Dear Dr. Phil,
Let me begin by saying that I have always enjoyed your appearances on the Oprah show, admired your “no-nonsense” response and forth righteousness. However, your recent show on the disappearance of Natalee Halloway disappointed me greatly.
There have already been too many one-sided reports by the
US
media on this issue, and when we (the people of
Aruba
) heard that Dr. Phil would devote an hour on this issue, we thought that maybe finally, the story would have a fair and HONEST view. Our hopes for fairness were crushed while watching your one-sided show. Yet again, a member of the
US
media, a TRUSTED member, let the country of
Aruba
down. What happened here with Natalee is a terrible tragedy, and that you are willing to put forth your effort to help her mother find the truth is commendable. HOWEVER, blaming an entire country and its people for what happened is simply too horrible, unrealistic and untrue for words.
Aruba
did ALL it could and more to help find Natalee and solve the mystery. Do you know of one instance that somewhere in your country people were given days off from work to help search for a missing person?? Do you know of one instance in your country that F-16 planes were sent in the air to look for a missing girl?? Many Aruban rescue-teams turned the island upside-down—damaging the natural habitats on the island—people opened their homes, restaurants, hotels and hearts to aid the family and CONTINUE to do so.
How many girls disappear in the
U.S.A.
on a monthly or weekly basis?
How many young girls on college campuses are being raped with the date-rape-drug?
How many unsolved murders, attacks, abductions, etc., are there in your country EVERY DAY??
Almost daily some newspaper in your country has such a report! Are you advising people NOT to go to your shows in
California
, where at least two men of whom most people think one murdered his wife and the other molested children, WALK FREE?? But you believe in your justice system, right? Well we believe in ours too, and as long as there is no HARD evidence to prove that the three boys committed a crime, you simply cannot prosecute, no matter how frustrating this sometimes may be!
Then, at last, to correct some comments made in your show: that sometimes drugs are put in drinks is a sad given around the world, so also in your country, but to suggest that it is common practice in
Aruba
, is preposterous! We are part of the Dutch kingdom (so your comment that the v.d. Sloots “fled” is also unjust, they can be picked up in
Holland
just as easy!), a law-abiding country, where such a situation, being proven, most certainly would be prosecuted!! Mr. v.d. Sloot is NOT a judge, he was in training to BECOME a judge, which is no longer the case. Aruba cannot prosecute Joran for having sex, with an apparently drunk, Natalee, she is 18yrs old, which in our country (and in the US) is considered adult and she willingly got into the car with the three boys. For three months these boys were interrogated by our local police assisted by your FBI— as well as interrogated by special agents flown in from
Holland
again and again, and no definite proof came out of all that. And the “holier then thou” natalee-presentation is, although very understandable from her mother’s side, also a little beside the truth, according to different reports. You just have to go to one spring-break in your own
Florida
to see how happy celebrating teenagers behave, so again: don’t blame
Aruba
for that! Don’t misunderstand me, it is a very sad case!, which affected us all in Aruba very deeply, after all, in all the years of millions of tourists coming to our island this was a first for us! We are an island of very hospitable peace-loving people, which millions of your countrymen, among them many repeat guests, can affirm, if you only let them!... so don’t put blame on us for something that could have happened anywhere to anyone !.Do you know, that in spite of all the negative publicity about Aruba from your country, the people in Aruba have made a generous effort to collect money (already more than $40.000, which for a small country like ours is, don't you think, a substantial amount!) for the disaster in New Orleans?!, something which can't be said of the US when we had a natural disaster last year in our small country! And again, I applaud you for assisting Beth in finding the truth about a mothers worst nightmare, and I wish you the greatest success in doing so, but please, do so with an open and fair mind!!
Trynke de l’Isle,
Just a concerned Aruban citizen, who by the way, just to let you know, doesn’t know any of the people involved in this case.
It's a story that captured national attention and struck fear in the hearts of parents everywhere. Eighteen-year-old Natalee Holloway disappeared during a senior class trip to the island of Aruba. Now, Dr. Phil uncovers information never before revealed. Tune in for exclusive interviews -- some potentially incriminating -- with witnesses, suspects and their families and friends. Find out what the polygraph says about a crucial witness, and hear Natalee's mom describe how the horror of losing her precious daughter unfolded over one heartbreaking summer. Share your thoughts here.
