Dear Editor,

  Most people want to make the world a better place, but they use their standard of good which in reality is far from good.

  Righteousness is the perfect holiness of Christ. It is an essential attribute of the character of God; quite literally meaning “One who is right”. Think of it as the polar opposite of sin. To commit sin is to go against God’s design for our lives, therefore righteousness is the only living standard that is acceptable for us to stand before the Father. The wages of sin is death, but in the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway, there is no death. Proverbs 12:28

  This goes across all races. When it comes to a subject or matter people look at the person’s color before listening and observing or analyzing the facts.

  This is very immature thinking and surprisingly many so-called Christians think like that. Some people think in this manner: If you disagree with something I believe in and you are of a different color you must be a bigot, a racist. That is the victim mentality. Those people have an inferiority complex.

  That mentality leaves no room for reasoning and debating. We have to defend good and righteousness, not color.

  If you observe politics especially in the USA a group of people will vote loyal to a political party even though that party has done nothing to help their communities in 75 years, because they are brainwashed that the other party is racist.

  Some people you can deceive easily by acting like them and telling them you like their color of skin, try speaking like them, when the reality you could care less about them. When your values are not of righteousness you can be deceived easily. Small-minded people see color first before observing the truth and wrong or right. But superior thinking which is righteousness observes the truth of the facts and if something is wrong or right. They look at color last. Color of skin does not decide if you are a good or bad person and education does not decide if you are a good or bad person. Only a righteous character pleasing to God the father of Jesus decides what good is.

  The conclusion always defends righteousness, not the color of skin.

 

The Patriot Miguel Arrindell

Tribute to the Master Builder

Laurent Connor

He was call by

 his school mates

And all his friends

From Red Gate

He make his humble

Beginning

Like Jesus of Nazareth

As an apprentice carpenter

With the famous

Master carpenter

Ambroise Halley

Carpenter shop

 He later change his name

As he rose to fame

To Georges Peterson

In order to succeed

As he immigrated to

Curaçao, Netherlands

Antilles

 A country that he contributed

To build

Leaving his signature

On most of its Infrastructures

Permitting him to rise from

Master carpenter

To master builder

And general contractor

His luck was with women

For that reason he

Was bless

 

To be always surrounded

by women

His wife Veronica Helligar

Peterson

And his many

Daughters

Georgette Peterson

Joseanne Peterson

Georgina Peterson

Angela Peterson

Gisela Owens

Christine Peterson

Cridtina Peterson

Corriè Walwyn

His caretaker Kouki

His three sons

Jules Peterson

George Peterson

Gilbert Gibi Peterson

His many, many

Sons-in-law

Behind every successful man

They say is a woman

 

Behind Georges Peterson

(Laurent Connor )

There were many women

But only one Queen

That never let him give up chasing his Dream: That of being

A master builder

 

If the human mind could

Conceived it then Georges Peterson

could build it

 

The master builder has taken a rest

May his soul rest in peåce

Un ami

Notre frere

Laurent Connor paix a son ame

 

Your brother

Raymond Helligar aka “Big Ray”

By Alex Rosaria

 

The North American Dakota Indians have a saying: “When you’re on a dead horse, get off it”. Here, some people seem to have another strategy however: Invite the dead horse over to your house to have him repeatedly say “somos hermanos” and then deliver promises that he will suddenly get healthy so we can all ride off into the sunset, just like in the movies.

  This is exactly what happened this week. With the Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA’s contract to run Curaçao’s refinery (Isla) expiring at the end of 2019, Mr. Manuel Quevedo, Venezuelan Oil Minister and president of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, during a blitz meeting at Isla made some vague promises about starting up of the Curaçao refinery – lack of crude oil shipments has left Isla largely inactive – and the interest of PDVSA to remain as the operator after 2019. Those present applauded like giddy school kids and then he left. No one questioned him, no one pressed for details.

  Fact is that PDVSA is currently held together by some duct tape. Economic mismanagement of the company and largescale corruption has meant that Venezuelan oil production has collapsed. Deteriorating infrastructure, lack of investment and PDVSA’s inability to even pay some of its workers has led to mass resignations in recent months. PDVSA’s financial disarray is even putting future crude oil supplies at risk. Do we not know this?

  Fact is also that Venezuela’s BFF, China, is about to drop PDVSA from a planned $10 billion oil refinery and petrochemical joint project in southern China. The reason is the deteriorating financial status of PDVSA over the past few years.

  Do we not remember that in mid-2016 our Prime Minister went to Caracas on what should have been a high-level summit about Isla’s future? Instead he was humiliated, left waiting for hours without being able to talk to anyone. Later, the Venezuelan Energy Minister declared that PDVSA had no money for Isla’s upgrade.

  Did we not wonder how PDVSA is going to keep its promises while it’s barely surviving? Do we not see how some groups, unions and individuals are playing cahoots or even worse, are colluding with Caracas to keep PDVSA operating as a bastion of support for the corruption-riddled failed Chavez/Maduro socialism? What’s wrong with us?

  If these people are given a free pass, the future of our refinery will be compromised. It is therefore imperative that the process of finding a responsible partner for Isla not be derailed. We need sanity, transparency and accountability, not dead horses.

  ~ Alex David Rosaria (50) is from Curaçao and has a MBA from the University of Iowa. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. ~

 

Dear Editor,

  Over the last few months the following newspaper headlines about Statian affairs have caught my attention:

  “Stuco needs to work on better governance”

  “Healthcare system on Statia falls short”

  “Shortage of drinking water result of limited maintenance”

  “Knops says: Bonaire, Saba, Statia can never be autonomous”

  These headlines remind me of one of my favorite African Proverbs, “Until lions learn how to write, Hunters will tell their stories for them”. In reflecting on the above headlines, one can definitely understand the significance of the African Proverb.

  These are the narratives that dominate our daily lives on these so called “Dutch Caribbean” islands. Narratives that consciously and/or subconsciously create an illusion that things managed and controlled by locals are inadequate, inefficient or not up to par.

  It is hard to change the narrative when we ourselves believe that the stories being told about us are “absolute truths”. Embracing these stories without question truly wounds the soul. The result of this soul-wounding is quite evident within our small communities today.

  The ancestors never accepted “these absolute truths” because they purposed in their hearts that, even though their physical bodies were in chains, their mind, spirit and soul would never be. It behooves those of us who are “wide awake” to continue planting seeds of resistance, pride and hope so that one day said seeds will blossom into trees that give great shade with solid and deep roots.

  In honor of those who have gone before us and in honor of those not yet born, I therefore purposefully change the headlines:

  “Stuco working hard to improve governance structure”

  “Healthcare system on Statia – a case of small successes”

  “Improving maintenance will decrease drinking water shortage”

  “Knops says: We must work together with Bonaire, Saba, Statia to realize the best possible autonomous arrangement” …

 

Xiomara Balentina