Dear Editor,
Nuance, the intelligence that emerges between reason and emotion, seems to be lacking these days after the devastating attacks in Paris. This brief intervention is one that seeks to remain faithful to nuance. In these dark times the fever of exclusive-camp-thinking (Us against Them) threatens to infest even our brightest minds.
In their zest to display their global knowledge, as in those who question why a Parisian life should weigh more than say a Kenyan (a country also reeling from lethal attacks by religious extremists), or spontaneous fellow feeling – those who say that an attack on Paris is an attack on all French and St. Martinois living in Paris – intellectuals, politicians, journalists, and activists on St. Martin and St. Maarten run the risk of forgetting what solidarity entails. Solidarity is never exclusive. Such is camp- thinking, and this is what we get when some quarters claim that “we are the West and with the West,” while others retort “the West is the place that oppresses and cannibalizes the Rest.” Solidarity, which is charity, is far removed when one hears words like these uttered by our brightest minds.
Solidarity is always shared with the weak and threatened across ideological divides. Terms like the West and the Rest; the defenders of democracy and the terrorists; Us versus Them, give way to looking at and looking after those who will suffer when the power hungry dehumanize each other and lead most to forget the individuality of each other. We, St. Martinois and St. Maarteners, are not the victims of Paris, neither are we the ones in Kenya, Palestine or Syria. We are not the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons or daughters plunged into mourning. We are not, no matter how many times some of us have visited the French capital or how many of us can claim a historical connection to the victims. What we are those people that today can and must stand with those weak persons: Muslim, Christian, secular and whatever, that threaten to be victimized due to acts of revenge.
One can only hope that this will be the tone of the coming interventions by our brightest minds.
Dr. Francio Guadeloupe – President and Interim Dean of Academics, USM
Erwin Wolthuis – Division Head of the Hospitality and Business programs
Dr. Natasha Gittens – Director of the SCELL
Josue Ferrol – Division Head of the pre-USM program
Pedro de Weever – Lecturer of the USM
Dear Editor,
Patrick began working on Michel Helligar’s apartment building with Paul, better known as Cat, from Dominica. While Patrick was working there Sablon will tell them to send home Patrick and give him the job. This happened many times. Sablon was told that they have enough people to work.
One day, in January 2015, Patrick had a marijuana cigarette. Paul tried to take it from Patrick, but didn’t succeed. Patrick didn’t use it, and this made Paul very upset; from that day all hell broke loose between Paul and Patrick.
From then, Patrick decided not to go to work with Paul anymore. He started to help out at the Chinese shop Wing Da. The reason also why Patrick left from Michel Helligar is that Michel was not paying Patrick as the law is stipulated. Most of the time Patrick will go to Michel to ask for money. Michel went to Patrick at many occasions asking him to come back to work with him because he needed him. Patrick told him no.
In the meantime, Sablon and Paul became a tag-team: almost every day Sablon will go by the Chinese shop telling the China lady to let Patrick go home because he can’t protect her; she must take him (Sablon) – he can do a better job.
Patrick will start to curse him. Eventually it started with death threats. He and Paul will go to the shop and harass Patrick almost every day.
Sablon will tell Patrick “look how you dress every day – you have on the same clothes.” Patrick will curse him and tell him that’s none of Sablon’s business.
Paul, Sablon and some of Sablon’s friends will sit on the wall across the road and all we can hear is about David and Patrick. David is an easy target because he rides a bike. Paul was going to get a young man from French Quarter to hire him to kill Patrick and David. The young man’s nickname is Kaka.
David heard Sablon said we can catch David easily when his son comes by him.
Sablon told Margarita with a loud voice, he’s going to kill David. She, Margarita, told him no, no, you can’t do that, because I love him, and he started to curse her.
When Sablon and Margarita moved into the apartment, I was off-island. The electricity and water in the garage are for my account. Margarita would wash her car which cost me NAf. 40 extra to pay GEBE.
Sablon was fixing a neighbour’s car on the side of the road, with his extension cord plugged into my receptacle in the garage, also his laptop plugged into my receptacle. I have to pay those bills. When I came home and saw what he was doing I asked him what are you doing here? He came and pulled them out and said sorry.
The garage is a two-port garage. Miss Margarita parked in the garage. David was driving a dump truck from Windward Roads. He could not park in the garage. So he asked Patrick to call Miss Margarita to come and straighten her car so he can park the dump truck. She took 3/4 hour before she came downstairs to straighten up the car. Instead of parking the car straight, she drove out of the garage like a mad woman and said she doesn’t have to park in the garage because all you is trouble. From then she never parked her car in the garage.
Patrick was home alone working on his laptop. From the corner of his eye, he saw a hand moving towards the doorknob. Patrick got up and peeked through the curtain. There was Sablon with a cement bucket with fine sand in his left hand and trying to open my door with his right hand, was my door unlocked he would enter my home and do whatever he wanted to do or steal whatever he could find to steal.
Patrick went outside through the next door and asked Sablon what are you looking for and he said, stammering, I didn’t know you was home. I will call the police. Then Sablon said you don’t need to call the police. Sablon climbed back over the porch, rest down the cement bucket in the garage where it was and left the premises. Since then I put a lock on the gate.
After the hurricane I will supply the tenants with water from the cistern which is on my porch. Sablon told Patrick he’s coming to steal some water. Patrick told me what Sablon said. I told Patrick if he comes for water, I will give him. I cannot refuse people water. Sablon came into the yard with a strange man. I told Sablon he can come for the water, but that man have to say outside the yard, because I don’t know him. Sablon and the man started calling me more wicked witch. When Patrick heard them, he went for the machete. There is where both of them started calling Patrick fassy. And Sablon still calling me wicked witch. Sablon said that he saw me around 3:15am dressed in pure black going down my stairs and went to throw something in the neighbour’s yard. I told him those same lies are going to get you behind bars.
Every day I ask myself what’s next. Because here we don’t have peace of mind for Sablon, Paul and Margarita.
On the 20th of October during the morning hours, Patrick was at the Chinese shop Wing Da.
Tony who works with Paul (Cat) went into the supermarket, went by the freezers not for Paul to see him and call Patrick. He told Patrick I don’t want nobody to call me a snitch. But I want to put you on your guard. They are planning to shoot you tonight when you are walking going home from the shop.
When Patrick was coming home that evening he happened to get a ride from an ex-detective. Patrick explained him what was told to him. He told Patrick I will drop you in front your gate. When you get inside call the police station. He was told they can’t come for stupidness. You must come to the station tonight or tomorrow morning. In the meantime there were four men in dark clothing around a car, around the corner from where we live. One was Sablon and Paul, don’t know who the others were. Shortly after Sablon was going home from the car. I heard cursing. Then Sablon started cursing me. Patrick was cursing, David was cursing, Sablon was cursing.
In the meantime I was on the step to going into the apartment. I heard a shot. I heard Sablon screaming to the top of his voice telling Margarita call the police, call the police. David shoot me. Call the police, call the police. Patrick make David shoot me. Then Sablon and Margarita came out on the porch and Sablon said it’s not over. Margarita asked Patrick if he want her to call the boys for him. Sablon said when he comes out of the hospital and he’s strong enough he’s going to take his machete and chop up me and my boys. I would like the law to question both Margarita and Sablon who the boys are.
Sablon even hid cocaine in a cent bag in the garage. My sons could have been locked up for it.
We have had a week consecutive every morning when we get up there is no water. One of us has to go downstairs to turn on the main water valve. After a few days one of my sons placed a note on the valve telling whoever to please stay off the …. Pipe. From that day it never happened again.
David got a little Subaru from a French lady. He was working on it from time to time. All windshields were intact. One morning we wake up and the front windshield was broken. From time to time there were scratches all over the car. Then there were footsteps, large footsteps on the hood on the top of the car. Oil thrown on the car and the wall in the garage.
Sablon went away on vacation with his little daughter. Paul (Cat) started saying when Sablon comes back he will be very strong. Sablon went to set up himself. Nobody can’t touch Sablon.
I am living under constant fear. Every day I am asking myself what’s next.
From time to time also Margarita will go to Wing Da supermarket and verbally harass my son Patrick.
Since this incident of October 20, 2015, Margarita went to Wing Da supermarket and told Patrick just now you are getting the bill.
Patrick asked her what …. bill you are talking about.
Margarita mentioned in The Daily Herald of October 22, 2015, that her husband Sablon is the main breadwinner of the home and pays the bill. Just a few months ago there was a dispute between the two of them. They both were at the top of their voices 6:00am.
Margarita told Sablon I cannot support you, your child and a dog. If you don’t go and get yourself a job, you have to go. She is a casino addict.
On October 9, 2015, Patrick was not at the supermarket Wing Da. Sablon went to the supermarket and dragging down Patrick and David’s name. As soon as Patrick got back to the supermarket it was told to him.
On Tuesday, October 10, 2015, at 1:55am, a tall man dressed in full black with hoody came in from my gate, the gate was locked and he turned back in the same direction he came from.
On Wednesday, October 11, 2015, Patrick was walking down the road in Union Farm. Margarita was driving her Ford jeep coming up the same road with Sablon sitting in the passenger’s seat. Margarita drove as to knock down Patrick then continued up the road to go home.
An Indian gentleman who saw what happened told Patrick she tried to knock you down. Sablon is known to the Gendarmes on the French side. He cannot go to French Quarter because of him being a menace to people over there.
Margarita said that my children will taunt Sablon. Is she always with Sablon? It is Sablon and Paul who are always taunting my boys right in front the building where we live, across from the construction site.
The same night of the shooting incident, Margarita had the biggest mouth. She was saying how we have to get out of the apartment. She called the landlord who lives in Texas USA the same night.
The landlord called me a few hours later and told me that she heard that one of my sons shot her tenant. I said yes. She said she will make a decision about the property.
The landlord called me two days after and told me that I have to leave her property, but I will receive a letter. One of the landlord’s brothers brought me the letter on the 23rd of October. 2015, telling me that I have to vacate her premises by end of October, 2015.
Denies Cannegieter
Dear Editor,
Set it up as an NGO, which means it has to run like a business, but it is not a business, so it does not pay taxes. We do not need a business licence only a Chamber of Commerce notarial deed setup. Aim to start it from early to mid-April 2016. It caters to children born from 2009 in St. Maarten, who only have a birth certificate and not necessarily the Dutch nationality.
The main reason or prime source of existence for this home is to take underprivileged children in home care. I am not talking about handicapped children, they must be underprivileged children who are born “normal” or has a mild to moderate developmental delay. These children will be taken care of as if the people working at the home are their parents. So they have to be clothed, given regular meals, must be taken or sent to primary school, etc.
If the Government of St. Maarten does not have enough money to send these children to at least primary/elementary school, the foster home employees will have to educate them to a standard of 6th grade elementary school.
How will the foster home be funded? By various means. Key: start small, grow big. By various means:
1. Yearly or monthly St. Maarten government subsidy. (financial)
2. Donations by supermarkets. (food and goods)
3. Donations by large clothes stores. (clothing and toys)
4. Private donations. (financial, food, goods)
5. International donations whether financial or goods.
The foster home should be nondenominational but one can use Bible stories to teach the children the basic principles about Jesus Christ and his love through the Holy Bible.
Age range: the child must be between three months and 17 years old (three months because it takes more or less three months to get a child legalized or it can be determined by politics).
Between ages 14 and 17 the child must be taught a skill, e.g.: hairdressing, plumbing, mechanic, carpenter, masonry, driving skills, photography/journalism, etc.
The Government of St. Maarten must pay the person with these skills to teach the teenagers from the foster home (this must be part of the constitution, to be changed by two-thirds majority in Parliament only).
What happens to babies born in the foster home? This is politics (family planning should be important after age 10 to 11 years. After age 17 this child or these children should have enough skills to start their own business (politics should determine microfinancing).
Arrindell’s Medical Center N.V. and assets is willing to go in business/NGO set up with whoever is willing to help these underprivileged children born in St. Maarten.
Dr. Angelica Arrindell-Villous
Dear Editor,
St. Maarten’s Day, November 11, was nice. Lt’s a new beginning for all of us, especially the Parliamentarians of St. Maarten; they must stop the fighting and jealousy, and put a blind eye towards Article 33. We are fed up with parliament segregation.
Since 10/10/10, the writing is on the wall for St. Maarten and Curaçao; new parties, new political leaders and new government to lead both islands and their people in St. Maarten and Curaçao, but the old parties and old leaders giving the new parties a fight, whereas mostly most of the older political party leaders should leave the leadership to their party.
We all now Theo Heyliger is a good candidate and a good politician to get the project done; he is already mastering his political field. So are those other politicians, who do just how Cornelius de Weever is doing; mastering his portfolios, something just as Theo Heyliger is doing in government.
It will be good if all politicians on this island would take the style of Theo Heyliger and Cornelius. Maurice Lake seems to be catching on to Theo’s and Cornelius’s style. People said he was trained by Theo.
Building low-income housing is not only what we want. We need the bank managers and government to meet every month continually to get a solution so that loan officers on St. Maarten can give St. Maarteners better rate on loans for our civil servants to own their own homes and property. If banks are in a rush to give loans for transportation, they should help St. Maarteners own their homes.
Our beautiful secretaries in public offices, our police officers, our nurses, our teachers, our detectives and many more citizens need to own their own home and property on this island of St. Maarten.
Now we need two or three parliamentarians and/or ministers to take a stand on this situation with the banks to help the citizens own their own home. The people cannot survive paying high house rent with a low minimum wage. Yes, the minimum wage has gone up, but government must not stop monitoring the prices of items. Citizens of Commonwealth of Dominica, St Kitts and Grenada are very proud of the smaller islands in the Caribbean; these three nations stood up for the smaller territories in the Caribbean region and are very proud of St. Maarten’s development and her people.
The world is watching this nation, and remember, history will be written. My people, stay united and strife to make St. Maarten a better place.
Cuthbert Bannis
Dear Editor,
I have been at Orient Beach for over 30 years. “Pedro’s” and “The Pirate” were the two original pioneers at Orient Beach. Following Tropical Storm Gonzalo in 2014, the Collectivité came under the guise of wanting to improve the beauty of the beach, and have more uniform structures and better parking.
The current proprietors did not have much choice although we were invited to one of the early meetings with the Collectivité. It appeared that we were there for our input, but in actuality, the decision had already been made to demolish all structures between Kontiki and Pedro’s. It was a crafty way for the Collectivité to acquire complete ownership of Orient Beach, because I have now turned from owner of my establishment to renter with a temporary occupation permit to be renewed annually. The bathrooms that I had constructed and which were used for many years by visitors to the beach were demolished.
My letter dated May 6, 2015 to President Madame Aline Hanson and 3rd Vice President Wendel Cocks went unanswered. My follow-up letter dated July 24, 2015 still received no response. On October 15, 2015, I, along with other proprietors at the beach wrote to the Chamber of Commerce with concerns regarding the present construction; again no reply.
I have just received an email from the Collectivité on November 5, 2015.
The email is actually a general electronic message to all the candidates requesting approximately one dozen pieces of written information to include a police record. I don’t have a problem with that, however, a number of documents requested could not even be obtained because the Chamber of Commerce is asking us for certain information that the Collectivité is still to provide. I would have expected collaboration between the two offices so that we are not shuttled between the two to no avail.
As it is, we are supposed to return all these documents by Friday, November 20, at 12:00 noon, but until today, we do not know our exact numerical location with regard to the new buildings. We do not know what the rent will be among other things, and it is stated in the email that any dossier filed outside the time limits will not be considered.
Imagine, our last general meeting was over 4 months ago. We were told that the delivery date would be the end of October in time for us to benefit from the tourist season. No one has advised what the actual completion date will be. I have to read in The Daily Herald that we are expected to open for Christmas. I have to read that we will only be given yearly, temporary occupation permits. And the biggest fairy-tale is that we now have more beach.
I have less space for rental chairs which affects my bottom line. I have less restaurant space for my patrons, which affects my bottom line. From 30 years to this? And to think, that I voted for the RRR and change.
Lastly, I would like to say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you were to “google” some of the most famous beach bars/ restaurants in the world, you would be amazed at the variety of structures you would encounter. Some may refer to what we had before as shacks, but tourists return year after year to experience the heartbeat and the organic flavour of the local people in every corner of the planet. Cookie-cutter, multi-coloured plywood/sheetrock is not the improvement I was anticipating at Orient Beach.
Semsamar, whose bid I am hearing has increased since inception, is the biggest winner in all of this yet again. And St. Martiners continue to hear from their leaders how much our representatives love St. Martin and its people and how they are working hard for the people’s interest. Thank you! Thank you again! We can certainly feel the love!
Since I am now learning that I will only be receiving a temporary permit that must be submitted for renewal each year, I would like the Collectivité to do two things for me:
First, pay me out for my building and bathrooms, septic and cistern that were demolished without my permission. In my letter of May 6, 2015, I specifically told the Collectivité that my buildings were not to be torn down until they provided me with specific information.
Second, I would like the option to purchase the domain where my business was located.
I came from a line of ancestors who taught me the ethic of hard work and perseverance. And I have put in time, sweat and tears at Orient Beach. I deserve greater respect.
Maurice Jermin
Proprietor of 30 years at Orient Beach
