Dear Editor,
This COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, I believe should open our eyes to a number of important factors, as we are observing and are experiencing day to day the financial and economic impact that such a pandemic can bring. The bigger countries can still keep their heads above water, because they have many other ways of income to keep their economy running, but for smaller islands it’s a problem. St. Maarten’s main pillar is American tourism. We don’t have any major industries or even a refinery, that can help contribute to our government coffers besides tourism. Nor do we produce or make anything of value to sell or do trade on the world market. But as times are changing, I believe it’s a wake-up call that we are and will be dealing with more future catastrophes, or calamities that will greatly affect and stagnate our economic growth or development.
Dear editor, there are some things we may not like about the Dutch, such as the stringent conditions they have given us before releasing the much-needed recovery funds. But one thing I admire about them is that although they too have suffered financial loss because of COVID-19, yet they can still manage to pour out millions from their tax treasuries to help other nations. It’s all about knowing how to manage your finances.
Why have they then become one of the riches countries in Europe? Dear editor, ST. Maarten has gone through what I would consider as its “golden years” of financial prosperity. Yes, the U.S. dollars were rolling big. I can recall before leaving Aruba, to live on this island, we use to hear how people in St. Maarten were making good money, and how guys were walking around with hundreds of dollars in their pockets. St. Maarten was developing rapidly. The tourist industry was booming. Investors were coming to this island because of its stable and progressive economy. The government coffers were being filled, and there was even talk about why not going independent. We don’t need to depend on the Dutch.
But during the course of the years, money was badly spent, mismanaged, or got into the wrong hands. Many investors, after raping this island by making big profits, even left without paying proper taxes. No government ever thought about setting up some kind of “Emergency Financial Fund” that can come into use should any future disaster or calamity occur. As I would say dear editor, “We ate, drank, partied, and made merry” until the well suddenly went dry. We never thought that the mistakes we made in the past, would someday in the future catch up with us.
As the old people would say: “Where horse reach, donkey gon’ also reach.” In 1995, Hurricane Luis came and struck us, causing our economy to stagger like a drunken man. Then in 2017, Hurricane Irma, which was worse than Hurricane Luis, paralyzed our already weakened economy. And now in 2020, COVID-19 pandemic came and finished draining whatever was left of our scanty financial resources, leaving us now flat out on our backs. Today our government coffers are empty, and we are now at the mercies of the Dutch, who have implemented some drastic draconian conditions to humble us, before giving us one additional red cent.
Dear editor, people are now asking the question as to where have all the millions of dollars, which were made during the golden years gone? Who, (or perhaps which government), should be held accountable for the loss, or bad stewardship?
Dear editor, today we are living in serious times. Worldwide changes are taking place. What never used to happen before, is happening now. Yes, tourism, just like for many other smaller islands, has been St. Maarten’s main financial support. But looking at the present and what may lie ahead in the immediate future is a clear indication that we need to come up with some other way of assisting this very fragile economy.
How would we survive if, God forbid, something worse than COVID-19 in the future paralyzed our tourist economy completely? For instance, fear, insecurity, or even a future World War can cause tourists not to travel anywhere. With cases increasing now more rapidly, it’s quite clear that the COVID-19 virus has come back, and this time with a vengeance, for more victims. The concern of this specific disease is that even though all necessary hygiene methods are applied, including a future vaccine, yet this kind of virus may continue to remain active among us for a much longer time to come. In the meantime, we cannot depend on tourism alone. If we don’t find other ways to help fill our financial coffers, then we will be also digging a deeper ditch for our future generations who already will have to continue to bear our increasing financial debts.
A Concerned citizen
Name withheld at author's request.
Dear Editor,
Over the years a whole lot of people who were not the original instigators in a fight would end up on the wrong side of the law, merely because they took the law in their own hands. I have a simple question: Are not the Dutch committing or are about to commit some kind of a crime by placing those conditions on Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten?
There is a term in the Dutch penal law which is “willens en wetens”. It is in no shape or form that the Dutch could venture to claim that they do not know the consequence of their actions when it is already established that approximately 70 per cent of the population of St. Maarten is living below or just on the poverty line. Along with that it is worldwide known and accepted that the Dutch never executed any plan which was not thought out meticulously years ahead.
COVID-19 rendered the people much more vulnerable. A temptation which the Dutch could not resist. I still believe it is criminal. St. Maarten is in the hurricane belt and it is not to be predicted what kind of devastation any hurricane will cause. Along with that the hurricanes are much stronger than in the past.
When I read the way that Holland is going about these negotiations, words like “chantage” and “afpersing” come to mind. Trump was impeached for similar behavior. My question is: why should a whole country suffer for the behavior of a few? Who put the Constitution together? Did the population throw down all those governments?
All the population did was to vote. The voting population does not even have a say in which parties should form the coalition. 300,000 people suffer for the actions of 200 on which the 300,000 do not have any influence. When the Dutch go about threatening the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, are they not aware that approximately 300,000 people are suffering and not the 200 in government? Are the Dutch really comfortable with that kind of behavior which is observed worldwide?
September is just around the corner. When the King gives his speech from the throne, is it this kind of sentiment we should expect? A scarcely-attended-to Irma-Maria devastation, COVID-19 and in the middle of a hurricane season with the largest amount of predicted hurricanes. Should not this deter the Dutch? Do they really consider it normal to disregard the safety of the people of the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom?
That cocaine bust that was made in the horse stables netted a lot of money. There is also a term in the Dutch penal law which enables that money to be used legally. “Verbeurd verklaren”. Would not it seem more humane if Knops would play with the thought: “Met deze cocaine fangst is Aruba, Curaçao en St. Maarten, met de neus in de boter gevallen” (“this haul would do Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten just fine”). Even the King on the day of his speech could sugarcoat it and say “Every bad is for a good.”
By the way, they told me that in spite of social distancing some GEBE people are already socializing and celebrating a promotion. Wash hands, wear masks and maintain a safe distance from each other. Stay safe. The corona virus is very sociable. It does not discriminate.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
It’s a simple question. Which Minister will answer this?
We opened our border to the USA August 1, 2020. On that day, we had XX amount of cases, the French side closed its border, Curaçao and the BES islands closed their border as well, and yet after an increase to 96 positive cases (known) in 11 days (as of 11 August), the government will not institute a lockdown!
What the %^$&!
The VSA ministry advises to adhere to the measures. News Flash! It’s not happening! And the virus doesn’t stop from 00:00-06:00. It’s here! Our health care community cannot cope with an increase in diagnoses!
It’s the first time I write something like this, but, SXM government, get your act together if only for your family and friends! It is absolutely nonsense your current policy: there is no one shopping on Front Street, people are not making money, why act like we are “open”?
“Keep socially distancing, wear masks, and wash hands” is great advice, but when the numbers increase on a daily basis, I insist that you implement better measures! My life is dependent on what you constitute. So far, it seems like suicide.
Bring down the cases today, before it’s too late!
Name withheld at author's request.
Dear Editor,
The people of St. Maarten so-called owe a debt to the Dutch government in the amount of some Ang. 900 million of which I understood we are paying Ang. 12.7 million annually. This means mathematically that at this rate it will take us around 75 years to repay this so-called debt which will take us to the year 2095. As we can see this is unattainable and unrealistic. Based on these figures I believe the only realistic request or demand to make is debt cancellation.
This dilemma is not only experienced by St. Maarten but all the islands that form part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It also the reality for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
Debt cancellation is a moral obligation that should be met by the former and now neo-colonial powers. To paraphrase what I read, they are issuing us loans while they are the ones who created the dependency based on the condition they left us in after slavery.
The financial institutions they established such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (masters of the structural adjustment plans created to control economies) including other financial institutions were created to replace the former colonial system and institute another. Today I call it modern slavery.
The cry for debt cancellation is not something of today but its origin goes back many years. The late revolutionary and former President of Cuba Fidel Castro said in a speech delivered on August 3, 1985, at the United Nation General Assembly held in Havana Cuba, and I quote: “It is now clear that the collection of this debt, that the unjust system of economic relations is the most flagrant and brutal violation of human rights that one could ever imagine”; end of quote.
I also want to paraphrase another revolutionary and former President of Burkina Faso the late Thomas Sankara who was assassinated at the age of 39: when you owe this amount of debt you have surrendered your autonomy.
The same Thomas Sankara at such an event held in 1987 in Addis-Ababa said, and I quote; “We think that debt has to be seen from the perspective of its origins. Debt’s origins come from colonialism origins. Those who lend us money are those who colonized us. They are the same ones who used to manage our states and economies. These are the colonizers who indebted Africa through their brothers and cousins, who were the lenders. We had no connections with this debt, therefore we cannot pay it.” End of quote.
He refers to these persons coming in as technical assistants, or in his words “technical assassins”. He also referred to statements by the then-Prime Minister of Norway Ms. Gro Harlem Brundtland, who is claimed to have said that the whole debt cannot be repaid.
The late president Mr. Thomas Sankara also said, and I quote: “Debt cannot be repaid, first because if we don’t repay, lenders will not die. That is for sure. But if we repay we are going to die.” End of quote.
Some might ask why I am broaching this subject, and my response is because without debt cancellation we will be completely recolonized. But we have to request such with a united front. We need the cooperation of Aruba and Curaçao to make this request. Will they? We need debt cancellation, not debt repayment.
George Pantophlet
Member of Parliament
Dear Editor,
Like the ocean finds the shore, the virus continues to find its way to human hosts world-wide. It ignores borders, lockdowns, aspirin as well as bush-tea. Statistics put the following into perspective: the virus thrives in countries such as the USA, where society, politics and scientists are divided. In Asian countries that have a history of outbreaks, the virus is much better contained.
For the evolution of the virus, it all doesn’t really matter. It has been with us for millions of years, for as long as life on earth existed. Unlike bacteria, viruses aren’t living organisms; they can’t reproduce on their own. Instead, they hijack cells to multiply, spread and cause disease.
The key to containing the virus is to prevent it from spreading to new hosts. Japan, for example, has been very successful in controlling the outbreak and has found a formula without lockdowns. The Japanese government “requested” the public not to go out, if not necessary, and for bars and restaurants to suspend their business temporarily. The request to adhere to practices that minimize the risk slowed down the spread and helped to reduce it.
The other important factor was the national awareness and strict avoidance of the so called 3 C’s, namely: Closed spaces with poor ventilation; Crowded spaces open to the public; and Close contact, which puts people in range of flying droplets from speaking, coughing and sneezing.
Even when the 6-feet social distancing rule cannot be maintained, the proper use of facemasks will minimize the risk of infection and prevent an outbreak. The government went even so far as not to make testing widely available for those who were not prone to falling seriously ill. Japan learned from previous outbreaks that when patients flocked to doctors and hospital lobbies to get tested, where the 3 C’s could not be maintained, other patients and many healthcare workers got infected, which compromised the entire healthcare system.
When someone still gets infected, the 3 C’s and facemasks provide another benefit. The so-called viral dose (the amount of virus someone breathes in) is far less, which seems to impact the way in which people become infected as well as the severity of the infection. The more intense the viral dose, the severer the illness becomes. Perhaps this explains why there are asymptomatic patients in contrast with severe cases leading to death.
With reference to the 3 C’s and the outbreaks in St. Maarten, it is evident where the virus found its way to its hosts. This transpired at events of mass gatherings, and the most recent event at a nightclub, all with large crowds in close proximity and without masks.
It all sounds so simple, we enforce a one-island policy based upon the 3 C’s, prohibit crowds in closed environments, limit public gatherings to a maximum of 20 people, order mandatory facemasks in public spaces and protect the elderly and the vulnerable. Actually it is that simple if the one-island rules are implemented and acknowledged. If we, one and all, change our behavior by adhering to the rules, it will be possible to live without a lockdown and without having to close our borders. In that light, we will be able to start with the recovery of our economy.
Rather than focusing on elimination of the risk of infection, the objective should be to stop the spread of the disease and keep the number of patients to a minimum. Lock-down strategies are not sustainable and repeated implementation is affecting our society and economy to the core, causing an outcome that is worse by far.
On the positive end, the environment on St. Maarten is conducive to minimizing the spread of the virus. Yes, we really might be living in one of the best places on earth because of our geographical location. St. Maarten’s constantly stable temperature and steady humidity are the virus’s worst enemies.
Experimental studies on guinea pigs demonstrated that the transmission of influenza viruses is strongly modulated by temperature and humidity. A number of epidemiological studies have followed up on these findings and revealed robust associations between the occurrence of influenza in temperate regions and local conditions of humidity and temperature, and they offer a long-awaited explanation for the wintertime seasonality of influenza in these locales.
Despite recent progress, important questions remain as to the mechanism(s) by which humidity and/or temperature affects transmission.
St. Maarten’s constantly stable temperature averaging 27 degrees and a humidity averaging 77 per cent are the virus’s worst enemies.
Similar to Japan, and other Asian countries, if everyone does their part in strict and consistent adherence to the 3 C’s, if everyone is disciplined in proper use of facemasks in public and when in close proximity to others, collectively we will be able to mitigate the spread of the virus and achieve a satisfactory level of containment and control before more drastic measures become necessary.
Robert Brown,
Director of the Commercial Division,
Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company PJIAE
