Dear Editor,
Who should be put first in a country? I believe it is the people.
I also believe that it is the people who put representatives to look after the affairs of the country in their benefit. And has as always been the case, beside their salary, certain privileges are offered to those people, with expectation and confidence that they would serve the people fairly.
For a good while now Holland has been making certain demands on us to do certain things. It has reached so far that they have reinforced the Police Force with their own and also ordered the governor to take certain steps. This is not me, these are the plain facts.
Whether or not I agree with it, it should always be in the interest of the people and not the will of the politicians. As it stands right now the people are at a disadvantage because our own have not done what they ought to have done and, as it has always been, we the people do not know what is going on.
Those of us who are here have to go to work every day, whether it is to help rebuild, clean up, have relocated, etc. Many of us have lost our means of transportation and, as always has been the case, our public transportation was never optimal.
Until something is done about it, I will always comment on it.
Holland is worldwide known for their organization skills. Several months ago I spoke to Mister BOASMAN who at that time was in charge of TEATT, and mentioned that public transportation has to change. I was told that that is very difficult to do.
My point: “Take measures, invoke a transition period, regulate payments and change the system.” If Holland could be the example for the world in public transportation why is it so difficult for them to do something like that for us which is very much necessary and only on 16 square miles and a few hills.
Now is the opportune time for Mr. Boasman to ask Holland, who has been grandstanding about having 550 million euros ready if Sint Maarten should comply with their desires, to help with public transportation.
When I mentioned this at one time, a lady who works in the bank decided that I wanted to take away her job. I know the banks, and those car loan campaigns are being ridiculous. Do not they have any scruples about themselves? Are they trying to tell the world that we do not need any financial help, that in the middle of all this predicament we have means to buy new cars even though we do not know how and when we are going to get a decent roof over our heads?
Are the people of Sint Maarten really hypocrites? Do the people really not need to go out and do two and three jobs to be able to make it? If so, why should they leave their children unattended to become whatever in this world? Who are these bank people?
I believe that this is one of the reasons why government is not ready to regulate public transportation for the people. It would save the people some money and if they are obliged to buy a car that will continue to help the already engrossed banks.
Mr. Boasman, now is your chance to ask these so-willing Dutch, the transportation guru of the world, to help you fix and not or, and change our public transportation system.
We, the older folks whose money government continues to use to bail themselves out of self-inflicted predicaments, need a public transportation system that will be feasible to us. Because government does not want to stop importing cars on the island and the drivers becoming more and more daring we will need decent and reliable public transportation to get around on what is still our island, even though the nucleus is changing rapidly.
To repeat the words of a dear Sint Maartener, “Sint Maarten never knew poverty until government imported it.”
Russell A. Simmons
