KRALENDIJK- A great majority of the local press on Bonaire has deliberately ignored the visit of Minister Carola Schouten to the island last week.

Lately, a “fatigue” among the press is notable when it comes to the visit of especially Dutch Ministers and State Secretaries to the island. “We are always called upon whenever these Dutch government officials visits the island. But in reality, there is hardly ever any news to report. It’s always the same obligatory stories about the dire poverty and what will happen in the future,” says a prominent representative of the local print media, who adds that she considers the anniversary of the Donkey Sanctuary, which coincides with Schouten’s visit, to be more interesting news.

The critical sentiment receives support from other media outlets. The media knows like no one else how many promises have been made in recent years, but also how the arguments to defend the reason why a Social Minimum cannot be established are becoming more worn out and shameful.

The press is also bothered by the fact that in the Netherlands, little attention was given to the large protest march held two weeks ago by, among others, the joint labor unions.

“It’s becoming more and more like a big puppet show. But in reality, we have been hearing the same story for years. We never receive direct answers during the tightly controlled press conferences. We always have to listen to how difficult things are, how they are not as simple as they seem, and the many arguments for why things cannot be done. How credible are we, as the press, if we just passively accept this and only convey socially desirable answers,” says another representative of the local press.

Two representatives

At the conference attended by Minister Schouten, there are precisely two representatives from the local press: a retired journalist and a photographer.