Bill 88 is under consideration in the Majuro senate. Majuro is the capital of the Marshall Islands. If passed, Bill 88 will increase the tax on hard liquor and reduce the tax on beer. The 4 March 2011 issue of the local news paper calls the Bill the "Let them drink beer" proposal. The problem is, junior high school children are getting drunk on their lunch break. Recently, 13 children, mostly girls, were expelled after returning drunk to class for the second time. The rational is that if hard liquor is too expensive, under age drinkers will buy the less intoxicating beer instead. Obviously, the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars thrown at the Marshall Islands and the educational system has not worked even for those who are now in a position to struggle with a social problem. There is an age limit of 21 for buying alcohol in the Marshalls. Where are the police? Cruisers who have been vandalised in Majuro harbor ask the same question. But Bill 88 is only one of a daily parade of head scratching stories which illustrates how after many decades of U.S. involvement, a lot of help is still needed. There are many good, sensible people in Majuro who struggle daily with problems like this. We hope that they can solve these difficult questions as their society continues to westernize and stay in pace with the USA.

If we had any idea theft against cruising yachts was so prevalent in Majuro Harbor we would have chosen a safer destination to leave our floating home while we flew to the U.S. for an intended two month trip. In the six months prior to our arrival, 8 unoccupied yachts had been vandalised. Shortly after our arrival one yacht was boarded in daylight. Just after we flew out of Majuro, the mooring line of the unoccupied yacht behind Brick House was cut late at night and thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen. Two groups of thieves have been caught yet other thieves continued the intrusions. After 35 days away from Majuro, we received the dreaded email from friends, John and Paula on SV Mr John, who were looking after Brick House. At 1:30 in the morning thieves pulled the trip wire tied to our dinghy stowed on the fore deck sounding our loud alarms which blared across the harbor. Despite much effort and looking with strong flash lights by thoughtful cruisers searching in dinghies, the three men who jumped into the water disappeared with the aid of SCUBA gear they had tied to the mooring line. Incredibly, two nights later the thieves were back, being spotted on the deck of Brick House at 12:30 in the morning. Again the thieves disappeared like submarines, without being apprehended. The police? If the police cannot stop small shops from selling alcohol to minors, it is likely beyond their capacity to catch thieves operating beyond the shoreline. "If you catch them, bring them into the station." was the police officers response when a cruiser called for help during one burglary. We were fortunate our alarms and the vigilance of neighbours did not give the thieves time to damage our boat with crowbars or to take anything. I will spare you all the terrible stories of crimes against cruisers in Majuro Harbor but if you are really interested, Google "piracy in Majuro". For cruisers, street crime has not been a problem, at least during the day. For every one bad person or groups in any country, there are 99 more wonderful honest and concerned ones. It is too bad that one or two bad people are ruining it for the others. Everyone else that we have met on shore in majuro and beyond have been very honest and fair people....like everywhere in the world.