Dear Editor,
A person of whom I will not reveal their country of origin said to me that she/he admires my courage for writing the way I do. I will not go down in further details because it is not about me.
That person said to me that that the government of Sint Maarten should not permit those organizations representing their country of origin to include articles of organization in their charter which warrant the official representation of their members on Sint Maarten. That person went on to say that that should be the task and duty of a consulate of that country stationed on Sint Maarten or commissioned for Sint Maarten.
What brought about that conversation was that while standing and talking about the amount of cars on Sint Maarten, quite a few people passed by and all of them greeted that person by name personally, so I jokingly said to that person, “You know more people than me on Sint Maarten.” The answer I got overwhelmed me a bit and I went to my car, took my pad and made notes of the conversation that we had. The answer to me was, “Who don’t know me on Sint Maarten not from here.” To myself I said, “You belong here.”
A few more positive things about Sint Maarten concerning the people on the island came out of that conversation, which again brings me to declare that it is more than time enough now for us to respect people and know that by determining who is a Sint Maartener is not going to change people’s sense of perception. By now we should have gathered that people want to be recognised and legitimised.
I will repeat: The majority of the people like order. That is one of the reasons for not being pleased when they are of the opinion that the police are not doing their job.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
There once was a young girl whose parents moved the family to St. Maarten in the 1980s
The island felt like an untouched gem in the sea. its lush green hillsides, tropical plants and trees flourished. Traffic was minimal. The islanders were friendly as they still are today. One could walk along Great Bay Beach at night, soak up the moonlight, gentle sea breeze and waves as they slapped against the shoreline. The iconic Great Bay Hotel was one of the first to be built. Great Bay Hotel had a special place in our hearts. It was where this young girl and her Dad would walk along the beach to talk to guests about taking a day sail on their charter boat. It was where this young girl, all grown up, would be for her younger sister’s wedding. Oh, what great memories!
Fast forward to today. Now visiting the island every year, this girl sees the changes that years gone by have done to the island. Several major hurricanes later and many tropical storms, she sees the devastation left behind.
She sees how sad the island looks compared to those years past. She sees the abandoned buildings that are no longer livable. She sees the vehicles left behind and rusting from the sea salt air. She sees the stadium that needs help and is right beside burning trash that is so bad it causes poor air quality putting adults, kids and animals at risk of health concerns like asthma. She sees the unwanted trash tossed along the roadside. She sees the trash tossed on nature trails like the trail along Guana Bay or stuck in between rocks at the Natural Bath. She sees the sadness in the unwanted pets that have to fend for themselves because they too have been tossed out like the garbage.
There are so many dead trees and bushes that could be collected and burned safely. Road signs that could be erected again, potholes that could be filled to make driving a smooth ride. Speed bumps that could be painted so that those that have never been here can see the bumps in the dark and have time to slow down and ease over them without bottoming out a car.
Oh, if only all the islanders cared about their home, their gem in the sea. There are small groups of environmentalists that care; they take groups on the trails to pick up trash left behind by other hikers, tourists, and hurricanes. Every little bit helps in order to save not only their own environment but that of the world. That little piece of plastic tossed into the ocean by an uncaring human ends up in a fish which ends up in a bird, which kills the bird. As the oceans and skies lose their wildlife, humans keep on ruining what once was truly a paradise island.
How can this be fixed? Can it be fixed? From this girl’s eyes, it can be, to a degree.
The government could step up far more. Come on, St. Maarten officials, what are you doing to beautify the island again since Irma? Seems to me and many many other tourists, not enough.
If not already in place, have an environmental department focused only on cleaning up all the roadside & trailside trash and debris. Hire those homeless or out of work from Irma to do this. Pay them so they can build a life for themselves again while contributing to the cleanliness of this great island. Have the criminals do some of this work, make them give back to society what they took away. Supervise them and go along these inlets and beaches to clean up debris left behind from Irma, like people’s shoes, kids’ toys, mountains of plastic, boat debris and much much more.
Erect the Philipsburg sign that is lying on the roadside where the cruise passengers come out. Have some dignity and show some kind of caring to those seeing the island for the first time. Don’t let the first thing they see is a road sign twisted and lying on the ground.
What is up with GEBE? Why do they have to have so many power outages? Why is there no investment in GEBE infrastructure to keep up with the ever-growing population of the island?
Most of all, and I can’t stress this enough: Government of St. Maarten, get that Airport back to the beautiful state-of-the-art technologically-advanced airport it once was before Irma. Do it before 2019 brings along another hurricane. This year, 2019, is predicted to be the hottest in history on a global level and you know what that means. The Dutch government has offered you $100,000,000 to refurbish the Airport. DO IT! What are you waiting for? Swallow your pride and accept the $$s.
If you don’t invest in your Airport and more damage comes to it then the Airlines will go elsewhere. The economy of this island will deteriorate. The vicious cycle of homelessness, devastation, desperate islanders, increased crime, environmental impact will spiral so much out of control that there will be no stopping it.
If this young girl cares about a place she can only visit once a year, then why can’t you care all year round?
Always a St. Maarten girl
Name withheld at author's request.
Dear Editor,
Theo our Nelson Mandela just as Commonwealth of Dominica citizen always said Rosie Douglas is their Nelson Mandela.
The political knowledge and popularity of Nelson Mandela, Rosie Douglas and Theo
got CARICOM nations thinking Nelson Mandela, Rosie Douglas and Theo could govern any continent in Europe within their political knowledge.
CARICOM keeping a close eye toward Holland and the Dutch Caribbean because there’s an outcry of Dutch laws in the Dutch Caribbean nations.
Cuthbert Bannis
Dear Editor,
This article is not to hurt any person but if it does it is a good thing. This article is about expressing the truth which most people are afraid to do in St. Maarten.
Myself a man who is not perfect and fighting my own war of the soul, I notice most churches in St. Maarten are lukewarm and do not aid in strengthening the spiritual part of the human.
Most churches in St. Maarten preach a false love of God. They preach God is love and He loves you just as you are. That is wrong and deceiving people. When you go to church, the church has to confront sin and tell people to turn away from it, because it will destroy your soul. This is the love of God!
God’s love does not tolerate or accept sin. Thou shalt not sin is a clear command. Most churches now are a safe haven for people to live comfortable in sin, calling them good because they pay their tithe.
You cannot buy your way into heaven. We have gone far worse; now we accept homosexuals and lesbian leaders as pastors in the church.
There are people going to church for 20 or more years, and their spiritual life have nothing to show, it is because they do not know God, they know about God. Being lukewarm is good for nothing. Revelation 3:16 “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
Lifestyle is what the churches should preach about and how God wants us to live. Christianity is a lifestyle pleasing to God and not to yourself. God said if you love me keep my commandments, he did not say do as you wish or please. The freedom of Christianity is the freedom to do what is right and not the freedom to live in sin. God’s love commands loyalty.
A Christian should not condone laziness, lying, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, and woman and man living together and not being married, murder, and stealing. You welcome all sinners to church, but you tell them because God is love He simply cannot and will not accept you in this state.
As a preacher, it is better you tell them the truth even if they never come back to church than not telling them the truth and leaving them lost for ever.
God’s love demands obedience and loyalty to him. God’s love is to reject evil and Satan. A lukewarm church is in reality counterfeit Christianity.
The conclusion is that many people in the churches are deceived into thinking they are saved and they are not, because the churches do not preach the God of the Bible.
1 Peter 4:17: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins with us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?
1 Peter 4:18: And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Let the truth be revealed and God bless you all.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
The people of Venezuela are suffering from man-made political and economic crises that have transformed a once thriving and prosperous democracy into a place beset by poverty, corruption, and repression. More than three million Venezuelans have fled and sought refuge in other countries. Maduro and his cronies have bled the country of its wealth, mismanaging the economy through corrupt dealings and restrictive laws and regulations that have decimated the private sector.
According to the Venezuelan human rights NGO Foro Penal, 700 political prisoners were detained and remain imprisoned in Venezuela since January 21 of this year. Today, the average Venezuelan struggles daily to buy food and other basic amenities, and nearly 90 percent live in poverty. The shocking photos last week of attempts to block humanitarian aid at the Colombian border speak to Maduro’s truculent indifference to the plight of Venezuelans.
The state of democracy in Venezuela has fared no better. Maduro eroded and eventually destroyed all institutional checks on abuses of power, starting with the judiciary, before moving against the press, prosecutors, civil society, mayors and governors, and political parties. His destruction of democracy culminated in his disqualification of political rivals in advance of his claim to victory in the flawed and fraudulent presidential election of 2018.
When Maduro’s term expired in January, the democratically elected National Assembly – the only remaining legitimate democratic institution in Venezuela – voted to invoke the Venezuelan Constitution and designate Juan Guaido as Interim President of the country, as the Constitution mandates. The United States is proud to be counted among the 51 countries that have recognized Interim President Guaido and his government. Together, we call upon the democracies of the hemisphere, including in the Eastern Caribbean, to do the same.
Despite the dire challenges facing the Venezuelan people, there is still reluctance in some quarters to criticize the illegitimate Maduro regime. How much more suffering do the Venezuelan people need to undergo? How long do they need to endure violations of their human rights and economic hardship before the hemisphere finally commits to unanimous condemnation of Maduro?
No country has the right to abuse its citizens and violate their human rights. Doing nothing when abuses are committed in one’s neighborhood is like ignoring a neighbor who abuses his family, or turning away as someone is mugged in the street. Human rights are universal – they have to be respected, regardless of whether these are violated domestically or internationally. The racist apartheid government of South Africa also claimed that its abuses were a “domestic matter” and that states should not “interfere.” The international community ignored these smokescreens. Through sanctions, isolation and criticism, South Africa was forced to yield and recognize the votes and rights of its people.
Some have proposed dialogue instead of condemnation. It has been tried before, most recently in 2018 in the Dominican Republic. The illegitimate Maduro regime, however, was not interested in allowing free and fair elections to take place under credible international observation. Time and time again, these dialogues have only served as a way for Maduro to maintain his grip on power, distract the international community, diffuse international pressure, and erode street pressure.
Countries that have supported democratic values elsewhere throughout the world should do the same in Venezuela. Countries that have suffered from disenfranchisement, lack of self-determination, or repression of dissent should know all too well Venezuelans’ plight. We understand this is not an easy decision, especially for those still saddled by Venezuelan debts accrued from years of cheap Venezuelan credit aimed to curry support in the region. We urge the region to uphold its democratic values for fellow Venezuelans – Caribbean brothers and sisters – just as they would surely do if any other Caribbean nations ever found themselves under a similarly abusive regime.
Linda Taglialatela
US Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
