Dear Editor,

Coming from me, I can imagine the restraint that that educated black woman had to apply while writing to you in order to maintain her composure and to euphemize her piece. I am referring Joslyn Morton. Permit me to add to that letter that educated black women are independent and to further clarify, educated black women are not followers and educated black women know how to control their emotions. I have said it over and over, decorum.

The intention of this letter was not to deal with Parliament, because even though I was taught by my parents that nothing is a waste of time, when I follow the behaviour of several of those members of Parliament, it seems that certain people in that house do not understand what they are there to do, and that their leaders enjoy having them there for exactly that reason.

So I wonder if my parents were right. Probably not a waste of time, because we can learn how not to do it, but it is definitely a waste of taxpayers’ money. By the way, may I suggest to them that before attempting to do anything when they intend to introduce new legislation, they should first go to 'general affairs' and find out if there is any existing legislation on the intended topic. That would save a whole lot of time.

I can guarantee anyone that there are very few ideas that one could come up with for which some kind of legislation is not already there. All that has to be done would be to update it to coincide with life today. I joined the police force in 1965 and already the 'Bioscoop Verordening' (ordinance governing the movie theatre) was one of the ordinances I had to study. But then again, who makes use of what is available in the government administration? And who trusts who?

Also, Members of Parliament should be appreciative of their experienced president and try to upgrade themselves by mirroring themselves with her diplomacy and her knowledge of parliamentary procedures. It is still so all over the world that protocol is maintained and should be established. It is time that our Members of Parliament understand and avail themselves of these diverse international rules of order in order not to continue embarrassing the people of Sint Maarten.

But what made me go to my laptop today is the young man who came to me and told me the following. Mr. Russell, I know that you don't jump on the police, because you afraid of the backlash. I stopped him there and then and explained him that that was the wrong concept, because as a police officer he should know that police do not take revenge. After explaining him a thing or two he realized that experience is the best teacher and then told me that government does not understand that they are taking care of themselves, but that they (government) are not taking care of the ones who have to take care of them.

Even though I do not know the details because all this came about after I had retired, I have always said the dictator's survival depends on how good he treats his soldiers. I would suggest that the Minister of Justice get together with the Minister of Finance to get things regulated, and most of all get all law enforcement officers a dignified motivational course. From top to bottom. From Bloomberg to Rogers to us" everybody and together", which brings me to the following.

I took the opportunity given by PMIA and attended their 14th annual Lionel Bernard Scott Memorial Lecture at the PMIA hall and was disappointed for solely one reason. Key people of the community, who should have been there to see the response first hand, and who would be able to disseminate information coming from that presentation given by the keynote speaker were not there. Also people who would be directly involved in creating a solution to some of the problems outlined were not present.

Owing to the fact that this lecture has been taking place for fourteen years now and that the message of the former speakers was of a very high calibre, and owing to the fact that the topic for the evening was previously announced, and also a very current and urgent issue, I expected many more members of Parliament to be there. They again missed out on an opportunity to avail themselves of what one, who has experienced life from different levels, had to share. I would like via you to congratulate the PMIA and the keynote speaker Commandant Antonio Rogers of the VKS for a tremendous job.

In ending, permit me to say this. We do not live in a country with 300 million inhabitants; we live on an island, yes surrounded by water. Even though 37 square miles in total, we administrate only 16 square miles with some 40,000 inhabitants officially. On average people cross each other’s path at least three times a week, whether on foot, in their private transportation, or in public transportation.

Whether it is on the job or visiting each other’s jobs or home. We may not know who you are, but we know it was done by you. Because people pass information on to each other whether in small talk or by gossiping, and by the same technology and social media that everyone should avail themselves of, what you have done comes to light quicker than you can imagine. Not snitching is not that strong anymore because of the ability to text. So for the love of Sint Maarten, let us all come together and come clean.

Russell A. Simmons

Dear Editor,

Permit me some space in your well-read newspaper. When I came to St. Maarten, a well- meaning St. Maartener offered me a job to work on his water truck. This helped me to be able to see some areas on this island that were overrun by mosquitoes. Horrified by what I saw I asked if there was a health department on the island.

Dear Editor,

To begin with, “I would like to point out that global warming is a serious threat to mankind and governments around the world.” According to the Oxford ESL Dictionary, global warming is the increase in the temperature of certain gases in the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a layer of gas above the earth’s surface which helps to protect the earth from the sun’s radiation, which may cause cancer and other related diseases.

Scientists have discovered cracks in the ozone layer caused by (Chlorofluorocarbons) a gas used in refrigerators, air conditions and aerosol containers. Do you know that (carbon dioxide) and other aerosol gases trap the heat from the sun and make the earth warmer? Ecologists have also indicated that the earth’s temperature will rise between four to five degrees Fahrenheit in the future causing droughts in many parts of the world.

The impact of global warming: rivers are disappearing as the Earth warms. The Arctic ice is melting, sea levels are rising. Today, climate change has claimed over 350,000 lives. It was predicted that there will be more devastating hurricanes and floods for 2016. Global climate change will also be responsible for more poverty in different parts of the world; agriculture crops will be destroyed, sickness and diseases will be on the rise.

El Nino, (“the Christ Child in Spanish”) is the warm ocean conditions along the Tropical West Coast of South America. This catastrophic activity has serious effects on agricultural crops and fisheries. El Nino causes the warm ocean in the Pacific to affect the atmosphere, increasing rainfall and causing flooding and erosion, which is damaging to agriculture.

Technological advances have contaminated many natural resources around the world. Now there are laws in placed to protect the ecosystems. The Kyoto Protocol was sign by 160 countries around the world to reduce the green-house effect, which causes the overheating of the Earth’s surface and lowers atmospheric conditions. Air pollution is the release of dangerous gases into the atmosphere; desert storms, forest and grass fires have largely contributed to the green-house effect.

Famine, deforestation and torrential rainfall in Brazil and Haiti are some of the causes for the green-house effect and have killed thousands of people and resulted in hunger and starvation, leaving people in extreme poverty. Volcanic activities are the prime source of air pollution, releasing huge quantities of toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Some major health concerns affecting humans are eyes irritations and coughing.

Catastrophic natural disasters: in Iran, Algeria and Haiti powerful earthquakes claimed the lives of 50,000 people and left more than 200,000 homeless. In Indonesia, tsunamis have claimed over 250,000 lives and left over 200,000 homeless. In Bangladesh, monsoon floods claimed 2,000 and left over 30 million homeless. In Australia, drought and heat created bushfires and destroyed millions of acres of forest land.

In parts of Europe dramatic changes in weather patterns resulted in 20,000 lives lost, and in the United States dangerous storms and hurricanes claimed over 16,000 lives. On the Caribbean island of Haiti, torrential rains and mud slides were responsible for over 20,000 lives.

In summary, countries around the world can help to prevent global warming caused by the green-house effect by reducing deforestation. Stop destroying trees and burning wood materials from clearing of land for agricultural purposes. Governments must have power stations and factories check periodically. They must try to reduce vehicles emissions. People should get into the habit of recycling. A lot of materials can be recycled and used again. Governments must have strategic plans to deal with sudden urgencies after any devastation.

Joseph Harvey

Dear Editor,

“Hey did I tell you about … Are you listening to me?” I’d blink rapidly and have a confused expression on my face before quickly replying “Yeah, I heard you.” But in reality I actually didn’t understand a word you said. I know, however, that your lips were moving (well, sometimes I don’t notice that either). I faintly recall the base in your voice, so I know something, you said something.

I’m a victim of this too. It’s not a very nice trait to have and a tough habit to break. It comes over as rude and ignorant. People receive the wrong impression of you because you interrupt what they are saying to get your point across or you only listen for certain words or statements and totally disregard whatever else has been said. I do it fairly often myself with my friends.

Every day, we communicate with others in one way or the other. Sometimes the way we communicate can lead to arguments or worse. We often hear the phrase “I heard you,” and think we don’t have to repeat what we said to someone. But sometimes, one may say he or she heard you, but did they even listen? Did the message actually come across?

This is where the individual speaking starts raising their voice, thinking they haven’t spoken loud enough for the next person to hear, when really, the person is simply not paying attention. You see, hearing is a natural process that starts when sounds, or rather vibrations, causing movement of fluid in the ears and sound is thereby sent to the brain. Simple as that. You haven’t gotten to the point where you need to understand what it is you’re hearing. So technically, you did hear the person, even if you didn’t listen.

I, personally, simply don’t always listen to what is being said. I do, however, hear when someone is speaking. I have constantly received complaints about it from people who interact with me on a daily basis. They understand that it’s a bad habit I have, but for persons who have just met me, it can get really annoying to have to repeat themselves for me - a little embarrassing for me.

I tend listen to bits and pieces of conversations and figure out the rest that is being said, rather than paying attention to what is being said. It’s kind of a pride thing for me. I always felt that I have to learn stuff on my own. Yes, I do ask questions, but sometimes that question was answered before I asked, but I missed it because I wasn’t giving my undivided attention to the speaker.

Listening is a process in which hearing, attending, understanding and remembering come into play. Through hearing, sound enters the eardrum and travels onward to the brain. Our brain then “attends” or receives the sound and decides what to pay attention to. The brain then takes what is “understood” or meaningful and applies it to the social context. The brain has to remember what it understood. It therefore stores the information for use at a later time.

With that all being explained, why is it that we still choose not to listen? Why is it so hard to let it just register inside our brains, pay attention to what has been asked and give an intelligent reply? Have you ever had that one moment when you actually listened and everything seemed so crystal clear? It had you like, “Oh yes, now I understand!” I love those moments.

I only recently learned that if you would just sit, listen and observe rather than trying to respond even before the individual whom you are communicating with finishes his or her statement, it avoids unnecessary problems.

I think we should all give that a try more often. I think we would step up our interacting and communications skills this way.

Hibiscus Child

Pseudonym used at author’s request.