Dear Editor,

  Again, during another unfortunate election cycle, the environment, sustainable development and conservation are taking a back seat amidst the current political discourse engulfing our country. This despite our country needing to develop amidst the uncertainties which we will face due to a changing global climate.

  St. Maarten needs a Green New Deal. Democrats in the American House are doing it. The European Parliament is in the process of implementing it, yet here we are on our beautiful rock in the Caribbean dragging our toes in the sand. During this “Silly Season” of political discourse I have yet to come across a party platform where the conservation of the environment, the protection of natural areas and species, the move towards sustainable energy, the placing of sustainable social, environmental and economic development are a central tenet. There are a few candidates who, to be fair, have pushed certain elements of sustainability, climate change resiliency and conservation as a fragment of their campaigning, but definitely not enough.

As we head into a new decade, at the start of the year 2020, most larger countries are realizing that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will clearly have a significant impact on tasks, roles, jobs and employment. And though predictions may vary, there is still no definite answer as to which form this new age will take. St Maarten logically does not have that grand a stake in these new developing technologies and as such can continue along as we currently do until these giants of technology eventually reach our shores.

First of all, we have to correct a longstanding misunderstanding. We all think that our 15 Members of Parliament (MPs) are members of one of the 4 parties represented in Parliament, namely NA, UD, SMCP and US Party. This is a wrong assumption! We have on St Maarten a one-party system: The “Me Only Foh Me“ party!

  The so called parties are a subdivision of the “Me Foh Me“ party. The MPs are solely interested in their own financial gains and those of their cronies. St. Maarten is being plundered by these smooth talkers who are only interested in we the people on election day.

  Also, we cannot speak of the often mentioned “ship jumping”. The MPs cannot jump ship since they are already all on the same ship. They move from port to starboard to find new “soulmates”. How else can you be one day party leader of a party and the other day the party leader of another party? You guessed right – Same ship, the S/S “Me Only Foh Me”. And so, the story goes on. More plundering by the same faces. Nothing really changes.

  Therefore, it is time for a change and to vote out all the established so-called “parties.” It is time for 15 new faces in Parliament, of people who have St. Maarten at heart, a “We Foh St. Maarten People” party. Not solely on election day interested in we the people, but during their whole tenure in Parliament.

Name withheld at author's request.

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