Dear Editor,
For the past 15 years, our island has endured constant turmoil. In that time, we have had almost as many government changes as years of autonomy. The current administration is now faced with the accumulated consequences of that instability: corruption, hurricanes, COVID, the GEBE crisis, more corruption, and a political landscape where both the government and the opposition spend more time pointing fingers than solving problems.
Every elected or appointed official claims to be “for the people,” yet each new government tries to reinvent the wheel. The opposition often focuses on blame – forgetting that many of its members once held the same positions and had the same opportunities to act. If they had truly put the island first when they were in power, we would not be in the situation we face today.
In truth, our foundation is deteriorating. After 15 years of political and administrative instability, we still lack genuine long-term planning. What we see instead is reaction, crisis management, and a constant effort to put out fires.
We speak about independence, yet we struggle to manage the present. One of the underlying issues is that our laws are outdated, and consequences for wrongdoing are minimal or nonexistent. When there are no real penalties, those who undermine our democracy continue to “play the game,” confident that nothing will happen to them.
We cannot place all the blame on law enforcement. Our officers earn wages comparable to someone working in a convenience store – and this is not a new problem. Teachers, healthcare workers, firefighters, and others who carry the island on their backs have faced the same neglect and broken promises for years.
Meanwhile, the “concrete jungle” continues to expand, bringing its own problems: sewage failures, traffic congestion, and uncontrolled development. More is not always better.
Meaningful change will come only when the population acknowledges the truth and demands real accountability. Or – instead of tearing each other down – the government and the opposition can finally unite, bringing together the many brilliant minds on this island with one shared goal: securing the future of the island and its people.
We must stop reinventing the wheel. We must start working together.
In the meantime, we need decisive action to safeguard our only major source of income: tourism. This is not about money, but about security. Requesting assistance from the Netherlands – including Dutch police, the Marines, the VKS, and the Coast Guard – and, if necessary, implementing temporary martial-law-level measures, could stabilize the situation. This would give the current government two uninterrupted years to produce real, measurable progress.
If our leaders truly believe they are serving the island and its people, then now is the moment to prove it.
Garth Steyn
