Dear Editor,
For a very long time I have read stories about many educated and professional persons experiencing a rough time on St. Maarten. Years ago, there was a local doctor managing St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). It seemed she underwent a tough time with SMMC. She left the island and headed somewhere.
Some years later, a young local doctor tried to open his practice. He also experienced some trouble, but eventually he opened his practice and worked with SMMC. Then there was the story of a long-time educator, who was in charge of a post-secondary institution. He was fired and took the board of this institution to court.
In another story, another professional fought court battles against an independent entity that is charged with giving advice to the Government of St. Maarten. Several accusations were leveled at him, but so far, he has won all his court cases.
Now another professional is seemingly going to be locked in another struggle against an institution that receives a subsidy from the Government of St. Maarten. This professional person’s name is Monique Alberts, the former director of Philipsburg Jubilee Library. I cannot understand why she was fired. It is strange because she worked really hard for the library. According to some sources, the following are some of the things that took place under Alberts’s watch.
1. A family reading program called “Bon nochi drumi dushi” was started.
2. The library joined international library organizations such as ACURIL.
3. A baby and toddler fantasy was commenced. 4. A reading awareness campaign was started, called SXM reads.
4. The library also reportedly raised Fls 1.6 million in grants.
5. Solar panels were introduced to reduce the library’s utility bills.
Alberts has also received several awards, such as 1st President of the Dutch Caribbean Library Association, Person of the Year 2014 by the Today newspaper and SHTA Crystal Pineapple.
This letter is not written to attack those who fired Alberts, because there are three sides to a story. I just want to know why Alberts was fired. I am very confused about it and so are others. All persons on St. Maarten have some degree of value, whether they are educated or not. This nation needs the talents of each person to make it a greater nation than it is today.
Kenneth Cook
