PHILIPSBUG--Philipsburg Jubilee Library is severely damaged by monster Hurricane Irma. What the hurricane did not rip away, senseless looters have. The locked media lab was ripped open and the computers housed there have been taken away.
The thievery of electronic equipment at the Library and in other areas is incomprehensible considering there is not electricity on St. Maarten, except for generator power at some buildings.
Both the front and back offices of the Library were wrecked by the hurricane. The public area is partially gone. The key box clawed opened by looters and keys used to access still-intact rooms with the purpose to carting away valuables.
No books were checked out by the looters.
The Library had it not been targeted may have been able to give some service to children unable to go to school due to the extensive damage to the country’s infrastructure. This, however, may not be possible.
The building housing the Library is aged. An outcry for a new building was made several years ago.
