Did you know slave masters used culture and inferiority treatments to control slaves in a holding society? Slaves were never free. A slave had to carry a certain symbol or property trait, a brand name or trademark of his master. Slaves had to wear special clothes and haircuts. A slave had to carry his master’s name, and every new slave was given a name. He/she had to adapt to a new culture and discontinued his own identity.

  Slaves were also given the impression that they belong to the white race. They were branded by their masters and described as cargoes or “chattels” – a legal document for the ownership of goods. They were cut off from all birth-rights they have had in their own community. Certain symbols used by slave masters in the past have become cultural icons in the community today. Language, for example, you’ll hear – St. Maarten’s north and St. Maarten’s south.

  During the Civil War in 1860 the same languages were used to locate slaveholding societies in the “North” and one in the “South”. Another perfect example is St. Maarten’s flag: The flag closely resembles the Philippines’ flag. The only difference is the shifting of the star and the Courthouse. The present flag doesn’t reflect the identity of the island. There is not even a black stripe representing the native people. There’s no yellow to reflect the beautiful sunshine of the island, as well as no green for the environmental hills and mountains. An update is necessary.

  As far as the National Anthem is a concerned, teachers and students in secondary schools and the university can start working on a National Anthem for the country immediately. The Constitution must be amended to include the Treaty of Concordia signed by the “forefathers” in 1648. New legislations must replace outdated statutes hampering the future development of the country.

  Slavery existed long ago in Egypt, Greece and other parts of the world for many years, but none was as cruel and violent as the transatlantic slave trade. The first slave traders of the New World were the Portuguesem followed by the Spanish, Dutch, English and French traders. Could you imagine slave traders sailing from ports in Western Europe to the West Coast of Africa, taking African slaves to work as maids in Europe or sold to planters in the West Indies.

  Sometimes their slave ships came under attack by lawless and brutal men called buccaneers, some people refer to them as pirates, while others see them as privateers, but they were all bandits and criminals. If slaves were captured, they’d be sold to plantation owners to work on their estates. The triangular trade – the journey from Africa to the West Indies and back to Europe – lasted for about a year. A slave ship with a crew of 50 men on board as sailors. Slaves were packed like sardines in the hull of the ship – a hole measuring about 90.8 x 122.6 cm or 48 inches x 35 inches. If the hull was full, the rest of them would be fastened to the deck of the ship. Some in the hole would suffocate and die. The weak ones were tossed and thrown overboard.

  The treatment of African slaves was very brutal and inhumane. Some of the slaves were tortured before they were auctioned. In 1666 the Dutch were selling African slaves for 25 English pounds currency per slave to planters in the West Indies. The Spanish were also selling their slaves for 17 English pounds currency per slave. A slave was also exchanged for 1 ton of sugar or 2,240 pounds of sugar for a slave in Spanish settlements. I strongly condemn any form of slavery, because it is awful.

  After the uprising of slaves on plantations in Haiti in 1791, other rebellions took place in the United States. The Civil War was triggered by the uprising of black slaves against the Confederate or free states that broke away from the union to form their own government. President Lincoln put over 150,000 black slaves in combat uniforms to fight and support his army in holding garrisons. Negro slaves were very good in guerrilla warfare fighting. This made them victorious in winning the war. In 1862-63 all slaves were freed in all Confederate territories and all other states in the United States. Those black slaves were the buffalo soldiers, many never heard of them in black history textbooks.

  A lot of people think slavery has ended, but they are wrong. In facts it exists more now than in the past. Modern-day slavery is actually the transformation from physical abuse of the past to psychological influence in the future. Modern slavery is also the digital surveillance influence on the society in which we live. Bar-code science, artificial intelligence, smart phones, flat screen televisions, passwords identification, cartoon facial images are tools and gadgets associated with controlling human beings. Then, there are the enterprises such as Banks, social media, media, government, trade unions and other business centers. The slave trade is still going on! It will never stop.

  Apart from the slave trade: Countries used to send out sailors on expeditions in search of land, precious items and looking for trade with other countries. In 1492 Christopher Columbus, a young Italian sailor, was granted three ships by the king and queen of Spain to find Asia and meet the great Emperor Khan of China.

  Columbus and his notorious crew of escaped convicts set sail from Spain and accidentally reached a small group of islands he called the West Indies. He first landed on one of them which he named “Hispaniola”, now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Here he first met the Arawak and Carib Indians. Most of the native Indians were farmers and fishermen. They were peaceful, friendly and enterprising people, but they were brutally slaughtered by the Spaniards.

  The aggression: John Hawkins and Francis Drake, two vicious English pirates, were operating in the West Indies in 1562-68. They were determined to break Spain’s power in the Caribbean. Drake attacked the Spanish and captured three mule-trains full with gold and other treasures from Peru. In 1588 Francis Drake also attacked the Spanish Armada and sank 30 of their ships and took their gold, jewels, cargoes and crew. A value of about 200,000 English pounds currency were taken, quite a fortune in those days. Spain became a powerless force and her prestige was lost in Europe and the West Indies.

  In 1655 Jamaica became a famous hideout for escaped prisoners. Henry Morgan, a runaway slave from a plantation in Barbados, joined forces with other escaped convicts at Port Royal in Jamaica. He was one of the most famous English pirates. Morgan and his crew attacked Puerto Bello, a rich city on the Spanish mainland in Cuba and took the city and its riches. In 1670 he also carried out attack on Panama City and plundered that city. Morgan became Governor of Jamaica in 1670, and he died in 1688.

  In 1781 the Dutch also suffered the biggest loss in the history of the slave trade. A young English admiral named George Rodney and his troops operating in the Caribbean attacked the Dutch fleet in St. Eustatius. De Graff was governor of St. Eustatius at the time. Rodney captured a Dutch frigate and 250 ships, and also auctioned off all the stores of merchandise and munitions on the island.

  In summary, in1670 England and Spain signed the Treaty of Madrid to stop all piracy between them. The year 2020 is the time to reflect on the horrors our brothers and sisters experienced during the slave trade with cruel men involved in the slaughtering, kidnapping and the selling of human beings as slaves for the use of money. Moreover, it was and is still a system that brings shame to humanity.

  Grandma always said to me: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Joseph Harvey

The St. Maarten Christian Party learned that the Netherlands did offer to pay for the international election observers to visit St. Maarten during this week’s election but that the Government has not yet taken up the Dutch on their offer. This is worrisome, because in an article published in The Daily Herald on December 7, 2019, Prime Minister Jacobs said that she had “absolutely no problem” with elections being observed as long as St. Maarten did not have to pay. This is based on the liquidity position as country, St. Maarten would not be able to bear the cost.

  PM Jacobs then indicated that if the Netherlands wanted to bear the cost she would have no problem with that. My question to the Government is: if the Netherlands is willing to pay and St. Maarten has no problem with that, why hasn’t the Government then accepted the offer made by the Netherlands? Money to pay for the election observers is not a problem. This was also not a problem now almost two years ago when the Netherlands footed the bill for the observers to monitor the 2018 election on St. Maarten.

  Not responding to the offer raises questions locally but also in the international community. The first question raised in this context is: why hasn’t the Government responded?

  On June 21, 2017, The Economist, a well-known magazine, wrote the following about international election observers: “Ever since the late 1990s, international observation of elections has become so widespread that refusing to admit monitors is almost an outright admission of fraud”. Therefore, if St. Maarten did not respond to the offer by the Netherlands to pay for election observers it would obviously raise questions and give the impression that St. Maarten has something to hide or is condoning certain illegal and unethical behavior during the election.

  In an effort to promote transparency and accountability during the upcoming election SMCP, on December 10, 2019, requested a meeting with the Prosecutor’s Office and also with the Central Voting Bureau (CVB) to discuss a number of issues related to fair and free elections; issues such as irregularities during the 2018 election, vote-buying, the use of cell phones in the polling stations, adhering to rules around the polling stations, removal of curtains from voting booths and international election observers. The CVB thought the concerns raised by SMCP important enough to be shared with all political parties and therefore the CVB invited all political parties to the meeting.

  As far as the topic of election observers is concerned, both the Prosecutor’s Office and the CVB expressed the importance of monitoring the election by international observers. The CVB reiterated several times that they have absolutely no problem to work with such observers. For the sake of transparency and good working relations the CVB has even invited their colleagues (at their own cost) in the rest of the Kingdom and from the neighboring islands like Anguilla and the BVI to come and observe the election in St. Maarten in an unofficial capacity.

  The Prime Minister indicated in the previously mentioned news article that observers are not necessary. However, the absence of and especially the refusal to have observers, especially when they come at no cost to government, can lead one to think that St. Maarten does have something to hide.

  It is known that in previous elections vote-buying was very prevalent. It is known that politicians and supporters do not uphold the rules set by the Minister of Justice for the day of election regarding conduct in the immediate vicinity of the polling stations. During Election Day in 2018 several breaches of the rules were observed and documented by SMCP. Our report was submitted and presented to the Central Voting Bureau and to the team of international observers last year.

  SMCP is of the opinion that if the Government has been provided the option by the Netherlands for observers at no cost we should take them up on the offer. Considering the late hour, it may or may not be possible to get observers from the Netherlands and other international countries. If this is the case it may be still possible to contact Aruba, Curaçao and other countries in the region to see if they could still send observers at such short notice. The Government could request the Netherlands to bear these costs instead.

  This year SMCP trusts that the Prosecutor’s Office will once again draw the attention of the public to the fact that electoral violations such as vote-buying are punishable by law and that voters should refrain from participating in such illegal practices. It must be noted that not only the vote-buyer but also the person who is selling his/her vote punishable by law.

  SMCP remains hopeful that the Government will still do its utmost to ensure the legitimacy of the election of January 9, 2020. However, considering that St. Maarten is now on the world stage, the country should take bigger steps towards showing the international community that they can trust in our democratic process, and receiving international observers would go a long way towards doing that.

Wycliffe Smith

Leader of the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP)

Dear Editor,

  Kenneth Cook’s remarks in the paper of Saturday, January 4, 2020, spoke volumes. My take on the whole thing is that for the last nine-plus years is that we have never had a government. No self-respecting individual with a clean and clear conscience could go out in the public year after year deceiving the people. Their behavior coincides with the definition of the word parasite, and absolutely nothing has been done to possibly avoid that trend. I must say thus that to make a manifesto is a waste of time and putting more lies on paper.

  Education, wow! For years now in my way I have expressed the fact that we have had and still have a whole lot of politically-illiterate representatives. Sad to say, our Constitution permits that. I have also stated and will repeat that a person is obliged to go to school until he/she is 16 years old, but does not need an education to run the country. This also diminishes my respect for those lawmakers who for so many years have seen the negative consequences of this, but conveniently have not made an effort to amend it.

  Why would they do that? Very simple. The more the political leaders can find presentable young people “cronies” without an education to put on their party lists.

  The question I would expect is, “If we know this, why do we still go out and vote?” Many people are pressed to vote by the different organisations and churches as a civic duty. I too would encourage the people to go out and vote, but because those political leaders who have been there for years have proven by now that they are not for the people, so we should not vote for them, no matter where they are on the party.

  There are at least 10 politicians on the various lists who will not get my vote and I would wish that the voters would get rid of the old and vote in young people because it cannot get any worse than it is. If the young people follow the laws of the land we all will do alright.

  My respect for political party leaders is limited, because they have proven to be users and have no regard nor do they care whether the voters and population appreciate the fact that life-determining decisions are being made for them by illiterates and people who completely do not understand what it takes to run the country.

  I see political billboards being placed all along the streets with all kinds of slogans and I say to myself, “Again the same slogans being shuffled among the candidates.” The one that made me pause was “Marlin was right”, because my reaction was “Marlin could have been right, but when he ratified our Constitution he was lacking insight.” Since then people have been saying that he sold out the country just to get the date 10-10-’10.

  What I know is that it baffles me why certain what would seem to be simple decisions to be taken are limited to entities. Because of the constant toppling of governments, which our political leaders relish, nothing concrete, beside appointing cronies to positions of authority regardless of their qualification, was accomplished.

  These days I have been hearing from seasoned voters that they are ready to put more young people in there because it cannot get any worse than it is now. If we put in the same leaders before the year-end they will throw down the government again.

  For a while now I have been advocating “out with the old and in with the new, but with the maturity, the principle and the integrity that Claude “Chacho” Peterson has already demonstrated he makes my choice for January 9, 2020, very easy. Along with that, his party leader has also demonstrated to be a man of integrity, so my vote along with all the rest who will vote for Chacho will not be wasted.

Russell A. Simmons

Dear Editor,

  Many voters will be challenged to cast their vote in a manner that they are sure that they have selected the candidate most likely to advance their interests in the upcoming elections. This is because they will be unable to predict what the available options are likely to achieve.

  There is some evidence based on the past that will give some indication as to what they should be looking for to achieve their goals and I hope to summarize as follows.

  Most important is that they realize that they are really voting for a party and within this party they have individual options, but it is the party and its leadership that will ultimately decide what the position of the party might be and the executed policy. A nice guy on the with a high number in a party and apparently great intentions is not going to be as relevant as ones on the top of the list. An organized party with candidates with a common vision is an essential criterion if any political vision is to be achieved.

  There has been much written that St. Maarten politics has been dominated by an older elite and that young candidates are needed to break out of the rut that the country is in. But the evidence has been that young candidates have also suffered from a lack of integrity as much as older or have turned out to not be productive as legislators. Being young certainly has advantages but it has not been the magic factor in St. Maarten in the last decade.

  Deep knowledge of public administration is an essential. Law or public administration degrees are hugely advantageous. Education in finance or public policy would work. Candidates with huge plans and no content on how the huge plans could be achieved within our complex governmental structure are the perfect solution to repeating the poor governance we have seen.

  Many candidates claim that they will “fight” for the electorate and the common man. History has shown that “bawling “ more loudly than others has not produced much in the way of results and in fact some “bawlers” have been particularly unproductive and counterproductive. It is not a “fight”, it is about effective representation.

  But what are the characteristics that are likely to produce the best legislators? I would argue that a personality that can resist the heady pressures of the political elite is one of the most crucial characteristics that should be targeted. I recall the late Vance James whose life goals and moral compass were so strongly in place that there was no chance he would be dragged into the compromising situations that others fell prey to and he did not. Are there more Vance James replicas on the candidates list ? If yes, choose one of them.

  And finally there is the choice of a candidate who has privately promised the voter something in return for voting for him. That rationale undermines the entire democratic process and truly undermines the voters’ long term interests not only because the candidate lacks integrity but because it throws the entire political system into a turmoil as we have seen recently, which in turn affects all of our interests. Those candidates should be avoided at all costs.

 Robbie Ferron