Dr Romeo Arabone.  
Member of the Associates.
Sociologist, Anthropologist, Researcher and Traveller.

Hi!,I'm Romy Arabone, Swiss, educated in England and Sweden, presently living in England, (when not travelling throughout South East Asia. Which is most of the time!)

In 1998 after meeting with Dr Robert Stolz who is now in Indonesia, I travelled North from Mindanao to Manila and arriving at the small port of ALLEN Northern Samar by bus from Tacloban, (very late due to bad roads and several punctures!)  I was told I had missed the Ferry to Luzon.
Enquiring where to stay and not being in any particular hurry, I was told about a nice place on Dalupiri Island nearby.   I boarded one of the last banca's (local boats) for San Antonio.
Checking in to a beach cottage and liking the place very much. Apart from two filipino's I was the only guest, I decided to stay for the 3 days I had spare.

The following morning I went around the Island and found I was on an unknown but perfect Paradise Island setting with strange but very pleasant local people who, oddly for the Philippines, never tried to sell me anything!  An Island that time and tourism and everyone else have passed by.

In the afternoon of that first day I heard a series of explosions which seemed to come from the sea towards the South.  Asking what was happening I was informed that there was nothing to worry about, it was only Dynamite Fishermen catching fish!

For the rest of that day and the following two days I discreetly made enquiries with the local people and learned at first hand about the Dynamite Fishing business on the Island.

A month later back home in England and after going through the information I had collected, I soon realised that what I had was incomplete, I decided then to re-visit the Island in early 1999. 
I returned and stayed 5 days, collected  interviews from the Fishermen themselves, made video and cam shots and understood I was in front of what was/is a very complicated problem.

But what I discovered in regards to the Animals themselves, who have little choice but to pass through these Straits at the risk of being Dynamited, was something new.    
Very few Animals are directly killed by the Dynamite and the few animals that are killed were not killed because the Fishermen deliberately intended to kill them, the animals died because they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The true problem these animals suffer has remained unseen, yet it's quite simple to understand. These animals are being deafened underwater or suffer severe ear damage at distances of up to 2 kilometers from the explosions, depending on the size of the blast.
Driven by fear or instinct these animals make it to the Strait and pass through to the Pacific or enter the Visayan Seas. Then they stop. Then they start to swim in big circles and become completely lost unable to navigate and not knowing which way to go! Then they die!

In the Spring of 1999 I presented this information to a friend who organized a simple campaign of awareness and protests aimed at the Philippine authorities in Manila. By May the Dynamite Fishing had been reduced to a minimum. The village on the Island where the dynamite is made is called, Burabod and was raided several times by the Philippine Police and Military.
But just before each raid the factory's were  "Tipped-off" and moved to new hiding places so nothing was ever found and no arrests were made.
The Police have all the names but say they can do nothing because they have no evidence!
At the end of July interest in the problem died down and the factory's returned to normal production
and the Dynamite fishermen returned to their activities, such is the case until now.

The entire Dynamite business on the Island is carried out under a Political Umbrella.
Therefore I believe that a vast awareness campaign together with e mail protests that continue over a period of time would be enough to put an end to this terrible situation.
Why do I believe such a campaign will work now?  The Politicians are at this moment preparing for the next election.  NOW is a perfect time to PROTEST!   So please do it!
Thanks and for further information and details  E mail me at. arabone@hotmail.com

Romy Arabone

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