CARIBARENA Antigua & Barbuda

I am a native of Antigua, living in America and I am deeply distressed by the acts of violence that are happening.

My heart goes out to the Nilssen family for your great loss. I am a mother of three beautiful daughters and God help me, daily I pray over their lives that they will be safe and protected. I am also a mother who lost daughter years ago and the pain remains.

I pray that the peace, love and joy of God will be allowed to enfold, comfort and sustain you.
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To the family of Miss Nilssen, my deepest sympathies.

I am from the island of Antigua, and am afraid of coming home. The place where all of these crimes are occuring is not the place I know and love. Are most of the crimes being committed by foreigners? Yes. That, however, does not negate the fact that they have been welcomed to come and live on the island, without background checks, draining the island of the economic a*sets and vitality and bringing ugly habits that were unwanted in their original country. This NEEDS to stop! No longer can we live as we did before, with Police Officers behaving in a cavalier method with respect to their duties, and getting away with it. I have said for many a year that the Antigua Government needs to address their significant issues, or the chickens will come home to roost...hopefully, no one else is hurt inthe process.

bear in mind that its not an antiguan who commited the crime,as the saying goes sorry for marga dog marga dog turn round bite you if we were not expat happy most of the crime that happen in antigua could have been avoided, look the the four amereicans fiesco another foreighnerexpat do the crime, antigua gets the bad publicity.

I am sympathise with the family in this time of tragedy.

I can only say that the insensitive comments made on this site are only of a few people and do no represent the majority of Antiguans, and they definitely do not work in or depend on the tourism industry.

I have just returned from the Star Clipper cruise where Nina Nilssen was so tragically murdered. How dare any of you speculate that she knew the man that murdered her. She simply went for a stroll. Royal Clipper never announced that there had been several tourist murders in the last few years. If so ,I dare say Nina would have not gone for a walk on her own. She was there for her sisters wedding and I do not believe she herself was married (to the i***t who wrote suspect her husband first). Nina went for a walk and met evil. Nothing she did made her responsible in any way for her death. I have been to Antigua several times but that will be my last because of the awful a*sociation I now have with that Island. My heart aches for the Nilssen family and Nina's friends. We got to know some of the wedding party who stayed behind after the tragedy (very hard for them,but too expensive for everyone to change flights etc. ). It is truly a tragedy,she sounded like a wonderful woman. Her death is an absolute travesty and she and her family are in no way responsible for any part of it. Once again SHAME on those of you who blame the victim .

I have read some of the most unbelievable comments on this blog. I can't believe the comments about putting yourself in dangerous situations, going off alone, etc. This young lady was on a "resort island" on a public beach and left her family and friends to go check out another beach nearly that the police "don't patrol". Why don't the police patrol this area? Too dangerous? Are there signs posted on the path warning people to not travel the path alone, are the tourists told before they leave the ship that they should not go anywhere alone? I'm sure the answer to these questions are both no because it would likely affect the tourist industry on your "beautiful" island. I ache for Kate, Morten and Liv Nilssen and all who are hurting at the MURDER of this beautiful young lady. So much to live for, taken away much too early. Nina Elizabeth Nilssen may your family and friends find some solace in knowing that even though I did not know you I ache with the pain of knowing you are gone, you did not deserve this brutal ending. Family and friends please know that there are people in this world feeling your pain and I pray that someday you will be whole again.

I am an educator..I am a parent..I am a woman..I always recommend, teach insist on using the b*ddy system we ALL learned a long time ago in our youth. It may not have saved Nina Elizabeth Nilssen but...

Very interesting and thought provoking commentaries. Most have merits. However, one has to guard against discrminatory practices. partiality, bias, favouritism. being overly egoisitc, insensitivity. incivility, ignorance and illiteracy. Professionally trained law enforcement personnel. particularly those deeply committed and devoted to render quality service to humanity. must be mindful of these in the discharge of their duties. A crime is a crime and irrespective of status. colour, race, creed, national or ethnicity origin of victims, each ought to be given full protective and/or investigative attention a*s required by their professsional code of ethics, law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution. Frequently perceptions are influenced either by what law enforcement do or neglects to do. Worat yet, when theyare shaped by public responses and/or opinions. If one has pre-conceived ideas, logic and/or objectivity would be brushed aside. Agreed that certain challenges demand proactive responses.

I have read all the comments and found some to be very interesting some found wanting,however the fact remains that a crime was committed and speculations,accusations and casting blame without all the facts can not and will not change

(1) A brutal crime was committed again.

(2) It cast a negative out look on our country.

(3) These crimes will have adverse effect on our weak and struggling economy. Just to mention a few.For those of us who make comments on this blog let us be objective and look at the bigger picture.Lets us find ways and means in which we can be involved in the uplifting and progress of our country.Let us also understand the in fact and in deed we are the government and we need to play a bigger role in development of our country,and not leaving it up to those whom we have elected to manage our affairs. I will continue to pray for our country, that people will also understand that the more we neglect God The more it will get worse.

A woman's life was lost. A 30 year old female music composer with promise and her entire future ahead of her. She was only there, briefly, celebrating her sister's marriage. You're telling me that she was just being naive and oblivious, and "asked for it", because she went for a walk in broad daylight? ...or that she "knew" her a*sailant? Please! Call a spade a spade. It was a murder, and they didn't police the place well enough, and there shouldn't be cruise stops in Antigua. Period.

I know Nina, and she was not S****D or naive or weak, and I know that she would never venture off with some stranger or be lured to go with somebody she didn't know or trust. She went alone on the path, but it was daylight. If this place Antigua is so dangerous that you can't even walk on a secluded path without getting your LIFE stolen from you, then maybe the cruise boats shouldn't be stopping there! This is indecent senseless monstrosity. I'm never going to Antigua and I'm telling everyone I know to stay away from there.

She wasn't d**b. She was a strong adventurous creative smart grounded soul who is suddenly now gone forever because of some random criminal/crazy. You try to make sense of that by saying that this world is just "full of crime" and that people better be more "alert and aware and stay away from hotspots", and then you become part of the problem, not the solution.

Of course I'm not blaming Antigua for what Mohamed and Malvo did, I'm just pointing out that the utter lack of policing, government control or any adult supervision has resulted in Antigua to be the "go-to" country if you want to facilitate crime, fraud or terrorism. Do you know who John Allen Mohammad sold those Antiguan pa*sports to? Did you even know that he was part of a pa*sport scam? Only Allah knows when they will show up.

Firstly i would like to offer my sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Nina (yes she does have a name to those who keep speaking about her in the third person). Secondly, the government are trying to do damage control with regards to the press and not releasing much information as it will do grave harm to the rapidly declining tourism industry. Please stop making wild accusations on one individual case that you or i know nothing about. Today is the day that Drew Gollan was shot and i find it heartbreaking that we are yet again finding ourselves mourning over a loss of another person . Antigua wake up, we all need to get off of our seats and help each other, get our country back on track. We need to speak out against those that we know are committing crimes. If we dont all pull together all we will be left with is no tourists therefore no employment, no money, which will then lead to more crime, more murder... Do you want to live in a world like that, cause i dont... so come on people this is not a racist issue, not an issue about a girl that was asking for trouble. we need to not stand for this, i want to be proud of where i come from again!!!

Perhaps the police in Antigua are not armed, and may never properly be trained or equipped, because the police themselves know how corrupt their organization - and government officials - can be. Who can you trust in Antigua? Some weapons could be put into the wrong hands? It's catch 22. I feel sorry for the honest, good people of Antigua, citizens, officials, police, expats and visitors, that do not deserve to be abused by the people that are supposed to protect them. This murder can not be blamed on anyone other than the murderer. The sad thing is, the system could be very easily improved, but we have little hope it will be. it is a shame.

Please, are you blaming Antigua/Barb*da for what John Allen Mohammad and Lee Malvo did? You surely can't blame the entire Country for what a few greedy people did. By the way, this sound like Pellucid.

Antigua has shamed itself in so many ways over the last thirty years it's difficult to cover them all in one post. Back in the early 80's, this "black" country was one of the few on the planet to defy the worldwide embargo and transshipped weapons to the White South African Apartheid government in South Africa. Later in the decade, they hosted Gerald b**l who was developing a conventional gun which Saddam Hussain planned to use against Israel. Luckily, the Mossad caught up with him and quietly put a b**let in his head. Since then, Antigua was where John Allen Mohammad recruited and trained Lee Malvo. Both were convicted of multiple murders in the DC area. More recently, Antigua has been complicit in the Stanford International Bank scheme where government officials aided in the theft of over US$ 7 billion from over 30,000 investors from over a dozen countries. Antigua's PR machine seems to be the only thing working properly, since these facts come as news to most.

We came on a cruise ship to celebrate the wedding of our older daughter. We came curious about Antigua and it's people. We are middle cla*s Americans, naturalized from Norway. We were never warned that this particular beach may be unsecure. Nina left us for a few minutes. This was in late afternoon, daylight. There were many other people from the cruise (and others) in the area. There were uniformed police in plain sight.

Murder?

You blame the victim?

Shame on you.

The police explanation that they were on patrol when the tourist was murdered seemed odd and a lame excuse. Why patrol only at an area where a victim might be seen and not the area where a murderer could easily conceal himself to attack an unsuspecting victim. This is suggestive of poor planning, deployment and lack of foresight. Crime cannot be solved by a mere walk to the beach or in the park. Such would be useful as far as visibility is concerned, but may be seen, even with a presence was ineffective since a criminal is always seeking an opportunity to attack his victim.

Nina did not go off with this man--she was accosted! She was a victim of a crime---not a foolish woman wandering off with a stranger. While everyone should be cautious in places they are not familiar with--this was a public beach and a path connecting it to anther beach--it is not marked as a dangerous area. When we all sit huddled together afraid to walk on a beach-the fear wins. This was a random act of violence against a tourist. The security needs to be heightened when ships are in port and the penalties need to be severe.
The family of this girl are mourning. Do not a*sume what you do not know--she was not wandering off with a stranger.

So many conclusions without facts... Please wait.... Its possible that she knew her killer and very likely... think for a moment that she could have been seen with her killer and nothing was out of the ordinary, think further that possibly later on something went awry and she was killed... in that scenario who could have prevented her murder? Wait for the facts ....blame blame blame... if someone you know wants to kill you and you two are alone... HOW CAN THE POLICE STOP THEM??? Police are people not all knowing beings

It appears that these two police officers in the above picture were going for a stroll along the beach. They were unarmed, unconcerned, unprepared. The police officers in Antigua should show more interest in their job. Some of them just walk along the streets in St.John's and say hi to everyone they meet. They are not enforcing the the laws. The streets are jammed with people parking illegally and the police officers ignore it.The police should be armed at all times and they should also have radios to communicate with each other while they are on patrol. You never know when a crime might be in progress; at least the police would be able intervene or call for back-up immediately.

As a woman, whether in Antigua, Canada, the US or Timbuktoo, I would not be going anywhere alone with a man - black, white, or purple - that I dont know. Least of all one missing some teeth. A tourist is a also just a human, not a gilded god. They can do wrong too. Antigua has some beaches that are public and some you have to get off the beaten path to explore. The police cant go to every one. What then? Venture at your own risk. If you go behind there and fall or drown, and no one is there to help you, is that our fault too? No tourist brochure mentions Windward Bay.
We have all seen the white women here with the bums on the beach that look like they don't know what water looks like in a shower. Being a tourist, and being on vacation doesn't mean leaving your senses at home. It's terrible that someone was killed, but it's common sense not to trust strangers, in the "paradise" of the Caribbean or wherever you coming from.

That picture of 2 unarmed out of shape female officers does not look good or will not make anyone feel any more comforted. It is time we get real. the crimanals are armed. in some cases heavily armed. It is time we get our officers regularly trained and retrained annually. I heard the Minister of National Security say they were getting tasers for the police ...lol... so is he suggesting that our officers try to taser criminals who are brandishing guns? Tasers are for security guards, and for crowd control and for agrresive persons who are resisting arrest. That barely happens in Antigua. It is time we get more pro-active and deal with more preventive measures.

I am truly sorry that her life was taken so soon.

There's no proper information on the person who was found dead. Who is she (Nina Elizabeth Nilssen), who are the relatives she came with? Which part of America are they from? What was the purpose of their visit? What's the background behind these people?

Not saying this is the case but to our Police, do not close doors to any other suspicion other than murder. In those parts of the world (outside of the Caribbean) people spend a lot of money on insurance etc. and in this case there are lots of unanswered questions.

Reading... I would guess by your observation and theory one should come to Antigua at their own risk. While you infer that these conditions exist and therefore visitors should be aware of them.
You and those who would like to place some of the blame on the victim should ask yourselves: why does visitors come to Antigua? Which they consider travelling to the Caribbean, why is Antigua included in their iteniary.
I would suggest that Antigua is fast loosing out to its competition in many ways and your comments does not give comfort to anyone who may take safety into concern when the plan their trip.

i understand that she (the victim) did not know her killer...she just met him at the beach....why would someone put themselves in that position......

However, the persons who commit these crimes when found guilty should be put to death.

I totally agree with the Police and do not blame them in anyway for this murder. The fact is that the police can not patrol each sq foot of this island and monitor wevery individual. I was on Pigeon Point Beach a few days prior to the incidence and did observe security on the beach. I also noticed when my partner and I were leaving around nightfall that there were 2 young ladies who appear to be tourist were walking by themselves along a long dreary road in the dark. I am sorry that the young woman lost her life and I do extend sympaties to the family but people need to realize that no country is crime free and persons need to be more vigilant

"Parker said it is best to always be careful, be aware of your surroundings, and travel in the company of a trusted person if going anywhere where there is an increased possibility that you might face danger."

So sad that a stroll on the beach in daylight is putting yourself in a dandgerous situation.