about RNet - US Department of State

The Handelskade, or trading quay, lies on the Punda
side of Curaçao. The unique architecture and redtiled
roofs call Amsterdam to mind.
The first sight most visitors to Curaçao notice is
the building fronts of Willemstad, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site resembling an assemblage
of pastel-colored Amsterdam canal houses.
One of the primary duties of the Consulate General
remains the provision of consular services. While the
Consulate doesn’t process visas in Curaçao, the part-time
vice consul and consular assistant keep busy meeting the
consular needs of American tourists and residents. One
challenge the post faces is that the vast majority of U.S.
tourists to the Dutch Caribbean visit either Aruba—80
miles away—or St. Maarten—500 miles away, which are
reachable from Curaçao only by air. Deaths among cruise
ship passengers and imprisonment of drug mules, as well as
more typical welfare/whereabouts cases, repatriations and
medical evacuations, are all regular events. Consular visits
to American prisoners in Aruba and St. Maarten have
evolved into a consular lifeline for the thousands of
14 STATE MAGAZINE
American citizens resident on those islands, as have less frequent
visits to the smaller islands of St. Eustatius, Saba and
Bonaire.
These islands are excellent sites for U.S. investment and
business. In addition to the strong U.S. presence in airlines,
airport operations and cruise ship services, U.S. firms are
active in providing financial and business services in a wide
range of areas. A U.S. company owns a major oil refinery on
Aruba in which $675 million has been invested over the past
five years.
But back to the palm trees, beaches and piña coladas.
They’re all there, just as they have been since the native
Arawaks inhabited the island, long before the Carib Indians,
Spanish and Dutch colonists and slave traders arrived.
PHOTOGRAPHS: (ABOVE AND OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM):
LOLLY GONZALEZ; (OPPOSITE PAGE TOP): SASKIA ROZIER