Author Barbara van der Woude with a copy of the paperback version of “Resilience.”
PHILIPSBURG--On September 6, exactly a year after Hurricane Irma, Barbara van der Woude published her eBook Resilience – a series of interviews with entrepreneurs and managing directors of businesses in St. Maarten about their experiences after Irma. The book has also been available in a paperback version since December 1.
“Especially here in St. Maarten a lot of people asked for the hard-copy version,” said Van der Woude. “I wanted to wait for the end of hurricane season though.”
The interviewees in Resilience, including Norman Wathey, William Welch, Ton van Kooten, Richard Gibson, Helma Etnel, Arun Jagtiani and Gee Money, all either own or run a business here. Their perspectives are unique, but their stories are alike in a number of ways.
“I think all of them have showed tremendous courage and perseverance. When they decided to stay and rebuild, there was no room for hesitation. I admire how they cared for their staff, kept a positive mindset and most of all made do with whatever they had. It is astonishing how inventive these people got through a disaster of this magnitude,” the author said.
Van der Woude moved to St. Maarten recently. “I will admit I was afraid of what I would find after Irma. I fell in love with St. Maarten during a visit in January 2017, and obviously I was not looking forward to have that dreamy image in my mind shattered by devastation,” she said.
Yet, she was pleasantly surprised when she arrived in February 2018. “Yes, I saw the destruction and of course that got to me. But what struck me even more was the load of negative press St. Maarten received; it simply did not tell the whole story, or the true story, as far as I am concerned. I was impressed with the strength, mentality and resourcefulness of the people I met.
“Take, for example, Restaurant Bacchus. The owner physically defended his property and rebranded quite successfully after the hurricane. Or ENNIA, that drove a ‘Claims Bus’ around the island to service clients that could not reach the office. Or Loterie Farm, that used the debris Irma caused to build new structures. So many amazing stories – I could go on forever,” she said.
The paperback version of Resilience can be ordered via Amazon.
