 years of visiting Negril, but never really felt in danger. When I got mugged in Kingston, that was very different - quick and violent. Kingston felt a little scary. Keep your perspective - the guy in Negril saying "yu nah respect mi?" is not a danger and you don't need to pick a fight with him.
If you want sanitized/hassle-free, then go to one of those gated AI's, or go to Hawaii or something. I think people who repeatedly go to Negril like that likkle flavor of reality mixed in with their vacation. Which is cool.
Peace and love,
Richard
Technical answer...Quote:
Originally Posted by BoyMackie
The licensed & legal vendors are required to wear a lanyard with their proper documentation.
So there's a post on FB that says the police took one of these despicable hustlers off the beach today. Whom is the hustler you ask? Norman. Yeah, Norman the patty man. WFT??
Yeah last year they were hassling Norman as well. Not sure what the issue is there but am sure there’s a story. Maybe he’s not “licensed”
Who’s next? Maybe Cortis the fruit lady in handcuffs!
Or Herman the musician stripped of his crutch and banished for his aggressive behaviour...
Attachment 54253
I’d like to know if there is confirmation of this.
Removing Norman from the beach is akin to taking locking up Santa Claus. The patties must be freed!
#FreeNorman #WeAreNorman :-)