Dear Editor,
One word: hypocrisy. I wrote this before and stated that it will be necessary for me to write it again.: “Those who desire to live honestly, who want their lives to display faithfulness and authenticity make choices based on what is true rather than what is expedient. The integrity of the upright leads them.”
I have said the following on several occasions: Anyone born or living on St. Maarten who is accepted to become a police officer should not go to the police school on St. Maarten. And when that person is ready to go on patrol, he/she should not be permitted to return to St. Maarten within four years. They have to mature in the job, they have to get accustomed to ridicule from everyone. on St. Maarten even from their school friends who either envy them or who do not want them to do that which is necessary to maintain law and order.
Even though my parents are from Saba and St. Maarten, when I came to work in the Windward Islands I was already a 10-year veteran who had worked on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, experienced in both dominating fights as well as crowds. That is why I can state the above. With the high grade of erratic behavior of the drivers on St. Maarten, why are not the coffers for fines for traffic violations filled?
All of this has being going on since 10-10-’10, where are the statistics to prove what kind of work was delivered by those who are attacking the present Minister of Justice? And why only now is all of this coming to light?
Do I have a right to put “hypocrisy” at the heading of this letter after reading the article “police officers leave to work in the region”? I do not know where they are going to work, but for their sake I would hope that they go to either Aruba or Curaçao, where they will be confronted with a different kind of population and maturing in the police force would alter their outlook on police work.
Again I am not defending the Minister of Justice, I am shedding a light on hypocrisy. Since 10-10-’10, the first government to last this long, to take all kinds of blows from all who know better, who had to constantly endure criticism for lay-and-waiters, which had to tolerate radical behavior from its police force, etc. So my question remains: from when was all this known? I wonder if the present Minister of Justice had done the same as her predecessors who would they have striked against? It was expedient to attack the Minister.
Now this. I am sure that every member of government at one time or the other has done their shopping in either a store, a supermarket or a hardware store and automatically received a receipt. So my question is: why do the proprietors of these businesses feel free to do what they want with prices, spoiled goods, change and anything coming to the shopper and believe that this is the correct thing to do? Is the shopper entitled to an itemised receipt for the purchased goods? Why is it so that the price of a product is listed at $8.99 and if you pay with a $10 bill the cashier tells you nine dollars and, here is the kicker, when the buyer claims his/her one cent he/she is told that we don't have one cent US? Am I to believe that no one in government knows about this practice?
Ask them when last did they get a receipt at any supermarket run by Chinese, where now and then it is alleged that sometimes goods are spoiled. A receipt to substantiate the purchase of the spoiled goods. Those are questions that members of government who claim to be in opposition should ask the concerned Minister. But then again, why would they ask those questions? They would rather not ask questions which would benefit the public, because questions like those would not be good for the permit holders of those businesses which are not usually Chineses nationals. Did I say hypocrisy?
I hope the prices on pens and pencils don’t go up, because if we continue to have to endure hypocritical behavior from members of government, I might have to go on the hill to get writing material.
Tell the businesses to change the price of goods from $8.99 to $8.95 and give us back our $0.05. The going word is “rip off” and intentionally ripping off the people is a crime.
I will repeat, every time goods come out of the same container the price of those goods goes up. And you know something, that is not the Minister of Justice portfolio, but I do not hear anybody threatening with strike, but I am sure that the Economic Department knows about it also. Integrity and politics do not go hand-in-hand.
Actually this should be an open letter to the concerned minister, because government uses this newspaper to communicate with the community of St. Maarten.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
Their loneliness and hidden despair can be seen through the sadness of their eyes. Many times placed on dirty floors. An improvised small house if they are a little lucky. Perhaps interminable hope that somebody can understand their tragedy of undetermined and interminable amount of seconds, hours, days, months, if survived, may last some years supporting the heat in summer or the windy, rainy cold nights. Surviving many times within their own feces until somebody cleans around.
We are living in a world of careless non-sensed acts against animals. Uneducated adults, youngsters, children capable of committing this nonsense act of cruelty that could be punishable! They seem to be unaware of the cruelty committed day by day. Within their narrow mind they think – “Who cares”, they are animals, they don’t have feelings – that’s the way humans with a low sense or no compassion at all think. When those chained dogs were puppies, they were so cute, so innocent, and unaware of the nightmare that they will be victimized and abused for life when falling in the wrong hands.
It is extremely important and necessary to educate kids, teens, lacking of the compassion sense that is transmitted from the family education roots. It’s hard and almost impossible to reach this point in uncaring selfish society that cares only for them. Thinking that that adult dog can take care of the entrance of a house, it’s just an animal, just staying there “who cares”. If their heavy chain hurts if it is corroded and tied, who cares! Just drop some dry food and some water, it will be enough!
Chaining dogs for life could be banned if there were more educated kids to understand their suffering. They have to live like they were the most dangerous delinquents! Dogs are neglected and abused permanently for life. There is an unregistered amount of dogs that nobody cares about, just for the pleasure to have them.
Due to limited human interaction and exercise, they become frustrated and nerved, leading in aggressiveness and frustration, sometime timid. Owners refuse to have them neutered or spayed. There is an over-population in a contrast of human “poor education”.
Sometimes it is impossible to sleep hearing nearby dogs out crying for hours their frustration, totally unable to free themselves! Are we living in such place or time of uneducated society? I can’t understand those levels of cruelty. It seems to be living within a surreal world. There is an urgent need to help the humans committing this criminal act! “Awareness and education urgently needed”.
People can’t imagine how healthy it is to walk their dogs. Families with kids should share this activity, especially if dogs are in a close small cage or space where they can barely move or feel lonely. Please teach kids to improve our environment.
Name withheld at author’s request
Dear Editor,
An agreement for provision of clinical and medical services was reached and signed between the management of SZV Social and Health Insurance of St. Maarten and director Jose Chavez, MD of the International Healthcare Services at Clinica de Occidente in Cali, Colombia.
Something must have gotten lost in translation because the “safe and high-quality health services” for international patients are nowhere to be seen, and not even their domestic patients are given quality care.
Clinica Occidente is understaffed, their personnel is overworked with 12 hour shifts. As a result, patients are not tended to in a timely manner, do not get prescribed physical therapy on a regular basis, and dangerous mistakes are made in administering medication. Lack of communication between doctors and nursing staff, lack of prescribed medication and hygienic supplies can and has led to complications and setbacks in the recovery of patients. Often, the patient’s family member ends up purchasing these items at a pharmacy. In the hospitalization section, 2 nurses aides have to tend to patients in at least 23 rooms. The registered nurse who’s in charge of the department does not report to the attending physician when a patient gets bedsores, hemorrhoids, vomiting, and diarrhea caused by medication or infections. The physician only hears about these issues when it’s mentioned by the patient’s family member/travel companion. When this is pointed out to the nurse in charge, it’s not always appreciated and has resulted in nasty attitudes.
Changes in treatment, scheduling of procedures, and moving of patients to other sections of the hospital are not always communicated to the family member/companion and are the cause of much anxiety.
The cleanliness of patients and the hospital in general leaves a lot to be desired, especially since the restrooms are not cleaned on a regular basis. Many patients in Cali have told me their own horror stories. All of the above concerns are not hearsay, they are what I experienced as a travel companion to a family member. My complaints were delivered in person to the office in Cali and by phone and email to the office in St. Maarten.
When our concerns got to the point where we knew it had become a matter of life and death, we tried to transfer to a hospital that offered better care. We confirmed that all further medical/transfer costs would be at our expense. All our efforts to do so were blocked by Jose Chavez, director of the International Healthcare Services. Even after my family member passed away Jose Chavez tried to make us believe that human remains can only be shipped on a cargo plane via Miami. We knew better and succeeded in making our own arrangements so our beloved family member could be brought home with us on the same commercial flight that we arrived on.
We don’t know the reasons why St. Maarten patients are being sent to a hospital with a 3.2 ranking, why patients are kept there against their will, and why human remains are only flown out by cargo plane – via Miami. We do know that The International Healthcare Services at Clinica de Occidente in Cali, Colombia, under the leadership of their director Jose Chavez, is earning a windfall at the expense of St. Maarten’s patients.
Rita Halley
Dear Editor,
Congratulations to St. Maarten’s prime minister, justice minister, St. Maarten Police and Justice workers.
Great, excellent effort to call on everyone to let Carnival 2023 be safe and enjoyable.
The public want the police to lock up anyone that is not properly dressed.
In many of the CARICOM countries men and women that are not properly dressed can be locked up until the jam is over.
Women worldwide must be wise. Depends how your mother-in-law saw your kind of dancing in Carnival, it can end a love relationship.
So, have a safe and enjoyable Carnival 2023, coming from justice workers. Be safe.
Cuthbert Bannis
Dear Editor,
No, it is not prejudicial, nor is it being self-centred or conceited. Fact is if selection is done adequately, anybody can become a Minister of Government, but not anyone can be selected to be a police officer. We need healthy people with a level head, who are not trigger-happy and are able to deal with ridicule and insults; people who do not take everything personal. We need people with a certain level of education, who are able to compile reports and statistics. etc., here on Sint Maarten in Dutch and English. We need people who do not discriminate in any fashion. But there is something basically wrong when such criteria are demanded to become a police officer and the criteria to be leader in government do not even require a minimum level of education.
These are the same people who dare criticise and evaluate others. It might sound sarcastic, but are they not right when they determine that students who after graduating abroad and apply for a job here where they were born and bred, are made out to be "overqualified" for the job that they apply for?
I am not a mindreader, but after reading the expression made by Julio Romney in the paper of Friday/Saturday April 22/23, I am under the firm impression that Romney, who continuously demonstrates professionalism, expressed himself out of frustration on Thursday when he stated "We have also heard the false narrative on the floor of Parliament that members of Parliament have a right to declare themselves as an independant Member of Parliament".
Although Romney explained to them that he could not find any legislation to sustain this and requested such from those self-appointed independent members of Parliament, they have not done so and continue to illegally represent themselves as indepenedant members of Parliament. I do not know what Romney's advice would be, but logic would tell me that those self-appointed independant members should either re-associate themselves with their original party, or give up their seat in Parliament The different parties would then have to determine who is in line to be the next member of Parliament for the party.
Because I am aware that politicians often use big words to impress, I would like to know what is the situation or the fact whose cause or explanation is in question , unique to Sint Maarten. Even a blind man can see that our people in government are ready to use everything possible to do what is convenient for themselves rather than to take care of the people who pay their overinflated salaries.
I can express these feelings because for forty-one years I earned every penny that I received, and am still paying taxes on moneys that so many others and myself deposited in the coffers of government for over forty years. I do not think a professional like Romney would go into Parliament and prove to the world that he does not know what he is talking about. The seats belong to the political party, not to MPs and MPs have no right to declare themself an independent member of Parliament. I wonder if those members of Parliament would think of claiming Parliamentary immunity if they were charged with performing in an illegal or false capacity?
Russell A. Simmons
