Murder on Nuku Hiva: Lessons for Travelers

Written 10/23/11

Wynne Hedlesky

In this blog entry, I would like to express my option on two matters: the prejudice, ignorance and sensationalism that continually does its part to make this world a place full of hatred and fear, and the dilemma of a traveler—to be open to the people of the world, while remaining a diligent protector of one’s own safety and security.

A recent event on the island of Nuku Hiva has given me ample material for thought on these matters. There are many articles online about this unfortunate event that are mere tabloid sensationalism elevated to the status of news. Even the respectable articles which followed the initial release of the story are largely aimed at countering the outrageous claims of the first wave of so-called press.

In short: on October 9, a local Nuku Hivan man, Henri Haiti, lured a German cruiser, Stefan Ramin, into a remote part of the island on the pretense that they were going on an expedition to hunt goats. Haiti then allegedly murdered Ramin, and burned his remains in a campfire. After that, he returned, presumably to Taioha’e, and lured Ramin’s girlfriend, Heike Dorsch, into the wilderness by saying that Ramin was injured and needed her help. Here I get confused, and the reports are unclear. At some point, Haiti made sexual advances upon Dorsch, which were rejected. He tied her to a tree and sexually assaulted her. For some reason, he left, and she escaped and alerted the authorities. He fled into the wilderness and remains unapprehened. Since the event, dental and DNA comparisons have proven that it was indeed Ramin’s remains in the campfire. For a recent and more or less unsensational account of events, see this article at Internatinoal Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/232715/20111017/german-tourist-cannibal-death-french-polynesia.htm.

Early coverage of the event claimed that Ramin was killed and eaten by a Nuku Hivan islander. Many articles refer to Herman Melville’s novel Typee, published in 1846, in which Melville expresses his fear of the island’s inhabitants due to stories of their ferocity and cannibalism. These stories were exaggerated rumors; most Europeans, including Melville, did not know at the time that the islanders practiced cannibalism only against members of enemy tribes captured in battle. Cannibalism was never practiced against random strangers without provocation. During the months that he lived with them, Melville himself received generous hospitality from the inhabitants of the island. Even these limited cannibalistic practices ceased generations ago, but due to the ignorant and prejudiced coverage of this event, the current inhabitants of Nuku Hiva are now being burdened once more with this gruesome and uneducated misconception.

The reality is that French Polynesia has an extremely low rate of violent crime, as Internet sources as well as my own experience while in the country, and especially on Nuku Hiva, has shown me. Kristian and I talked to many residents, and they all said that one of the great joys of life on Nuku Hiva was its freedom from the fear of crime, including, for the most part, petty crime, such as theft. During our month-long stay on the island, we ourselves came to trust its residents. We felt no danger accepting rides from locals, accepting gifts of food or drink, staying with them in their homes, and even leaving our tent unattended on a public beach. We experienced generosity and goodwill the like of which we had never seen in our home countries. It is ludicrous to the point of being unworthy of counterargument that the residents of this island practice cannibalism, or are even generally prone to violent behavior. Until this story broke (and even now, afterward) most people probably didn’t even know that Nuku Hiva existed, let alone where it was located. It angers me that, due to certain news agencies’ sensational coverage of this event, Nuku Hiva breaks into the world’s awareness only to gain a reputation for brutality, violence, and deception. Though the murder of one man on a tiny South Pacific rock may seem minor, the coverage this event has received is evidence of, and contributes to, racism and prejudice around the world.

However, the facts cannot be denied; a foreigner was indeed murdered on the island of Nuku Hiva, by a local in whom he had placed his trust. Though allegations of ritualistic cannibalism are absurd, and this crime says nothing about the character of most of the island’s inhabitants, I must unfortunately admit that this crime, though shocking, is not entirely inconceivable to me. The likely sexual motivation for Haiti’s behavior reminded me of certain disturbing encounters Kristian and I had while in French Polynesia. On two occasions we were the target of unwanted sexual advances by locals. For the complete accounts of these experiences, see our Kristian's entries, "Marquesans and other people," and "Dialogues with a pervert--a true story." Kristian and I speculate (though this is pure speculation, and not supported by research), that Haiti was blinded by sexual dissatisfaction into perpetrating the violent crimes of murder and sexual assault.

In the wake of our own experiences, we tried to come up with an explanation for what seemed like the beginning of a disturbing pattern of unwanted sexual attention toward foreigners. In a small community such as the island of Nuku Hiva, with fewer than 3000 inhabitants, there could come a point where single individuals run out of possible romantic partners. Everyone in a certain age group is either taken, undesirable, or unwilling. One can only imagine the sexual frustration that must come from facing a lifetime with no real hope of satisfaction. To someone single and desperate in a small community such as this, foreigners might seem like the perfect target. New and unknown, you could project all of your desired sexual characteristics onto them. In addition, with a stranger who will be leaving in a few days or, at most, a few weeks, what do you have to lose? If they reject you, there are no repercussions within your community. Successful or unsuccessful, what happens between you can stay a secret, if you want, playing no role in your community life. I could imagine the sexual appeal of foreigners, people outside your limited community, being so powerful that it would lead people to behave irrationally (as Kristian and I experienced), or even violently (as we fortunately did not experience).

As I said, I have not read anywhere that Haiti’s motivations were primarily sexual, or that he was such a sexually frustrated individual as I have described above. But it is not inconceivable, and even seems, to me, likely. Even in a culture as overwhelmingly hospitable and open as that which exists on Nuku Hiva, there can be a few stray violent individuals, or individuals with less than noble intentions. This may even be the island’s own special breed of crazy. However, violent, disturbed individuals exist all over the world. In some places, there are many more. Rather than merely becoming paranoid, avoiding contact with other people, or traveling only in the safe, sterilized comfort of all-inclusive travel packages and guided tours, Kristian and I take time to discuss and clarify our safety practices both for ourselves and our belongings.

Here are some of the guidelines we have decided upon:

• Stay together. Neither of us ever spends more than a few hours away from the other, and we never spend time alone with someone else. Of course, this is difficult if you’re traveling alone. In that case, you might want to stick to relatively public areas or be extra certain that someone—a hotel manager, a friend, etc.—knows where you are planning to be and when.
• Keep your valuables with you at all times. Though someone could, hypothetically, mug you, your passports, computer, credit card, etc. are better off in your personal care than in a hotel room or left with a caretaker. The exception is, of course, if you have a locker or storage box that only you can access. Keep extra copies of important documents, credit card information, etc. in a secure location, in digital form somewhere secure online, or with your family back home.
• Whenever you leave somewhere, do a mental check for all your belongings. Do I have my wallet? Passport? Computer? and so on. Absent mindedness is more likely to separate you from your possessions than theft.
• Don’t accept favors from someone, volunteer unnecessary information about yourself, or invite people to spend time with you without getting to know them first. “Getting to know” someone is difficult to define. Be sensitive to your own internal warnings, looking out for behaviors that make you uncomfortable, or tendencies that could annoy or endanger you or your belongings. Don’t accept favors from or spend time with someone who seems impaired, or behaves erratically.
• Change your location if you feel uncomfortable, harassed, or stalked by someone around you. Do not allow the fact that you finally found the most beautiful and remote campsite, or the most perfect hostel, deter you from relocating.
• Before accepting a favor from someone—a ride, a meal, a place to stay, a tour—make sure you understand exactly what the plan is, where you are going, what you are doing, how you are getting there, and when you will be coming back. This can be hard if you are not communicating in your native language, but don’t feel bad asking questions over and over again to be sure you understand the plan.
• If possible, and especially if you will be with someone for a while, inform others of who you are with and your intended whereabouts. That way, if anything should happen, people will come looking for you, or alert the authorities.
• Always have a plan for what to do in an emergency situation or any threat to your safety, especially if you are staying in remote areas. For example, if camping, know the nearest telephone you can use, the numbers of the local authorities, etc.

In my opinion, traveling is all about experiencing new things. If you go on a trip and nothing you see surprises you, if you stick strictly to the familiar and merely seek the comforts of home, but with palm trees in the background—a nice bed, a hot shower, familiar food, coffee the way you like it in the morning, and the company of other people who speak your language—then you’re not doing it right. However, exposing yourself to new experiences doesn’t have to mean exposing yourself to danger. I believe that if a traveler remains aware of his surroundings and has safety-oriented habits, he can maximize personal safety even while exploring fantastic environments and interacting with people whose ways are very different from his own.

Such a voyage to Nuku Hiva has taught me that its inhabitants are not violent, but are welcoming and generous. I wish that the perception propagated through bad journalism could be eradicated. One sure antidote to the poison of ignorant, viral misinformation is to travel and see a place for yourself, to make living contact with other people, and let yourself be enlightened rather than clinging to prejudice and misunderstanding. I believe that this strategy rarely disappoints.