Dear Editor,
As you would have noticed by now, I usually react to leaders in government. That is because they always promise to fix things for the people. So when they do not comply I react.
For years the term “over qualified” was the term used by people in government to students who graduated and returned from Holland or the USA with their degrees in order to be employed. Over the years too many young Sint Maarteners found themselves going back to the exteria to look for work. But what I know is that during that same period of years, Sint Maarten found work for thousands of non-Sint Maarteners. Yes, work was found in all fields for them. So I am asking myself: Which is it. Is it that government for ulterior motives is not mindful that the Sint Maarteners are paid the rightful salaries because others accept what they can get, or are the Sint Maarteners really over-qualified?
Now again, years after, our Minister of Education is advising our students with other words not to come back home. Is this telling me that we only have overqualified and under-qualified Sint Maarteners? Is it telling me that Sint Maarten can train others but that Sint Maarten can't train it's own?
Now this. We have had so many political elections that I cannot remember exactly which one, but it was during a political election campaign. I thought that it was against the dust, but I was told that several of those gentleman cleaning the streets covered their face to avoid people recognizing them as street cleaners. Knowing that politicians make use of pressing opportunities to get votes and at the same time it would help those guys cleaning the streets, I approached a politician on a political list and asked him, “Where are those street cleaners from?” He told that the majority of them are Sint Maarteners. So I explained to him that I had a suggestion which could kill two birds with one stone.
I asked him about his relationship with the Minister of Justice. That was great. So then I told him what was told to me about the reason the street cleaners cover their face, and if he, with cooperation from the Minister of Education could encourage those streetcleaners to get their G.E.D. diploma this would would be the begining to possibly higher education, that could bring him some votes. Regulate the easiest way for them to finance it.
I do not know why it did not come to fruition, but I believe by now the history of who were and how people were and still being employed should tell us that things have to change to benefit the native first. I will never state natives alone, but I do not believe that anyone would criticize my point of view.
Russell A Simmons
