Dear Editor,
For the people who know me, most of the time, nearly all the time, I am a very positive person. After the storm, whose name should to my idea not be mentioned anymore, I have been literally fighting for my brothers and sisters and animals on this island.
I love every second of it and still do. With all my heart, even though I lived 15 years in Curaçao, I felt Sint Maarten was more than ever an island I belong to. That’s why I was so proud to put the Sint Maarten flag on the basecamp of Mt. Everest in Nepal on May 28 of this year.
So what has changed? It feels like a marriage that’s going in the wrong direction. Believe me, I know how that feels; have been there, done that. I feel ripped off by the island’s businesses and government. Of course, not all of them, but yeah some of them.
UTS that gives me a bill just after the hurricane of more than NAf.700. Overused date??? GEBE? What’s wrong with your calculations? Scarlet for charging the normal fees for the most horrible reception of Wi-Fi? And then NAGICO “Fast, Fair and always there” You can see that again. New buildings, new advertisings and Oh, yes, new rules? They are a champion in ripping you off.
Fast? Two months after the hurricane and still no payments? Fair? Oh, yes, they hire adjusters from different islands, (work permits?) to tell clients of NAGICO that they are under-insured or to paint over the sheet rock walls that are full of mould, because mould is not included in the insurance. You are there all right NAGICO! Rip your clients off, treat them unfair.
The new census office with their new rules! Maybe you were there last Tuesday around 9ish. Maybe you were wondering who was yelling so loud in that new building of theirs... Well, no worries, it was me. I was so incredibly fed up with their idiotic way of showing that they are above me or anybody else. When I say they, I am talking about the security guards who just do not understand their own rules. I was wearing a knitted sweater, no open shoulders, a jeans ¾ and some low boots. Yes, you did see about 15 cm skin on my calves between the jeans and the boots. Miss, Miss you cannot go inside, you are dressed very improper. Very what? Miss you are not proper dressed!
I mean come on, where we go. You make me lose my appointment because you see 15 cm of calve? Do the 3 months of working our butt off, trying to survive and staying positive, with all that had happened on this island not count? Why don’t we give each other a break, be kind, lower prices (especially government-based businesses?) Change your attitude for a moment. Change the tone of your voice if you really want somebody do something differently. It’s easier than you think.
Treat people the way you would like to be treated. Life is simpler than you think. What you give is what you get.... Government, if you can protect your properly-dressed people who come to the census office, you can protect your people from businesses like NAGICO. Just saying....
Desiree Winkel
