Dear Editor,
Short- and sweet! Our congratulations, admiration and sincere thank you go out to all the stakeholders, who made Thursday’s, October 22 people’s massive protest against the PLU a historical and significant achievement. To paraphrase Shujah Reiph, St. Martin people are good people, including our politicians.
At the climax of growing and escalating tensions, parties managed – in the interest of St. Martin people – to find their common St. Martin identity and humanity, and to signal to the world, that St. Martiners can come together in defence of their country.
For this milestone, our thanks and respect go out to all the members of ‘Wake Up St. Martin Movement’, the president and vice-presidents of the Collectivité of St. Martin, the protestors, the talk-show hosts, MSR television crew, the St. Martin callers, who supported the peaceful blockade, the police and Gendarmes for their measured approach, and to all those not mentioned here, but who played their role as well. Collectively – in the interest of the St. Martin people - each of you have made your contribution under very tempting and difficult circumstances.
In addition, you, the Wake Up St. Martin People Movement, have done just that; awakened many out of their slumber and given us the much-needed sense of pride, hope, encouragement and empowerment to regain ‘lost territories’. You deserve a very big thank you!
Our St. Martin Grassroots People Movement looks forward to us all learning from the past. Especially that we all realize that there cannot be any St. Martin, North or South, without recognizing St. Martin’s specificity and without respecting the indivisible one-ness of native indigenous St. Martiners, our cultural identity and heritage, our traditional way of life (Read 1963, A Landmark Year by Daniella Jeffry) as the only bedrock, or foundation for sustainable development, lasting peace and tranquillity, and for great progress and prosperity for all ethnicities.
We recommend all local authorities, North and South, that henceforth, as part of all developments and projects that have a significant impact, to find a way to include competent, professional native men and women in the conception and execution phases.
In concluding, let us native, indigenous St. Martiners also admit to ourselves that too long we have been too passive and only become reactive when others act where we have failed to assume our own sense of personal and collective responsibility and to be pro-active.
The time is now! A people without a vision is doomed to perish.
Leopold James
President of the St. Martin Grassroots People Movement
