Phil Noonan had been spending up to six months of the year in Tobago. He recently tried to help a friend being assualted and the fallout of that act has left him feeling like it was unsafe to return to the island where he wanted to spend his retirement.
David Bebee/The Record
CAMBRIDGE — Phil Noonan thought he had found his island paradise, where he could while away his retired years with cold drinks and warm sunsets. But the Cambridge business man says it all ended with him hiding in his bathroom behind the shower curtain, clutching two kitchen knives in his shaking hands.
Outside his guest room, two large, angry Tobagonian brothers were trying to break down the door. They wanted to get their hands on the Canadian visitor. He figured if this was his last moment, he’d at least go down with a fight. Just like that, Noonan’s dream of retiring in the tropics had turned into a nightmare. It was March 31, 2012.
“In the span of five minutes, my life went from over here, to way over there,” he said, spreading his arms wide.
Noonan has travelled the world, been robbed at gunpoint in Bahamas, got stuck in the middle of a gunfight in Florida, and camped a few feet away from murderers profiled by America’s Most Wanted. But he says nothing prepared him for the trouble he encountered in the Caribbean island of Tobago, where he hoped to retire in peace and quiet after a lifetime of travelling.
His globe-trotting has filled his basement with a museum’s worth of artifacts — Civil War-era swords, a Tibetan mountain horn, railroad lamps, African skull crackers, and much more. All Noonan collected in Tobago, however, was a bad experience. He’s created a website to warn others of the hazards of retiring in Trinidad and Tobago.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In the fall of 2011, Phil, a former owner of a Cambridge-based laminating company, excitedly filled a shipping container with all the creature comforts he’d need for his new life in Tobago. He rented a room at a guest house in Buccoo Bay, an idyllic place where tourists are few and fishermen still make their living in pastel-coloured boats left bobbing on turquoise water. He spent his days diving and watching sunsets from his balcony. It was a pleasant existence, for a while.
Noonan’s paradise fell apart one night last March, when he intervened during a fight at the restaurant below his guest room. A local man, upset that he’d been kicked out of the establishment, was attacking owner Leonardo Larios with a wooden chair.
“He got offended, he grabbed me by the neck and we started to fight. He picked up a chair and tried to hit me but I was behind the counter,” Larios said.
The Canadian, who was having a drink in the bar, ran over and hit the attacker with another chair. It smashed into his shoulder, and the young man ran off, he said.
“I had a split second to decide what to do,” he said. “I thought I was witnessing a murder.”
Phil thought the fight was over, until the man returned about 20 minutes later with his younger brother. They were big, muscular men who had a reputation around the village for being very violent guys, he said. And they were furious. They began kicking and beating on the door to Larios’ office — then they spotted Noonan. He locked his door and hid out in his bathroom, where he says he was clutching his knives, calling the local police.
“I told them ‘someone is about to die if you don’t get here soon,’ ” he said.
It took the police more than an hour to get there, says Winston Pereira, owner of the guest house where Noonan was staying. Pereira said he tried to calm the brothers down, unsuccessfully. Once police arrived, the older brother threatened Noonan's life publicly, he said.
“He tried to help a friend, and his initial instincts were honourable. Unfortunately, it spiralled out of control,” Pereira said.
Noonan says his experience in days following the alleged assault was nothing but frustrating. He says he butted his head against unsympathetic bureaucrats and encountered frequent red tape trying to get his stuff back after deciding to leave the country.Calls to Trinidad and Tobago’s consular office for a comment on this story were not returned.
The police, meanwhile, were reluctant to charge the young man who was accused of attacking the restaurant owner, he said. Noonan speculates that’s because the young man’s parents both worked for the local police force. It wasn’t until he started making calls to the Canadian consulate in the Caribbean island that the young man was charged with assault. The young man’s case is still before the courts.
Noonan stayed in Tobago for another three weeks, but says he was being stalked by the accused. He says he carried a kitchen knife in his shorts for protection, and spotted the brothers tailing him everywhere he went around Buccoo Bay.
Pereira sympathizes with his Canadian guest. Buccoo Bay is still a fairly safe community, he said, but Noonan’s experience dealing with the government isn’t unique to Tobago, he said.
“You can’t compare Canada’s system to Tobago’s system,” he said.
When Phil Noonan left, thousands of dollars worth of goods including— two boats, a big-screen TV, a motorcycle, all his household furniture and goods — remained behind, locked in a shipping container in Buccoo Bay. He was able to retrieve his assets from the Tobagonian banking system but wasn't able to retrieve his possessions, although he tried and his friends in Tobago tried to assist. Safely back in snowy Canada, he’s decided to cut his losses and vows to never return to Trinidad and Tobago.
And Noonan has a warning for others who have dreams of pulling of stakes and settling down in a tropical climate in the Caribbean.
“They need to be aware of what things are like in developing countries. Don’t walk in their naively and act surprised by what’s going on,” he said. “I got involved in something and now I’m paying the price for it.”
Outside his guest room, two large, angry Tobagonian brothers were trying to break down the door. They wanted to get their hands on the Canadian visitor. He figured if this was his last moment, he’d at least go down with a fight. Just like that, Noonan’s dream of retiring in the tropics had turned into a nightmare. It was March 31, 2012.
“In the span of five minutes, my life went from over here, to way over there,” he said, spreading his arms wide.
Noonan has travelled the world, been robbed at gunpoint in Bahamas, got stuck in the middle of a gunfight in Florida, and camped a few feet away from murderers profiled by America’s Most Wanted. But he says nothing prepared him for the trouble he encountered in the Caribbean island of Tobago, where he hoped to retire in peace and quiet after a lifetime of travelling.
His globe-trotting has filled his basement with a museum’s worth of artifacts — Civil War-era swords, a Tibetan mountain horn, railroad lamps, African skull crackers, and much more. All Noonan collected in Tobago, however, was a bad experience. He’s created a website to warn others of the hazards of retiring in Trinidad and Tobago.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In the fall of 2011, Phil, a former owner of a Cambridge-based laminating company, excitedly filled a shipping container with all the creature comforts he’d need for his new life in Tobago. He rented a room at a guest house in Buccoo Bay, an idyllic place where tourists are few and fishermen still make their living in pastel-coloured boats left bobbing on turquoise water. He spent his days diving and watching sunsets from his balcony. It was a pleasant existence, for a while.
Noonan’s paradise fell apart one night last March, when he intervened during a fight at the restaurant below his guest room. A local man, upset that he’d been kicked out of the establishment, was attacking owner Leonardo Larios with a wooden chair.
“He got offended, he grabbed me by the neck and we started to fight. He picked up a chair and tried to hit me but I was behind the counter,” Larios said.
The Canadian, who was having a drink in the bar, ran over and hit the attacker with another chair. It smashed into his shoulder, and the young man ran off, he said.
“I had a split second to decide what to do,” he said. “I thought I was witnessing a murder.”
Phil thought the fight was over, until the man returned about 20 minutes later with his younger brother. They were big, muscular men who had a reputation around the village for being very violent guys, he said. And they were furious. They began kicking and beating on the door to Larios’ office — then they spotted Noonan. He locked his door and hid out in his bathroom, where he says he was clutching his knives, calling the local police.
“I told them ‘someone is about to die if you don’t get here soon,’ ” he said.
It took the police more than an hour to get there, says Winston Pereira, owner of the guest house where Noonan was staying. Pereira said he tried to calm the brothers down, unsuccessfully. Once police arrived, the older brother threatened Noonan's life publicly, he said.
“He tried to help a friend, and his initial instincts were honourable. Unfortunately, it spiralled out of control,” Pereira said.
Noonan says his experience in days following the alleged assault was nothing but frustrating. He says he butted his head against unsympathetic bureaucrats and encountered frequent red tape trying to get his stuff back after deciding to leave the country.Calls to Trinidad and Tobago’s consular office for a comment on this story were not returned.
The police, meanwhile, were reluctant to charge the young man who was accused of attacking the restaurant owner, he said. Noonan speculates that’s because the young man’s parents both worked for the local police force. It wasn’t until he started making calls to the Canadian consulate in the Caribbean island that the young man was charged with assault. The young man’s case is still before the courts.
Noonan stayed in Tobago for another three weeks, but says he was being stalked by the accused. He says he carried a kitchen knife in his shorts for protection, and spotted the brothers tailing him everywhere he went around Buccoo Bay.
Pereira sympathizes with his Canadian guest. Buccoo Bay is still a fairly safe community, he said, but Noonan’s experience dealing with the government isn’t unique to Tobago, he said.
“You can’t compare Canada’s system to Tobago’s system,” he said.
When Phil Noonan left, thousands of dollars worth of goods including— two boats, a big-screen TV, a motorcycle, all his household furniture and goods — remained behind, locked in a shipping container in Buccoo Bay. He was able to retrieve his assets from the Tobagonian banking system but wasn't able to retrieve his possessions, although he tried and his friends in Tobago tried to assist. Safely back in snowy Canada, he’s decided to cut his losses and vows to never return to Trinidad and Tobago.
And Noonan has a warning for others who have dreams of pulling of stakes and settling down in a tropical climate in the Caribbean.
“They need to be aware of what things are like in developing countries. Don’t walk in their naively and act surprised by what’s going on,” he said. “I got involved in something and now I’m paying the price for it.”
Glad Phil got out with his life ...things are replaceable but his life is not .
ReplyDeleteGood luck Phil ... you are where you belong with family.