Dear Editor,
On Wednesday, February 8, the royal family will be given a tour through the historic core of Oranjestad in St. Eustatius, as can be read on the website of the royal family. During this walk the slavery past will be discussed, and a manifestation in Fort Oranje dedicated to the cultural heritage of St. Eustatius will close the day, so we read.
We all know how during royal visits everything gets polished, even the truth. That is why the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance asks the royal family to look further afield. Not to the beautiful buildings and monuments in town, not to the memorials of De Graaff, Peter Stuyvesant, the First Salute, and their ancestor Wilhelmina. But let’s look to the suffering, tears and blood of our ancestors who built the forts and those buildings, by hand, stone by stone. Let’s look to the unmarked burial grounds where the remains of our ancestors were brutally excavated and are now in a depot somewhere, put away as garbage. Let’s look to the Waterfort, in a deplorable state, where our ancestors were once piled up to be sold at the market.
And let's have a talk then about how to preserve this heritage for the Statia community and the wider Afrikan diaspora for future generations. Let the royal visit be meaningful and with lasting impact to protect our heritage, and don't be blinded by good-looking entertainment.
Kenneth Cuvalay,
President of the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance
Dear Editor,
Philipsburg Jubilee Library located in St. Maarten is a highly esteemed cultural and historical hub, cherished by the community since 1923. The library suffered significant damage during Hurricane Irma in 2017 and has been a top priority for the St. Maarten government to restore ever since. It is crucial to restore the library to its former glory as it acts as a center for education and culture for the residents of the island.
Dear Editor,
Permit me to publish these two lines to relieve my mind of the thoughts that are running through my head.
After paying keen attention to the WhatsApp circulations about a certain politician and a BNB owner and having an ear to the radio interview with a lawyer in Curaçao, my senses picked up and I said something doesn’t seem right here.
As the saying goes, there are 2 sides to the truth, but I say there are 3 sides, His side, her side and the truth. And so, in pursuit of the truth, to make this all make sense, I made plans to sit and speak with both parties individually.
I decided to start with the BNB owner (the accuser) and so I was fortunate to get her cell number and I contacted her.
She stated that she had no issues meeting with me as long as I can have someone known to her present.
Humorously she said, “Just call names and if I know that person you can bring them with you.”
I understood why the accuser wanted someone present known to her. I had seen a WhatsApp message threatening to cause harm to the accuser, the BNB lady. I understand that her request was a fair request and I complied.
Yesterday, February 1, we met in the comfort of her beautiful garden in a sitting area under a flowering mango tree to our right and a coconut tree to our left. There we proceeded to ask questions about her claims and what did she have to say about the recent radio interview and the politician’s claims and the recent paid press release.
Now this is where the viewing of videos, WhatsApp messages, and photos to back up the videos shown to us begins. To go beyond this, my accompanying partners (2 of them), got to see documents addressed to her that clearly appeared to our senses to cause financial harm and to be a target of further injustice to the BNB owner, a pensioner, a citizen of St. Maarten of 40-plus decades.
Composing my emotions and my anger, my one question to this lady was, “With all this information and evidence why not take this matter to court knowing that you are being threatened to be taken to court by the very vocal politician?”
The BNB owner responded, “I’ve stated over and over and I’ve made it clear to the politician and to her Curaçao lawyer to take me to court, let them be the ones for the public display and for the loss of her husband’s job which I plan to include and present these documents to the court.”
In our conclusion, there are three sides to the truth and from what we have seen, with this kind of evidence, I will not look for the third side of the truth.
Case closed! Let’s talk about the sum to be compensated!
Ressurected,
Keithlyn Peters
Dear Editor,
So, my intelligent and rational wife and I were stuck in the traffic that ate Chicago the other day and all around us were worker bees in hi-vis clothing cutting grass and making the island look presentable for the royal visit. She commented in an offhand manner that what should really happen is that the royal family should announce a visit once a month or something so it became the norm for the island to be cleaned up and look good rather than the open sewer and dump that its residents turn it into on a daily basis. It was funny the way she said it for a minute, but after a minute it dawned on me just how true that was.
We have a spectacular environment here and yet, every single minute of every single day it gets torn up and abused by the very people that live here. Junk cars abandoned for years. Garbage piled anywhere there is an open space, go to the beach on any Monday and the trash left behind by the local beachgoers on the weekend would get you thrown in jail anywhere else in the world. Why is that? But more to the point, why is it allowed to continue generation after generation? Is it cultural? Are you saying out loud for all to hear? This is our island and if we want to live like schlubs up to our ankles in trash then that’s our right?
It is your right to say it and live like that, but then why the hypocrisy? “Oh my god, the Dutch are coming, quick, mow the grass, pick up the trash, get a quick coat of paint over the rot so they think we aren’t bozos after all.” Who do you think you are fooling with this? You don’t think the royals know exactly what’s going on?
You can fix this mindset. Just like the scooter gangs that terrorize traffic, the quad and bike parades that clog traffic for miles (one bike parade had traffic stopped for 167 cars at 0 miles per hour the other day, I counted them going the other way, and the quads are worse), the taxis and buses that stop in the middle of the road, the absurd service charges you allow restaurants to put on a check as a demand rather than a request for a tip, etc., it all happens simply because you allow it.
You allow an influx of new cars without ever having to turn in an old one for every new one registered. Result? An hour to go 5 miles. You have VROMI whose job it is to protect you handcuffed by politics so buildings get built to the worst possible standards because there is no competent professional inspection protocol with any teeth in it and the building code dates back 75 years and the new proposed ones are, effectively, worthless.
Do you know that there is no firefighting equipment on the island that can fight a fire above the 5th floor? And that, according to the manager at the water production plant, the total production capacity of the plant could not support the water demand to fight such a fire through the hydrant system? Yet how many hi-rises are there now that have neither their own pumping system nor their water reserve to fight such a fire? Quick answer? None. So when one of these places burns one of these days, and it will, what you will have will be Kentucky Fried Tourist done medium well and everyone will scream “How can that possibly happen?”
District 721 burned to the ground the other day. Even the most naive and uninformed would walk in that place and know what a complete fire trap it was, yet it got a permit and got built. And then it burned like everyone knew it would. Why? Again, the answer will be simple: because you allow to happen.
You have an island with a population of about the size of a good-sized small city in the United States. That city runs with a mayor, a city council, its own version of VROMI and a few public service departments. You have a parliament here that thinks it’s running all of Europe, so caught up in its own self-importance that it spends all its time deciding how many parliamentary rules someone is breaking rather than getting anything done. I know you are a country and want all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with that, but in the end, people, someone has to hunker down and actually do the work, not just talk about it until everybody dies of old age.
This island could be spectacular every day, not just when the royals come to town. And it would really be easy to do. All you have to do is have the will to do it. And you might be surprised that if that will actually materialized, how quickly the Dutch would take you seriously. And then, as they say, the dice would really be rolling.
When you want to be taken seriously the first thing that always has to happen is that you take yourself seriously and do the work. The rest follows as a matter of course. Respect is earned. And you don’t earn it by just showing up.
Steven Johnson
Dear Editor,
St Maarten, famous for its stunning beaches and lively nightlife, is grappling with a major problem – its roads. The roads in St Maarten are in such poor condition that they pose a serious danger to both residents and tourists. Neglect and lack of upgrades have led to a road network plagued by potholes, cracks, and uneven surfaces, making driving treacherous. It is time for the government to take swift action to resolve this issue.
Tourism, a cornerstone of the island’s economy, is severely impacted by the poor state of the roads. Visitors come to St Maarten to escape, enjoy the sun and sand, and explore the island, but the rough and dangerous roads can ruin their experience. This can lead to unfavorable reviews and a decline in tourism revenue, and the government must understand the importance of this industry and take measures to improve the roads.
The poor roads also pose a threat to the safety of the residents. Potholes and cracks can cause harm to vehicles, and rough roads can lead to accidents. The government has an obligation to ensure that the roads are safe and accessible, and the current state of the roads shows that this is not the case. Urgent action is needed to repair and improve the roads to protect the safety of the residents.
Furthermore, the poor roads are also a burden on the island’s economy. Residents bear the cost of repairs and maintenance for vehicles damaged by the roads, adding to the financial strain on the struggling economy. The government must invest in the roads to prevent further damage and alleviate the financial burden on the residents.
In conclusion, the condition of St Maarten’s roads is a pressing matter that requires immediate attention. The government must take responsibility for the safety and well-being of the residents and tourists, and invest in upgrading and maintaining the roads. The future of the island’s tourism industry, economy, and residents depend on it.
S.M.R.
Initials used at author’s request.
