Dear Editor,
A Minister of TEATT [Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication – Ed.] in my opinion needs to focus on the product our guests enjoy when visiting our island. No one would argue that increased air traffic and cruise ship visits are to be pursued with great attention and dedication. However, as we are all well aware, we offer pretty much the same as what the other islands have to offer: Beach, restaurant, and entertainment.
Here in St. Maarten however, we have niches that not many islands have. We have casinos, and a lagoon, which houses various marinas with attractive mooring facilities and amenities. We also have an existing mega-niche in our destination. I refer here to the Maho Beach airplane viewing attraction.
St. Maarten has, and continues to receive free advertisement/exposure on numerous social media platforms as well as the international news media. People plan their vacation around taking selfies on Maho Beach, St. Maarten. Yet government does not see the importance of upgrading this location. The boardwalk would provide safety and comfort to the many visitors amongst whom the occasional wheelchair user. On a sad note, a lady died there while enjoying a day of fun with the planes. The proverbial cow has drowned. It is time to cover the pit.
All will agree that a boardwalk from the harbor to Philipsburg will provide comfort and convenience for the cruise tourists. Not to mention the possibility to visit even more of the same shops on their way into Philipsburg. How this is better than structurally organizing the services offered outside the harbor in order to avoid harassment by vendors, rental agents and other traders is beyond my comprehension.
One would think that by structurally organizing commerce outside the harbor entrance, all will operate under the rules and order will be established. One might say that the behavior of these traders is the way we do things in the islands and that it is our culture, but no one will argue with the fact that this type of behavior is intimidating to our guests.
What would keep the cruise lines from capitalizing on this and offer attractions to keep their customers on board, or even threaten that they will not include the destination in their itinerary because they found safer haven(s)? Service on their ships and Private Island is provided with big smiles.
The new boardwalk will not stop commerce outside the harbor gates. The minister of tourism must seek cooperation of the minister of justice to guarantee order at the harbor. And maybe a friendliness clause must be attached in all tourist-related business licenses to which all must adhere.
I believe that using the VKS [Volunteer Corps] will provide opportunity for our hero volunteers to exercise their calling and serve our country. But we opt for yet another boardwalk in the Great Bay area again. Let the taxi driver make a dollar if he/she can. But demand that they do so with respect and everybody is happy.
It is not that I am against the boardwalk from the harbor to Philipsburg. I just believe that the Maho boardwalk is of much more importance at this stage. Great numbers of tourists gather there every week. We must implement safety before another sad incident occurs. The boardwalk would also serve as additional protection for the road and vehicles from beach sand overflow.
A slightly widened road and lower road divider will facilitate all incoming and outgoing traffic. For example; in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a crane had to drive over the airport to clear a container from a house in Beacon Hill. This would not have been necessary if the road was slightly wider and or the road divider was lower.
The enhancement project for the Maho Beach would also entail parking for visitors, taxis and tour buses, with the cooperation of the airport. The boardwalk would be protected by a breakwater built from natural reef balls that permit water flow so there will be no pileup of sea sand against the breakwater.
Detailed information was shared with the Nature Foundation and they were consulted on the viability of the breakwater in the form presented. Approval was sought from and given by this organization. The Maho Boardwalk and Breakwater project also includes a water drainage system project that will solve the water stagnation problem in various locations in Beacon Hill. These roads are used by Beacon Hill residents, as well as local and foreign visitors on a daily basis. There are also two small hotels in this area.
When asked, the VROMI [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure] department made mention of an elaborate project for the drainage of the stagnant water, for which there are no funds available.
I have been approached in the past by a local company to provide their services for the drilling of drainage wells (soak-away wells). This system will have the water go underground into existing water veins. The cost related to drilling is by far less expensive when compared to any other options. This water disposal system can be introduced around the island where required as long as water veins can be found. This option seems to be available for Beacon Hill because water constantly flows under the ground yet it does not come up and after heavy rains the water eventually sips into the ground as it has nowhere else to go. To illustrate my point further, I point to the fact that very few residents require the services of a septic truck in Beacon Hill.
For the sake of product enhancement, the minister of TEATT should pursue this project in collaboration with the minister of VROMI. These two ministers should also collaborate and request from N.V. GEBE that the company dispose of all its exposed pipes, cables and damaged lamp poles. If N.V. GEBE, our corporate big brother with the power to serve, would cooperate, we will have a cleaner, more beautiful St. Maarten. More so, it might send an important message to the general public to be a little tidy too.
The same goes for seeking cooperation with the Prime Minister under whose portfolio TelEm falls to do the same. A nice gift from TelEm makes one individual happy and we appreciate that. After all, all clients stand a chance to win but only one or a few actually win a prize. However, cleaning up St. Maarten makes a whole country happy. And we appreciate that too, but more because everybody wins.
The minister of TEATT can enhance the beauty of our island by having indigenous plants and trees planted around the island in plain view of traffic users and little by little rebuild our slave walls on Bush Road. Build it and they will come and enjoy our beauty. Sounds nice and it has potential for growth and success.
The car wrecks are also not good for our image.
Seek cooperation with the minister of culture to have our national flag fly high and proud every day so that our visitors can see that we take great pride in our country and its identity. It does not matter whose idea it was. What matters is the flag represents our national identity and shows that we all take pride in our country. Talk about St. Maarten Strong.
Remember, tourism is our single economic pillar. The minister of TEATT must strengthen it. Give the minister the budget and cooperation needed for the complete strengthening of our tourism product. Of all the niches I mentioned that we benefit from and those we can benefit from, the most important niche is a clean and beautiful St. Maarten image.
Louis R. Engel
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I invite you to begin the Advent season with the words of angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God” (Lk 1,30).
This is the motto of World Youth Day (WYD) that will take place next January in Panama, where a group of young people and animators of our Diocese will participate.
At the same time, I would like to remind you of the other event dedicated to the young people last October, which was the Synod of Bishops with the theme of “Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment”. May this message guide us during the Advent season and throughout the liturgical year so that we may pay special attention to our youth.
Pope Francis has commented on the words addressed to Mary with some questions to the young people: “What fear do you have? What worries you most deeply?” And he goes on saying: “An ‘underlying’ fear that many of you have is that of not being loved, well-liked or accepted for who you are ... That is why many young people feel the need to be different from who they really are, in an attempt to adapt to an often artificial and unattainable standard. They continuously “photo-shop” their images to get the largest number of ‘likes’.”
Pope Francis says that in the Bible, many of those called by God for a mission have also experienced fear: Abraham, Moses, the prophets, Virgin Mary, and the Apostles themselves. Jesus asks them: “Why are you afraid, do you still have no faith?” (Mk 4:40). The Holy Father concludes by saying the obstacle to faith is often not scepticism but fear. Then we have to react and know that the Lord is with us and repeats in our hearts: “Do not be afraid” (see Message for the WYD, February 11, 2018).
Mary is the way to reach Jesus.
Advent makes us walk the path of the people of God who were expecting the Messiah Saviour. The Word of God offers us the message of the prophet Isaiah that nourishes the hope for the arrival of “Emmanuel”, God with us (Is. 7:14). And Mary is the path that leads us to the encounter with Jesus, she is the Morning Star that heralds the coming of the of sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2). The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which the Church celebrates on December 8, is like the door that opens to the contemplation of the birth of her Son Jesus. The liturgy of the Church sings: “Hail, Queen of the Heaven and Lady of Angels, Hail, thou root, Hail, thou gate, through which the Light has risen, Rejoice glorious Virgin, lovely beyond all women, pray for us to Jesus Christ.” (Marian antiphon Ave Regina Caelorum).
Brothers and Sisters, I invite you to celebrate the novena and feast of the Immaculate Virgin Mary with special fervour and devotion, aware that she is the Patroness of our Diocese!
A pastoral year dedicated to the family, youth and life.
Our priests’ meeting in Aruba, last October, once again emphasized the “unity in diversity” of our Diocese and the task that all of us have of being missionary disciples.
At the same time, we renew the mandate of the Church through the person of Pope Francis to preach the Joy of the Gospel and to practice love and mercy through the works of mercy. And we want to dedicate special attention to the three realities: family, youth and life.
As the Synod of Bishops says: “Family remains the main point of reference for the young people. The children appreciate the love and attention of their parents; they are concerned about family ties, hoping to be successful in forming a family one day (# 32). Our parishes must be a “family of families”, because so many young people live in families that are fragile, and lack resources. It is then important that they see the Church as a true family that “adopts” them as her own children.
In our annual pastoral program, we have suggested different pastoral activities for each month to help family, school and parish to be able to actively participate in the liturgical celebrations and parish activities.
Brothers and Sisters, I conclude with the thought about the Holy Eucharist, that it may be an encounter of faith with expressions of signs that help children and young people to understand the beauty of the mystery we celebrate. During the dawn masses novena and throughout the liturgical year, we, the priests and the laity, wish to enliven the liturgy, and accompany the youth for them to discover the value of the Holy Eucharist in its various parts.
Let us now implore God’s blessing on all of us, at the end of this year that we celebrate the 60 years of existence of our Diocese. Let us continue to live the motto: “Encounter with Christ, Encounter with others”. We now ask Mary, Immaculate Mother, for her protection over our families and youth and in a particular way over all the expectant mothers that they may feel the joy of bringing a new life to the world. Let us continue to recite the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel at the end of the celebration of every mass.
Your servant in Jesus and Mary,
Luis A. Secco, SDB
Bishop of Willemstad
Let we face it
St. Martin Road
has become
ah war zone
with soo much casualties
and too much fatalities
and we fulling up we
cemmetry
cauz noboby
crazyer than we.
The road soo narrow
and full a holds
yet we speeding
like lighting
And playing with the life
That we borrow
like there is not tomorow
we burial ground full up
but we still aint giving up
Tez some thing we drink
That got we acting soo Mad
or tez just BAD WE BAD
Or is it life that is so Bad
That we better off DEAD
cauz if dead yeh want te dead
Just stay.
Lay down in yeh BED
AND SAVE THE CHILDREN
FROM ALL THESE DREADFULL
SITE
Raymond Helligar aka “Big Ray”
Dear Editor,
November 30th marks the official end of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season. With an appreciative heart I join with the rest of the nation in giving thanks to the Almighty for His mercies in keeping our little island safe this hurricane season.
No one needs to be reminded of the destruction of last year and we have all held our collective breaths since June 1st. Although we gratefully did not have any storms come our way, we did experience a few instances of heavy rainfall and flooding over a period of a few weeks. In close collaboration with the Meteorological and Fire Departments the VROMI Ministry closely monitored these disturbances and responded appropriately by issuing the necessary alerts to residents, pre-emptively activating our water management system which pumped water from the Salt Pond into the Great Bay sea and stood on standby to quickly deal with any damage caused by the flooding.
By all accounts, as our world continues to deal with the challenges related to climate change, St. Maarten, as a small island developing state, will have to remain vigilant in our ability to prepare and respond. Adapting the core value of resiliency into our short-, medium- and long-term vision will effectively demonstrate that we have learned the lessons taught to us by Hurricane Irma.
The recently started 10th EDF project, the “Dutch Quarter sewage project,” is one such example of building resiliency into our projects as we continue the task of upgrading the quality of life for the citizens of our country. The project will lead to an expansion of the sewer network in Dutch Quarter, an upgrading of the side roads, improvement of the overall drainage system, improvement of public streetlighting and the construction of pedestrian sidewalks. We will not just build back, but build back better.
The Ministry also has several projects in various stages of preparation and execution within the St. Maarten Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund. We are partnering with several entities to rebuild the roofs of many vulnerable families in our community. The Emergency Debris Removal project will clear our lagoon of shipwrecks as well as remove the Irma Landfill. Fire suppression activities and improved waste management are scheduled for the main landfill and public buildings, such as the Philipsburg police station and Simpson Bay substation, are to be repaired.
As we continue to rebuild our nation strict adherence to laws, regulations and requirements are critical in the times ahead. In ensuring that our island moves closer to becoming a resilient nation stringent inspections and enforcements will become the new norm. I call on the business community and residents alike to have all required permits and permissions in order. Dilapidated buildings, which pose health and safety risks to those around it, will be demolished at owners’ expenses. Persons caught illegally dumping garbage and sewage will be fined. We all have a responsibility and a part to play.
St. Maarten, we cannot deny that our island has made great strides in our recovery during this past year. We have proven that we are a strong, spirited and hard-working people. As your Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure I pledge to continue working tirelessly to make certain that come next hurricane season we can all breathe a little easier.
God bless Sint Maarten.
Miklos Giterson,
Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI
Dear Editor,
A question that for me was never answered honestly was why ABN was sold. As we know for years now there have been cries for political independence for Sint Maarten. So, we are selling banks and we want independence. I never saw the logic, with tourism being the pillar of our economy and nothing belonging to the country.
I will never even want anyone to know what is going on in banking, but I know that over the years the working population on Sint Maarten was either directly or indirectly obliged to collect their salaries via banks. What I also know is that the banks on Sint Maarten are branches of world-known banks and that too often clients have to wait for approval from overseas banks when there are discrepancies . I know of people who had to wait up to three months for rectification and restitution because of faulty ATM machines. This week I read that Scotia Bank is being sold and there are also rumours that there are ongoing negotiations to sell UTS. Which industry is safe on Sint Maarten?
It seems as if the strategy is to time the announcements of upcoming court cases of the prominent citizens of Sint Maarten and the list never seems to end. We also continue to read that the Dutch are constantly voting against issues concerning Sint Maarten's self-determination. So, I would like to know when are we going to get it?
I would also like to know if there is anyone in there without butter on his or her head who can let the people know in general terms what is really going on. Do the Michael Cohen. If you are going to be incarcerated come clean. Whether wrong or right, let the truth set you free so that you can face the nation relieved of all that burden.
I do not believe that everyone who was condemned is innocent and are doing this on behalf of the community. So, when I sum this all up why should I be willing to seek political independence? Are we asking ourselves “Why am I doing this” before doing what we do? Do we pray about it?
Russell A. Simmons
