Dear Editor,
This is the way that our social insurance SZV treats patients. Days after ninety-five per cent of St. Maarten was destroyed following category 5 Hurricane Irma, all patients in Colombia were sent the following message:
“Please find an update after the passing of Hurricane Irma last Tuesday. SZV’s office has suffered some hurricane damage, but we will start up our systems to be operational as soon as power and internet have been restored and are stable. We hope that this happens in the course of this week.
“In the meantime, it was decided that all patients that have been dismissed should remain at the hotel they were originally staying. We will evaluate next week Monday (or as the situation changes) when it will be safe to return patients to Sint Maarten. The daily allowance or meal plan should be continued.
“All scheduled regular, non-urgent appointments (including appointments that have expired) will be rescheduled with priority once SZV is operational. Appointments for urgent cases will be dealt with on an individual basis.
“We have a team of SZV stationed in Curaçao and we are available here to answer all your questions.
Kindest Regards,
On behalf of the director of SZV.”
On the 27th of September, we were informed that we would be going back to SXM on the 29th - return to possible homelessness, joblessness and a despondent future ahead. We were told that we were only allowed 10 kg of weight- including your pocketbook. Meaning that basically everything you left SXM with, you had to leave behind. We were also instructed to leave our suitcases, as well as money to pay overweight, with other patients that were left behind, entrusting our possessions to total strangers.
After much protest, the weight limit was increased to 32kg. Two hours prior to departure, 3:00am SXM time, receptionist at our hotel knocks on our doors and informs everyone that the weight limit is no longer 32kg, but has been reverted back to 10kg. So not only do we have to repack our belongings to accommodate the new limit, we have to wake the other patients who are left behind to hand them our suitcases and overweight money - all of this at midnight SXM time (St. Maarten time is one hour ahead of Colombia's). Due to protest action they decided to leave us where we were for the time being. A few days later, however, we were given a threatening ultimatum, as depicted below:
Informative Letter from SZV & Coomeva International Office. “A new charter flight has been arranged for patients’ and companions’ return to St. Maarten. The flight has been scheduled for Friday, October 6, in the morning (pending time). The maximum weight allowed per passenger is 10 kilograms (20 pounds). SZV will forward secured baggage to St. Maarten at a later date, which will be informed as soon as this is coordinated.
“Personal belongings would be stored in a safe place, this will be arranged by Coomeva’s International Office. SZV informs all patients and companions that refusal to travel will result in the discontinuance of allowance, hotel coverage and return flight, without further discussion.
“The director of operations from SZV flew in the first charter, and ensured that the plane is comfortable, has the amenities and a nurse on board. Please be advised to start arrangements and preparations for this flight.
Sincerely,
Coomeva’s International Team.
On arrival at airport, since we were left with no choice, driver was seemingly unaware as to where to take us. We were left at the check-in area for two hours, with no seats and in uncomfortably chilly air. Finally, we were attended to. The plane was very small, and had no toilet facilities and very little leg room. Patients had to be lifted onto said flight, duration which is six-and-a-half hours.
Can you imagine embarking on a flight, one leg of said flight is three hours in duration, with scarcely enough room to stretch or a bottle of water to quench one’s thirst, as patients? Why put us through this ordeal, when commercial flights were to be resumed at the international airport of St. Maarten in three days, on October 10, 2017? When this was brought to SZV’s attention, we were told that the cost of a normal charter flight would be “too costly” for them.
As if this was not bad enough, we were given no inclination as to if or when our suitcases would be brought to the island, and if compensation would be made if our suitcases were lost or stolen. This is a very unfathomable way for human beings, much less patients, to be treated.
It is now a month and one day with no luggage and nobody can tell us when it is arriving. As far as we were informed by people responsible in Colombia, our luggage is now in the hands of the Red Cross. Strangely patients who left Colombia ten days after us, not only were they able to leave with their luggage, they were put up in hotel overnight in Curaçao and Santo Domingo to get to SXM the following day. That very route was suggested by us to the people in Colombia responsible to get us home. Instead they chose a more expensive way, chartering the small plane, which we later found out was an air ambulance.
It definitely costs less from Curaçao/Santo Domingo to SXM as our tickets from Colombia via our regular airline Copa, are already paid for. Other patients came with Copa.
We went through a hurricane cat 5 plus, some of us do not have a house to go to, lost everything the only thing that we have was the clothing that was left behind in Colombia. We are recuperating from a sickness and the same insurance company is putting us under more stress that we are already dealing with, I would like to ask SZV what is next for the group that came back under this inhumane situation?
My conclusion is that SZV has the monopoly and therefore they can do what pleases them. Today no one can tell us when we are going to receive our suitcases. I am pleading with the Minister of Health, Mr. Lee, to kindly look into this unjust situation and bring clarity to us and see to it that this situation never happens again to anyone. It seems to me that we are being punished.
Outraged patient
Name withheld at author’s request.
Dear Editor,
On November 3, 2017, His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday signed the national decree declaring that early elections would take place on January 8, 2018. This was a very rash decision, seeing that the decree was signed within 24 hours, without taking into consideration the current situation that exists in the country following Hurricane Irma. Hundreds of families are roofless, homeless, jobless and displaced. People on the island are still in survival mode and election is the last thing on their minds. Moreover, the institutions used to facilitate elections, such as the Electoral Council, the Central Voting Bureau and the Post Office are all severely damaged.
The decision by the Governor to enforce snap elections shows that he is not sensitive to the needs of the people, nor is he aware that the entities involved in handling the elections are non-functional at this time. Likewise, Prime Minister William Marlin who, due to his daily interaction with the people, should have been even more aware of the suffering of the people and of the severe damage that the various election offices had endured.
This is Prime Minister Marlin’s third stint dealing with Parliamentary dissolutions. In May 2013, Marlin, then as Acting Prime Minister, submitted a draft national decree to the Governor to dissolve Parliament. This was done while Marlin was deputizing for then-Prime Minister Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams. The draft decree was co-signed by Ministers Silveria Jacobs, Roland Tuitt and Romeo Pantophlet, and resulted in the famous “Mexican Standoff.” Fortunately, the Governor was able to circumvent the dissolution of Parliament at that time.
In 2015, William Marlin, as parliamentarian, was completely opposed to the dissolution of Parliament prompted by the government of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. In the public meeting of Parliament held on October 28, 2015, MP William Marlin stated that “the government should not have invoked article 59 because of the motion of no confidence. This is a gross violation; it is unacceptable.” Quoting Ing. Ralph Richardson, former Lt. Governor and constitutional expert, MP Marlin said, “Richardson says that article 59 is not there for the government to strike back at the parliament.”
On November 2, 2017, just two years later, Prime Minister William Marlin ate his own words and in a vindictive move struck back at parliament by submitting a national decree to the Governor for the dissolution of Parliament.
In 2013, most likely after seeking expert advice, the Governor was able to resolve the conflict. In 2015 the Governor sought advice from three legal minds commonly called the “three wise men.” Unfortunately, as he was unable to quell this conflict, he signed the decree calling for early elections in February 2016.
Subsequently, this decree had to be amended due to a faulty date. Then, apparently because of political pressure, the Governor issued a new decree on December 15, 2015, thereby postponing the elections by six months and consequently violating the constitution.
Furthermore, article 59 states that after the dissolution of Parliament, the newly-elected Parliament must meet within three months. The Governor blatantly violated the constitution by postponing the elections by nine months. Lisa Alexander ought to be commended for calling the Governor out and presenting this constitutional violation to the Constitutional Court. Unfortunately, her case was considered inadmissible due to the fact that it was presented to the wrong court.
On November 2 last, Governor Holiday, for the third time during his tenure, was presented with a decree to dissolve Parliament. It beats me that he signed off on such a serious decision within 24 hours.
Apparently he did not consult with the persons involved in the election process, like attorney Jason Rogers, Chairman of the Central Voting Bureau, attorney Bert Hoffman, Chairman of the Electoral Council or Stuart Johnson, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Postal Services St. Maarten. According to article 21 of the Governor’s Regulation he did not have to sign the dissolution decree but could have submitted it to the King for annulment. Could it be that political pressure once again precipitated such a fast move on the part of the Governor?
Now that the Governor has signed and published the decree based on article 59 of the Constitution he cannot pull back his decision. An annulment at this time would be in violation of the three months scheduled between the dissolution of the previous parliament and the first meeting of the newly elected parliament. Any period beyond the three months would also be in violation of the constitution.
The Governor cannot single-handedly change the constitutionally specified term mentioned in article 59. A proposal for a constitutional alteration must be endorsed by at least two thirds of parliament and cannot be ratified until the views of the Kingdom government have been obtained.
In 2015, the Governor unlawfully extended the election date in order to give the Marlin Cabinet sufficient time to deal with ship-jumping and electoral reform. However, nothing was done about these two issues.
Electoral reform would have ensured that, in the case of snap elections, the Census Office would have had enough time to update the voters’ registry and new parties would have had sufficient time to register for the upcoming election. However, because the postulation date has been set for November 13, 2017, this bars new political parties from registering, which is a violation of the democratic right of the people.
In summary, the electoral process for snap elections has been initiated based on article 59 of the constitution and the Governor is not allowed to change the constitutionally specified term singlehandedly. As the representative of the King he is duty-bound to uphold and protect the constitution of Sint Maarten.
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party
Dear Editor,
The main problem on St. Maarten is that we don't really understand what the problem is. Sure, the garbage problem, the crime problem, and the education problem, but these things are not the problem. These issues are merely the symptoms of the real problem in St. Maarten. A symptom is a sign of something wrong, an indicator of disease, the symptoms are not the problem. The symptoms exist because of the problem. So what, you may ask, is the real problem? I would humbly submit that we the people are the problem.
As a society we the people have grown soft and weak; we take everything as it comes and when someone does stand up, most of us close our mouths, eyes and ears, just like those three little monkeys. Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. Don't make waves. Live and let live. That's not my problem. What is one person going to do? Someone else will take care of that. That's not my business.
These are the excuses we make for ourselves to shirk our responsibilities as useful contributing members of society. When you are not responsible for anything, how can you be held accountable for it? You see, we the people are the problem, because we the people do not hold our leaders accountable, we the people do not hold our friends accountable; we the people do not hold our family accountable. We the people do not hold ourselves accountable. We the people have allowed our government, our leaders to run amok, no one can deny it. We catch them in their dirty deals and we watch them play the blame game like its musical chairs and we still don't hold them accountable. They should be ashamed, but they are not. We should be ashamed, but we are not.
We are all going about our merry ways ensconced in the belief that someone is minding the sheep. Well St. Maarten, I hate to break it to you, but the wolves are minding the sheep and we the people are in big trouble. Yes, our politicians are mostly corrupt, those that are not directly guilty of corruption are still guilty of passive participation in the corruption. But they can only do what we the people allow them to get away with. Who voted them in? We the people. Who let them stay in? We the people.
The real question is are we men, or are we mice? Do we the people want things to continue as they are, or will we demand change? Do we the people have the balls to say enough is enough? Me, I am always hopeful, but I can't say I'm optimistic about it.
I believe St. Maarten is special, and since I can trace my direct ancestry back at least 8 generations on SXM, I can reasonably assume I came from a long line of people who believed that St. Maarten was special as well.
Certainly I am biased. When I was born, there were about 7,500 people on St. Maarten.....it's more than 5 times that now. And that number is a joke compared to the number of transients barging through with no respect for our society, no responsibilities, and of course no accountability. But whose fault is that? We the people.
So, even though I still believe that St. Maarten is special, I feel it has long lost its charm and its lustre. Too great a percentage of the population do not care at all about St. Maarten, and we the people. They care only for themselves; they care only to see what they wish to see, and they refuse to do what needs to be done. Some might say it's the foreigners, but if we want to really see the truth, we could easily see that it's our own people that have sold us out. Deep down you know no one can buy what's not for sale.
We the people are both the problem and the solution. We need to realize that the times they are a ‘changing, that SXM is too small for all this garbage....in every sense. We the people must demand change. We must no longer accept mediocrity and incompetence. We must no longer accept deception and double-dealing, we must see the wolves for what they are, and we must demand better. No more second and third chances, no more suspicious activities that remain unexplained, no more nepotism, no more cronyism, no more secret deals, no more looking the other way. Enough is enough.
The time has come to take out the garbage, but we must be vigilant, we must truly look at the candidates running and not succumb to the same nepotism and cronyism that has gotten us a greedy government to begin with. Inform yourself before you decide that your cousin is best for the job; is he or she really? Or are you blinded by the same nepotism that has plagued us all these years?
Demand transparency, the Government belongs to we the people, they are our employees. Think about it, if you don't know or understand something, ask a question. Information is ever at our finger tips these days; ignorance might be bliss, but knowledge is power.
That power lies with you and I, the responsibility lies with you and I. Don't let them fool you, they work for us and when we start holding all our civil servants accountable for what they've done, and for what they haven't done, things will change.
"It is what it is, but it will become what you make it." - Attributed to Abe Lincoln.
I would like to mention that I wrote this last year in June of 2016. I believe it highlights how nothing has changed, and how we seem to have forgotten all we were already going through before Hurricane Irma.
Haydee Peterson
Insanity in high places!
Dear Editor,
Our island seems to be under a genuine curse. First we were hit by a devastating storm that left lots and lots of destruction behind and a heap of people still in shock. Followed by despicable looters that stained our reputation internationally.
This was followed by a more intense power struggle between St. Maarten and the Netherlands; now followed by an internal power struggle between our local politicians. The unstable state we have been in since 10/10/10 brings to mind the wise words of former US President Reagan, “The government is not the solution, the government is the problem.”
A few days ago we all exhaled a big sigh of relief, thinking the political incompetence we have been subjected to especially for the past eight weeks had finally come to an end. A handful of politicians have finally mustered up enough courage to take a stand and speak out against what they perceived as incompetence, intolerable failures and ill-will of one or more of their fellow politicians.
Unfortunately, we sighed too soon, because the political situation has only gone from bad to worse. Despite the hopelessness, grave uncertainties and dark gloom that are hanging over our island, some politicians – one in particular – actually want to prolong the people’s suffering. Why do some individuals insist on remaining in power, even when they are no longer trusted by the majority of their colleagues?
I think I can answer that question. Once you have had a taste of all the goodies that go along with being an honourable politician – riches, power, widespread recognition, and being able to travel the globe at taxpayers’ expense – it is almost impossible to suddenly and unexpectedly give up all that glory. Is it any wonder then that many people are under the impression that they are only there to serve their own best interests, and if their interests collide with the interests of the people, guess whose interests will prevail?
Though dissolving Parliament and calling for snap elections while our people are still in shock is nothing less than the essence of insanity, I’m actually not surprised. It’s a personal thing. Human pride, arrogance and egoism will prevail until the Lord returns. Saving one’s face and repairing the damage done to one’s inflated ego are much more important than serving the calamitous needs of a hurricane-stricken population.
Our government has admitted they have no money to help those in desperate need. They also should know that it will take years before their coffers will be healthy again, yet they are willing to spend an extra couple of million guilders, which we don’t have, on elections in an attempt to save face and regain power. I can’t imagine that a prime minister would stoop this low to regain power and status. An insatiable need for money, power and recognition will always be an insuperable obstacle to good and decent governance.
By the way, ever noticed that whenever there is a confrontation between politicians, bits of information are revealed that would otherwise never come to light? By listening carefully we heard the insinuation by an MP that the reason two barges that came all the way from the Bahamas to salvage some extremely expensive yachts were prevented from operating here was because “There’s nothing in it for me; and as long as I don’t get my share, (nothing good is going to happen).” And yet, how dare the Netherlands falsely accuse us of corruption?
Even a Haitian gardener has jumped on the current bandwagon. He always charged the lady of the house $60 for a day’s work. He now charges $70. Asked why he’s now charging more, his reply was, “because of the hurricane.” Not only Haitians, supermarkets and hardware stores are taking full advantage of the disaster, some “honourable” politicians are also seeking opportunities to enrich themselves even more.
Unless the majority of voters open their eyes and ears to what’s going on in politics and vote accordingly, St. Maarten will never ever move forward.
May God deliver us from devious politicians and unstable governments.
Clive Hodge
When egos get in the way of goals, confusion appears and ultimately egos will win.
With this in mind St. Maarten has had 3 elections in the past 5 years and on average governments don’t last more than 1.5 years.
This political game of musical chairs has thus far been a roadshow to nowhere and caused more harm than good.
The upcoming intended elections are likely to be even more destructive and painful than the previous. This time St. Maarten would face an election in extreme social despair and severe economic downfall. It will make the already hesitant international and national investors more nervous than before.
The magnitude of the current crisis, sparked off by Hurricane Irma, will now actually depend how long it will take before we can play the game again. This unfolding situation makes the future look dark and hopeless and will not change the status quo.
As a matter of fact it will cause even more stress to the already devastating economy and it will fuel a confidence crisis. The so-needed recovery will inevitably be postponed to next year. The Dutch won’t bring in the funds to a government that received motions of no confidence.
On top of that, other opportunities will be lost because investors don’t gamble with their money in unstable governments or unpredictable one-pillar economies.
Even international development agencies would rather wait to see how and when the political games will unfold before committing new funds to programs.
Economic recovery after a hurricane like Irma is already a challenge. Add the cost of the elections caused by the political fallout and the major setbacks to quick recovery. Top that off with a remaining status quo and St. Maarten is guaranteed to be hurt even more as it will deepen the impact of the adverse social and economic factors prevailing after Irma.
Dear political leaders could you please turn of this agonizing music, push all chairs and egos aside and step into the real world to make it work? Elections are not the solution! We all are the solution.
St. Maarten Development Movement (SDM)
