Long time visitor to Ambergris Caye, Peter Rosenthal, is embarking on a campaign to rid the island of unsightly graffiti. Graffiti is a form of vandalism, where culprits deface public or private property, often times using obscene images or messages. Since 1990, Rosenthal has pioneered a volunteer project to remove graffiti from public places. He previously operated one in the United States of America, but with the increase of visual vandalism in San Pedro, Rosenthal hopes that his graffiti removal project will help the issue here on the island as well.
The campaign aims at getting residents involved in painting over graffiti riddled structures by always carrying small containers of paint thinner and a paint brush with them. "The plan is very simple; just cover it over within a day or two upon seeing it. If it's taken off the same day; very few people will even know it's there. If nobody cares, it will stay up forever and spread. Graffiti left up tends to breed more graffiti. In a heavy area, it needs to be eradicated daily, if necessary." Rosenthal has already taken it upon himself to remove some of the unsightly graffiti around town. The process is simple, it only takes a small paint brush or sponge to be dipped into paint thinner and then erase the marking away. "This is a very simple process that takes ten minutes to resolve.
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