All sailors I speak personally to on this issue tell me their families are also told to pay nothing.
I have heard similar lines like "drop it" and "you have no idea who you are dealing with". It occured right here. A sailor was rear ended by a car driven by one of these powerful jerks. The police told him he was at fault and a judge took him aside and gave him the same caution. He dropped it knowing he could never win in local courts.
I have been told local attorneys fall victim to strange "random" shootings.
When walking mornings through
New York City, I wish people a cheerful hello. It might surprise you to know New Yorkers rate high on my list of friendly people.
The lowest of the lows of all cities I tested is perhaps the worlds's safest, big city,
Singapore.
By far the most pleasant and joyful days of my, admittedly short, cruising years has been here in S.E.
Asia. When I arrived in Borneo, I kid you not, I felt like everyone was trying to actively make me feel welcome.
In the Philippines, very little
children run up to me and touch my hand to their foreheads. Small
kids dart out with fist extended in some sort of modern
Power Ranger greeting.
Adults here always offer me whatever they are eating or drinking.
These are the people that are told all their lives to be afraid of bullies in their community.
Goto Noonsite and read my report about how to enter the Philippines. There is a good reason the entire immigration departments on three islands know my name. I set a nasty trap for that immigration officer that requested me to pay a phony fee. I paid him and accepted the "official receipt".
What he didn't know, despite how well I made it clear, was I both knew his actions were illegal and that
money would be returned.
How many of you received a call to come to the immigration office, and watched an official reach into his own wallet to hand you
money?
Anyone?
How many of you published your experiences for other sailors to read? Were among the those that used to pay the bribes? He had to have come up with the idea to give "official receipts" from one of you.
I know some of you have been fighting and exposing to the light corrupt officials that hold us ransom. Your actions have helped open up
ports. Your actions have brought more business to areas where officals are no longer corrupt. You have reduced our fear to sail.
Those of you that paid the bribes did the opposite.
Remaining in fear, hiding, paying, and low profile around bullies is their confirmation you are....
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