Mr. Editor,

  Thank you for the space.

  I am very well aware that many of us become tired and are not always in the mood or the best frame of mind to go to our jobs daily. I myself do have those feelings sometimes.

  But when you are a front-line worker dealing with the public we have to be careful of not letting those ill feelings get the better of us.

  A close relative of mine with a declaration of sole parental had her one-year-old son forcefully taken from her custody by his psychotic father, who is no stranger to police, made a 911 call on Sunday, 13 January, in the evening hours asking for assistance in getting her child back. I assumed the dispatcher was tired of the situation, as there were many previous 911 calls pertaining to this case in question.

  My advice to the Ms. Dispatcher that was on duty between the hours of 7:00pm and 9:30pm: Next time, please have the courtesy of covering the phone with your hand. Before your attempt to help, we heard everything you said to your colleague in the background. Let me refresh your memory, “I am sick of this girl. Why she don’t try handle this herself? Which department she works again?” And I assume the person you were talking to is your colleague, who is just as bad, said, “I think it is Immigration or one of them, but she didn’t had problems the other day with this already.”

  All of this took place while we were holding on the line waiting for your help. Shame on you, Ms. Dispatcher. Next time ask your supervisor to switch you to a next department if you are not in the mood, because one has to be able to willingly offer assistance to all 911 Emergency calls regardless of the situation.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Viquin

Dear Editor,

  Migration has become one of the greatest challenges for people in search of a better life. It is a serious issue confronting governments and people around the world today. The complexity of illegal migration and the displacement of people have led to human catastrophe and controversy. The plight of refugees fleeing conflict zones ravaged by wars, political injustice, religious beliefs, and natural disasters is the worst humanitarian crisis not seen since the Second World War in 1945.

  Hundreds of migrants have died fleeing conflict areas for a better life for themselves and families. Many died at sea trying to reach Europe from Africa. It’s a heartbreaking situation for people wanting to enjoy a better life. Their children are dying from starvation, malnutrition, and diseases. Millions of refugees in Yemen, Syria, and Bangladesh are suffering from hunger and starvation, and desperately in need of help, but no one to the rescue. Many don’t have food to eat, clean water to drink, and money to spend.

  World Government has no immediate solution to end the migrant crisis. Many countries are closing their doors to asylum seekers. African migrants are sent back home from some European countries. Migrants are not treated fairly in most countries. Most of the times, they’re look upon as terrorists or runaway slaves. The majority of people from Latin America and the Caribbean are suffering from low wages, slow improvement in the economy, and the national debts of their countries are quite high.

  Hundreds of prisoners are deported from the United States resulting in gang violence back home. People are dying as brutal gangs carry out kidnapping and murders. In Honduras 17,000 people decided to walk to the Mexican border trying to reach America, the land of opportunity, a desperate struggle for a better life or death in search of work. Refugees in Iraq, Syria, Myanmar, and Indonesia are homeless, lack of food and money is a global problem facing migrants and refugees today.

  The political and economic situation in Venezuela is causing people to flee to Colombia and other Caribbean countries to find employment. The world economy is shrinking, and governments are struggling to help out financially. In order to curb the plight of illegal migration in the region, authorities must try to control free movement of migrants seeking asylum, introduce new legislations to protect their citizens in the job market, grant refugee status to migrants with special education and skills, and give status to those fleeing religious persecution.

  Refugees are no longer welcome in some European countries, and must be aware of those establishing laws in parliament to send migrants to criminal islands to be treated like slaves. Migrants fleeing countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are sometimes victims of wars, unfair prosecution, political injustice, terrorism, and natural disasters, hoping to find work, and enjoy a better life. Some of these countries are in ruins, causing people to flee to other countries, creating illegal immigration and constitutional crisis in many countries.

  Their children are starving, some suffering from malnutrition, and many children and adults drown at sea. The majority of countries in Latin America have a 25 per cent illiteracy rate, a huge debt ceiling, and high rate of unemployment causing their citizens to migrate elsewhere to find work. While world governments look for solutions! Hope and dreams are high among many in search of a better life, but dreams don’t always come through.

  For now, exploitation, deportation, and unfair prosecution are the result in their struggle for a better life.

Joseph Harvey

Dear Editor,

  Last week during the IPKO on St. Maarten I noticed that many parliamentarians were quite angry with me because I have often criticized the political situation on the island in The Daily Herald. However, on the road, I was approached quite differently: many people came to me with a smile and encouraged me to continue my criticism. Many people told me that I name the problems that they are afraid to talk about.

  I needed that support from the people, because the meeting with the parliamentarians had made me gloomy. They assumed a tone and used big words to blame the Netherlands for almost all problems on the islands, while Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten are autonomous countries with their own management and their own responsibilities.

  This is how it happens too often in the Kingdom: problems that the islands have caused themselves have to be resolved by the Netherlands. But if we intervene and try to tackle the problems, we get the reproach of racism and colonialism and the accusation that we want to take over control.

  I can assure every resident of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten that this is absolutely not the case. The opposite is true: the less we have to interfere with the islands in the Dutch parliament, the better it is.

   The Netherlands was blamed by many parliamentarians from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten for the problems that the islands face with refugees from Venezuela. But as much as we would like to, we can’t do anything about the terrible dictatorship in that country.

  Off the record, island politicians admitted that many Venezuelans were once brought to their country as cheap workers in construction or in the tourism industry. These are not actually refugees, but people who are deliberately illegally taken to the islands by companies, which the local government has always tolerated.

  A number of politicians from Curaçao demanded that we now send planes to collect thousands of Venezuelans. I really want to offer help, but then the islands have to state more seriously what it is that we can help them with.

  Politicians from St. Maarten were angry about the slow reconstruction after Hurricane Irma, for which the Netherlands has made more than 550 million euros available. But when we inquire further, it often appears that unwillingness and ignorance of the St. Maarten government itself leads to postponement and delay.

  The Netherlands wants to invest 100 million euros in the reconstruction of the badly hit St. Maarten airport and the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is willing to help with the recovery. However, some St. Maarten politicians do not want this help, because the Netherlands wants decent supervision of the expenditures and demands good governance.

  The Netherlands is internationally criticized if things go wrong at the prisons on Curaçao and St. Maarten, or with the refineries on Aruba and Curaçao, or if public finances get out of hand in the islands. But if we do intervene, everyone is angry with us.

   Last week I noticed that the love for islands is fading a bit for many Dutch parliamentarians, because we can never really do things right. If the Netherlands does nothing, politicians on the islands will get angry. But if the Netherlands does intervene, some politicians on the islands will become even angrier.

  Last week I spoke to several politicians from the islands and many admitted off the record that things can’t really continue like this. It is time that we make new agreements. Let Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten clearly indicate what they want to do themselves, and the Netherlands will not interfere anymore. And let the islands say what they think the Netherlands can do better, but then we must also be able to assume our responsibility and do it on our own way.

  The Kingdom is dead, long live the new Kingdom!

Ronald van Raak

Member of the Second Chamber for the Socialist Party (SP)

Dear Editor,

  Can our compatriots in the Caribbean Netherlands count on enough and good support from the Netherlands and/or Europe when the Cold War threat starts to escalate?

  Since 10-10-’10 the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba form a kind of municipality of the Netherlands called BES. The other islands such as Aruba and Curaçao are separate countries in the kingdom.

  As many know, a humanitarian disaster has been going on for years in Venezuela, the country facing the ABC islands. Until recently, this “only” meant that Venezuelan refugees went to the ABC islands. But for some time now, Venezuela has received more and more help and support from mainly Russia and, to a lesser extent, China.

  Communist dictator Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has let himself be installed as leader for a new term on Thursday. In Venezuela there is talk of extreme electoral fraud and residents who for years almost literally die of starvation or a lack of medicines. The stores in Venezuela are almost empty and the items that are for sale have become unaffordable because of the extreme hyperinflation, so only Maduro and his party mates can still pay. It is therefore no wonder that millions of Venezuelans have been fleeing.

  The OAS (Organization of American States) has asked Maduro more often to resign and to adjust his policy. Secretary-General Luis Almagro even said in September 2018 that the possibility of military intervention to overthrow Maduro’s regime should not be ruled out. Their large neighbouring South American country Colombia has also requested Maduro to step down.

  Meanwhile, Maduro is not going anywhere, and the region is supported by the other communist and economically backward country of Cuba. Maduro also continues to expropriate American oil sources, which has also made the US quite angry. Spain has already voiced its disapproval of Venezuela’s policies, the EU indicated that it disagrees with the re-election of Maduro and last week, Germany did not accept Maduro’s reappointment. So, the tension is high on the edge of our kingdom.

  In December two Russian nuclear bombers landed in Venezuela and Maduro agreed that a Russian military base would be established on the Venezuelan island of La Orchilla, 311 km east of Curaçao. The TU-160 Black Jacks nuclear bombers have meanwhile been supplemented with even more aircraft from Russia. Maduro himself visited the Kremlin last week.

  Meanwhile, the US is aloud speaking of a new Cold War in their “backyard”, just like the Cuban crisis in 1962. CNN reported extensively about it yesterday.

  Meanwhile, I hold my heart and ask the question: “Suppose there is a second Bay of Pigs and the situation escalates militarily, can the inhabitants of the ABC Islands count on support from The Hague and the EU?”

  Will be continued without a doubt …

Petra Meese