Dear Editor,
My intention was to write to you about a few facts concerning Geert Hatzmann’s, the dean of lawyers’, behavior, both inside and outside the court, but I believe the following is more important.
By now your readers might have gathered that I try to be as fair as possible in my criticism about government whenever the people are not served. The word is “gloat”.
When we were children and we had a dispute with each other and then later something not so pleasant happened to one of us the other would say “Good fo’ you.” From then already I had to look up the meaning of “to gloat” in the dictionary. It is not positive.
I read two articles in the paper of July 7, and that’s the sentiment I got in reading both articles. My reaction was “What are you doing about it. Just sitting back waiting?” I know one of the known expressions by members of Parliament is “but they do not listen”. After a while I asked myself, “listen to whom?” Listen to people who continuously are laying and waiting while planning to topple me?
Talking about toppling each other, I was taught that I should not criticize anyone or anything negatively unless I can offer a solution to what I am criticizing about. From what I read, again it is the people who are about to suffer the consequences of whatever is not going right. The people did not vote for Ministers, they voted for those same members of Parliament who are complaining. Those same members who went up on podiums and promised solutions.
Again, they do not have to pledge to support the governing party to bring proposals to the table. Yes, proposals to make life better for the people, and not of “what’s in it for me?” So instead of asking questions, since they know it so well, they should put the people first and put heads together with the government and see what can be done for the people.
For a while now I have been wondering and wanting to know who is really behind the toppling of these governments. As a teenager I used to read The Hardy Boys and since then I always looked for the plot in mysteries. So as the years went by and it seemed as if Holland did not literally do anything to curb the constant toppling of our governments, I would ask myself, “What is it profiting Holland not to be a little more severe in helping to avoid this kind of behaviour?”
Especially because this was costing the government a lot of money.
This brought me to the Dutch saying “Twee honden vechten om een been, de derde loopt ermee.heen” and usually there was the thought of the saying “United we stand, divided we fall.” All of this made us weaker.
So weak that we do not even have any time or anyone to research our Constitution to see if there is a breach in the way Holland is taking measures in connection with conditions of the emergency loans, etc. We have lived so long with the Dutch and we have not learned essential things about them. The Dutchmen never go against each other in our presence. They always call them back to Holland if they are going to prosecute them. We fight each other and ask them to be the referee.
What about fighting each other and when they come around, stop fighting and unite ourselves in their presence and when they leave, if necessary we continue our fight later. Would not that demonstrate maturity?
There is an African gospel song “Nara Ekele Mo” which starts with the words “You’ve done so much for me. I cannot tell it all.” I am longing to hear anyone of our people who have been in government over all those years say the same thing to the people and mean it. The same people who, when I judge by the content of these articles, might be the same ones who they, in our case more than usual, have been going to for votes. The same people for whom they have not done anything since 2010.
If they know it so well and really mean well, they should bring forward those proposals and if they are not accepted then the people can be the judge. This is definitely not the time for continuous playing of politics among each other whereas the people’s future is in imminent danger. Hunger does not discriminate and it is not a myth that a hungry man is an angry man.
Russell A. Simmons
