Dear Editor,
I sent you a letter on Sunday and within four days my point was proven. Instead of bringing policies to the table, they are accumulating what they consider blunders or shortcomings and lay waiting to be able to ridicule government and, as seemingly has become part of the constitution, strive to topple the government.
Nowadays when I tell people that I believe in “know better do better” I get answers like “a donkey is no dog”. When I disagree with those kind of observations, an answer would be “at least you can train a dog”. Like I have said before I will not agree with such an answer but it confirms my plea for education in civics which would enable the MPs to at least have an idea about political decorum.
I hope that MP Doran glanced to his side while agreeing that unity is needed. On occasions word gets back to me that “some people in there does say that Russell don’t know what he is saying”. I always remain responsible for what I write, but if a Minister or MP declares that people who voice their opinion do not know what they are talking about, I agree, but that is because, like I always claim, there is no transparency of government.
While I was preparing to write this letter I followed a radio interview concerning the “50 years of Carnival” number plates. I stand to be corrected but I believe that those number plates are the property of the government and not the individual. Our government is, while painful to say, clearly demonstrating insecurity by permitting individuals to make three Ministers and the Receiver look like kindergarteners. Are we on our way to become a government which will need daily referenda to be able to make decisions?
I also was not contented with the talk-show host, because it seems that he did not do his homework. There was much lack of pertinent questions in spite of the fact that the guest could not finish his point. Owing to the fact that government did not consult with the people before putting “The Friendly Island” on the plates, if there is a protest against that next year, what will government decide then?
We are constantly hearing and reading answers from the side of government that “we are looking into it” and having the plates in the car and all kinds of futile explanations. Looking into it is not the law. That decree for the original plates is what the police can act upon and every other change should be amended the same way, otherwise again we are setting up ourselves to be ridiculed.
I would like to know what is the real reason for trying to appease. But I cannot complete this letter without asking the following: Why does it take three Ministers plus the police to waste so much time, energy and effort along with extra money for 33,000 stickers to appease protestors against a very legal and normal decision of government, but no kind of effort is being made to appease to the senior citizens of which the majority for years now are collecting less than the livable wage. When are we going to get it right? What about the MPs who, as it has become of late, year after year go to the seniors for their vote, should they not also get in the seniors’ corner?
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
Laughingly considered the world’s oldest profession, prostitution and sex work are frequently intertwined with Caribbean tourism.
Quintessential resort islands are often pictured with lithe, melanin-rich indigenous beauties on the arms of plump distinguished foreign men. In the majority of Caribbean islands, the purchase and sale of sex are illegal activities. The Dutch Antilles, however, provide a special opportunity for the commercial sex industry not legally available in the rest of the Caribbean. As present or former territories of the Netherlands, the Dutch Antilles fall under many of the same general laws as their mother country, including the controlled legalization of prostitution. The six Dutch-speaking islands are divided into two groups: Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius (the SSS Islands) and Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (the ABC islands).
Although male, female, homosexual, and heterosexual prostitution in tourist-populated areas is rampant throughout the entire Caribbean region, only in the Dutch Antilles is the sex industry officially regulated, making it arguably safer than other Caribbean locales. St. Maarten and Curaçao are particularly prime locations for sex tourism as they house the two largest biggest brothels in the Dutch Caribbean.
The largest, Campo Alegre, is located on Curaçao while the smaller Seamen’s Club is located on St. Maarten. Established in 1949, Campo Alegre fulfilled two needs for Curaçao. Before brothels were used, prostitution rings catered mostly to sailors, were run out of small bars and shops, and were openly visible throughout the island. The brothel was a joint effort of the government and the Catholic Church, which financed a large portion of the start-up. Basically, the brothels allow prostitution to exist on the island, safely and highly regulated, while keeping it out of view of everyday citizens.
The rules of the game
The regulation of prostitution in the Dutch Antilles, though ostensibly stringent, is routinely abused, is appropriated, or ignored. For example, local women may not work in the brothels so they instead solicit sex from their homes.
The regulation of prostitution resulted in a large importation of women, mostly from other countries of the Americas, to staff the brothels. Campo Alegre’s website boasts having more than 120 “employees” in residence at any one time. These imported, lighter-complexioned women from the Dominican Republic and Colombia are often a sharp contrast to the Afro-Caribbean population of Curaçao – who are considered less desirable by the tourist population – and are therefore most often granted three-month prostitution visas. To comply with their visas and their contracts at the brothel, the women must register as prostitutes with the Vice and Morals Police Department and submit themselves to weekly STD and health check-ups.
While this arrangement seems very neat and trim, there are a variety of less legal methods through which women become prostitutes. The visa application process is apparently fairly easy but not easy to understand, providing room for abuse. Frequently, women are trafficked by third parties, and many of them do not know that they are being sent into prostitution. Also, there have been reports of women having their passports taken by traffickers and then being required to pay airfare and costly lodging rates on the island. The women are then held in a form of indentured servitude, as they are not allowed to leave the brothel until they settle their debts.
Other locations on the island also participate in the sex trade. At some bars and dance clubs women are expected to engage in solicitation of sex with minimal standard compensation in order to deprive them of an economic option other than prostitution. Bars of this sort often employ foreign women who are not informed of this situation before beginning their position and, as such, are subject to the whims of club owners and managers. These women are generally not on prostitution visas and are thus not subject to the Vice and Morals Department or weekly health checks. This is also the case for immigrant women whose local Antillean husbands force them into prostitution in the bars.
Not surprisingly, the bars and their clandestine prostitution operations are the most frequent violators of human rights.
Crime and punishment
In a landmark case nearly 10 years ago, five women sued their employer for being recruited into prostitution in Curaçao under false pretences. A woman from their home country of Colombia recruited them to work as waitresses on Curaçao, and when they arrived, they were expected to fulfill not only the waitressing role but also engage in prostitution.
The women were subjected to multiple tactics indicative of human trafficking. Their traffickers/employers billed them for their airfare and did not give them a return ticket home for the end of their three-month stay. The women were expected to beg their clients to buy their return tickets home. Their passports were confiscated, and they were forbidden to communicate with their relatives. Additionally, the women were not given days off, were only provided with one meal per day, and were forced to buy their own condoms. Anything in addition to their daily sustenance had to be supplied by their clients.
The court awarded the women the payment of the salaries they had been promised originally; however, the club owners were not even prosecuted for coercing and forcing the women into prostitution.
This case further shows the government’s apathy toward helping women who are involved in sex work. The judgment demonstrates the misguided view that the predicament of the women is an occupational hazard, and that although the women were entitled to proper compensation, nothing would be done to prevent future injustices. Although there are a few avenues available those who feel they are improperly treated to seek help, they are frequently not viable. Law enforcement officials explain that the lack of aid is due to understaffing rather than a lack of empathy for the victims.
The United States State Department lists Aruba and Curaçao as Tier 2 offenders in its 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report. The BES islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustasius, and Saba), which are official member states of the Netherlands, are considered Tier 1 since the Netherlands has stricter anti-human trafficking legislation and higher penalties for offenders.
Similar to issues in many other Caribbean nations, Aruba and Curaçao have laws that modestly penalize trafficking in persons, but these laws are not always enforced. For instance, in its 2012 report, the U.S. State Department revealed that Curaçao prosecuted zero traffickers and rescued zero victims the previous year, which signifies an absence of appropriate steps to combat trafficking. The lax environment of Curaçao is ripe for trafficking so for the country to say that no offenses occurred within the year is naïve and insulting to victims of the trade.
Conclusions and recommendations
The legalization of prostitution in the Dutch Caribbean over a half century ago served a void at the time. However, it now enables a niche sex-tourism market and does not differentiate between willing and unwilling sex workers. Government and law officials often insinuate that they are not “proud” of the sex establishments located off the beaten paths of their islands but only feign interest in defending the rights of those working in the sex industry. Streetwalkers are rarely prosecuted, as they are only registered and subjected to weekly health examinations. Furthermore, state and law officials are often knowledgeable of the non-lawful establishments in which women often engage in prostitution but maintain they have no way of knowing if these women are coerced – and do little to determine the truth.
As is frequently stated, the issue in the Dutch Caribbean is not corruption but ambivalence. The positions on the issue of sex work have been stagnant for years in the Dutch Antilles, with public demand for the industry overriding the human rights of the trafficking victims. Changes to the current mandates are necessary, but changes in the disposition of the government officials are imperative for any change to stick. The hopeful shift in the government should result in an increase of prosecutions, thus deterring prospective traffickers.
There have, of course, been attempts to increase awareness throughout the Dutch Antilles. In conjunction with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Aruban Anti-Human Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce Aruba organized a weeklong campaign in October highlighting instances of trafficking on the island. The IOM also helped facilitate similar campaigns in a few Anglophone islands yet the presence of similar initiatives in the Dutch-speaking isles has been limited.
The spread and influence of awareness campaigns are viable initiatives regarding the reduction of human trafficking in the Dutch Antilles. The circumstances in these islands can most be improved by an increase in citizen participation and lead to a complementary increase in government action. The initial legitimization of prostitution is significant; however, the governments need to recognize they have a responsibility to protect the rights of everyone within their shores, and not just their birth-right citizens. While the industry may be deemed morally criminal, it is lawful and thus deserves the same amount of policing as any other industry on the islands.
Aleia Walker,
Research Associate for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)
Dear Editor,
I am writing on behalf of many timeshare owners who have been mistreated by timeshare managers and island government officials.
It is well recognized by all that the devastation of Hurricane Irma was unprecedented and almost total. The spirit of the local population in initiating and executing repair and recovery is well documented.
However, the fate of timeshare owners has never been evaluated and described. Many major properties had the financial resources to rebuild their damaged properties and adequately compensate their customer population. However, smaller properties whose owners had limited financial means have never been evaluated to see how they have treated their customer base.
In particular, government officials have failed to recognize the role of seasonal residents in past and future support of St. Maarten tourism. Properties such as the Towers at Mullet Bay have been allowed to effectively confiscate the investment of their owner population. Despite visits from Philipsburg officials, owners have been allowed to have free reign in documenting a recovery program and/or informing their owner population of plans and goals. At worst, outright lies have been accepted and not exposed by tourism officials.
In the case of the Towers at Mullet Bay, tourism officials have visited and met with local management, Because of legal and banking issues, progress on reconstruction has been halted without advising and informing owners of the prognosis for their investment. There seems to be little doubt, that island government officials have little time or interest in seeing that the island emerges with an unblemished reputation for fair treatment of tourists – past, present, and future.
I urge your newspaper to investigate the situation and attempt to right the wrongs which are being allowed to sully the reputation of your beautiful island and wonderful people.
Henry E. Meurer
25-year recurring visitor
Dear Editor,
I have heard the saying “put your brains in gear first before you put your mouth in motion” in several ways, but I did not think that a Member of Parliament would be so adamant about the fact that he is a politician first instead of a representative of the people.
I met a Member of Parliament of whom I have written to you in the past waiting to be attended to. I greeted him and assured him that there is never anything personal. (I did not tell him this, but I hope that by now all of them know that they should be able to take criticism just like they enjoy the protection of article 65.)
After this I said to him that I had expected someone to direct a question to the Minister of Finance concerning the squandering of the people’s money in connection with what I deem a senseless dispute about what is written on the number plate for 2019. A whole lot of people have asked me what the dispute is all about. I will not mention the reaction that I got from the majority of them after explaining to them the reason that was given in the paper.
One person said to me that he going to the Receiver’s to get some of the leftover plates so that he could sell them as a collector’s item because 50 years is a milestone and that is a one-time thing.
One lady said to me, “They coulda overlook dah. St. Martin people always like to spoil thing for themself.”
Another one said, “Government coulda help somebody with a roof instead of wasting that money unnecessary on those extra stickers.”
This MP in question said to me that he is a politician and will not question the Minister’s unpopular decision because he is in oppostion. On my question “Even if it is in the general interest of the people?” he reiterated that he is a politician and that is what politicians have to do.
I then told him that his task is to represent the people and that the “Staatsinrichting” does not talk about being a politician but that he was chosen to be a Member of Parliament. I wanted to know what was the reason for article 32.3. He insisted that he is a politician and that politicians play politics.
It is one thing when it concerns hearsay, but on experiencing it personally I have a different opinion of this MP. Because that MP insisted that he is a politician first, I hope he is ready to accept anything coming his way as a consequence of him not representing the people.
This is precisely the reason why I continually suggest that civics be taught in secondary classes or even be deemed a subject for exams.
Just before sending this letter someone who claimed to be within earshot of our conversation called me and asked me if I intended to write something about what the MP said. I told them, “I’ll think about it.”
Article 23 states that any Dutch national living in St. Maarten can be elected to office, barring the exceptions mention in the general regulations. I will be straightforward in what I am going to ask now: “Why should there be a minimum age up to which children are obliged to be in school, but any dummy could be elected to office?”
I strongly believe that we should amend those exceptions to ensure that whoever could be elected should at least have an education equivalent to that which would have been obtained should one have attended school up to the minimum required age. You see that MP has the right to ignore the oath he swore to and ignore the reason for him being elected to office, because the law permits people, no matter their level of education, to be elected to office, whether they understand the meaning of the word responsibility or not.
I know who all follow my letters to you, so I would hope that his fellow MPs have him stop making wrong propaganda for them and pull him aside and school him. Otherwise we will accept that they all agree that they also are paid to be politicians first and not representatives of the people.
Is not it so that possible new elections are looming?
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
I am asking for permission to air out some grievances with regard to a situation existing for some time.
Now that the Integrity Chamber is becoming reality, those with skeletons in their closet are running around helter-skelter, trying to cover their tracks. This present government seems to be dragging its feet on that issue.
The watchdogs of society need to pay close attention to the actions of some persons recently appointed to prominent positions at government departments and some family members.
Poor families are being denied the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty, through the actions of some corrupt civil servants and greedy businessmen. Certain people could own several properties all over town and the one tiny piece which has been inhabited by four and five generations of the same family is now being taken away. It is an open and low-lying area which gets flooded with the passage of every storm or hurricane. This was made worse with the added run-off water coming from a three-story building erected next door.
Imagine what would happen if another building is allowed to be built there. It would be like a huge concrete barrier, stopping the flow of water which gushes into our yard like waves on the seashore. That is what we experienced during Hurricanes Luis, Lenny, Irma and Maria, just to name a few. The water would rise quite rapidly, putting our families’ lives at risk of death or serious injury.
We were granted an audience with the former Minister of VROMI, and I will refer to him here as the Hon. Christophe Emmanuel, who I have now come to realize was the only one with a sympathetic ear. He is a true “man of the people” and I hope he gets back into office soon to continue the good he has been doing.
Now here comes a minister, who was a member of staff at that same department where several protest letters were filed, approving the building permit as soon as he gets into office. I would consider that a conflict of interest. Is it possible to have one building permit application for two separate areas, one uptown and one downtown? And all the games being played with a request to review the building permit application, by scheduling meetings an hour or two before or on holidays.
That is impossible for someone who is busy and a government department which closes on every holiday.
I am pleading with the powers that be and the present Min. of VROMI, to take a serious look into the situation. There are funds made available to help the people.
Why not re-purchase the property, which is valued at just over US $100,000, or offer the businessman a concession in the planned development along Walter Nisbeth Rd. in exchange for said property, which could then be split between the two neighbouring families along existing boundary lines. By doing so, you would be adding value to what is already theirs, which they can now use as collateral to seek financing, to not just rebuild but upgrade to a higher standard for them and future generations.
Where is the help for these families, who had a complete building wiped out and others damaged? A little over $50,000 each for two neighbouring families. Is that too much to ask? A win-win situation for everyone involved.
Even if the area were to be developed, it would have to be two separate buildings, with space in between them, so that in the event of any storm, the water would make its way out easily. Not one huge structure taking up the whole area. And there is no proper drainage in the area to help facilitate the flow of water. That building, if allowed to be built, would be denying residents proper access to their homes which they have lived in for generations.
We will present an official request to the authorities, because what this situation boils down to, simply put, is a matter of ultimate survival.
Blessed love,
J. Stakelboroug
