~ Its historic significance is everlasting ~

Dear Editor,

The former government administration building wasn’t just a structure. Located in Philipsburg opposite a parking lot, it was a place where many civil servants and government officials spent a significant portion of their adult lives serving the citizens and residents of St. Maarten. It was a site that held the power brokers of decisions that affected the level of the quality of the lives of the people of St. Maarten.

The derelict structure was an eyesore for many years destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017. The location is finally cleared except for parts of a few leftover structures, making way for what is alleged and projected to be the site for the new Parliament building of St. Maarten.

I support this notion for the simple reason that Parliament must be situated prominently and accessibly for the people it serves.

Our island administration’s constitutional – and administrative history has seen many personalities pass through the corridors of the building. These include but are not limited to figures such as Dr. Claude Wathey, Clem Labega, Sam Hazel, Vance James Jr, Joseph “Joe” Richardson and Rene Richardson, Abby Richardson, Ms. Elaine Vlaun-Gumbs, Mario Hodge, William Marlin, Sarah Wescott-Williams, Theo Heyliger.

Island Secretaries included Vacueqlin Connor, Mervin Scott, Raphael Boasman, Joan Dovale-Meit. Amador Muller. Former Lt. Governors include Mr. Max Pandt, Mathias Voges, Russel Voges, Dennis Richardson and Mr. Franklyn Richards.

A political icon still among us who graced the halls of the government administration building with his larger-than-life personality is former Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles Mr. Leo “Captain” Chance.

The Island Secretariat was the center of operations of the government administration that administered to both the Island Council (now Parliament) and the Executive Council (now Council of Ministers).

The monistic system of government, meaning that members of the Executive Council were also members of the Legislative Council made way on October 10, 2010 for the more democratic, dual system of government through the separation of these powers. Noteworthy is the fact that Island Council members received a monthly stipend of NAf. 2,000 guilders for this (part-time) representation.

The Department of General Affairs was led for many years efficiently and effectively by the late Mr. Louie Duzanson and staff.

Many historical decisions were taken in the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall of the government administration building. Among others:

* Island Council resolution to organize the 1st Constitutional referendum held on October 14, 1994. The resolution called to hold the 2nd Constitutional Referendum of June 2000 that cleared the path towards our current new constitutional status.

* Establishment of the Permanent Committee for Constitutional Affairs (PCCA) and Work Group Constitutional Affairs (WGC).

* It is the location where historic and heated meetings were held on the November 2007 Constitutional draft agreement leading to the disolution of the Country Netherlands Antilles and the creation of a new Constitutional status for St. Maarten.

* The first Initiative law is presented to establish the Ombudsman office.

* It is the place where the last Island Council members took their oaths of office prior to October 10, 2010 (10-10-10). It is the place where the first Parliament meeting of Country Sint Maarten was held.

I have been privileged to be part of this history previously outlined in this article, including being chairwoman of the first referendum committee and as President of the Parliament of Country St. Maarten.

It is incumbent upon the historians and new generation of researchers to peruse and record our constitutional history. Like a sphinx rising from the ashes, so will there be a new structure fit for future generations of great leaders and public administrators.

A new House of Parliament that will be surrounded by a clean and green environment and built to last generations and includes a state of the art library and a flawless administrative system. It’s time to make St. Maarten beautiful again.

Let’s make way for a place where elected and appointed decision-makers are held accountable for their actions, execution of their tasks and responsibilities on behalf of the people of St. Maarten with integrity, good governance, transparency and accountability heeding the mistakes of the past.

Gracita Arrindell

Dear Editor,

We are not active participants in our own economy, but we remain the main contributor to the collection of taxes. The collection of taxes does not necessarily correlate with the bolstering and enhancement of a sturdy economy. In other words, tax collection is not the standard bearer of a good economy. It is the disposable income or wealth of the population which better correlates with a sound economy.

The general public benefits derived from governmental fundraising programmes are vital for the survival of those of us that are suffering during these distressing economic times. Presently, the aforementioned fundraising programmes are indispensable. However, I must admit that this is merely a plaster on a festering sore. Our goal needs to be to improve the standard of living of our citizens whereby these programmes become obsolete. This in turn will empower us to once again develop into the beacon of prosperity in the entire Caribbean.

We are very fortunate that St. Maarten houses the largest inland water pocket in the Caribbean. This phenomenon has yielded a booming yachting tourism sector for our island. It is estimated that 30% of the world's yachts make St. Maarten their home especially during the high season. We have become one of the best service and repair facilitators in the Caribbean region. We must endeavor to provide more business ownership opportunities for our citizens in the lucrative yachting sector by offering professional development and formal practical training which then would create revenue that would stimulate and foster a compounding effect of prosperity on the economy.

Increased revenue that doesn't leave St. Maarten will automatically be a strategic instrument of wealth and standard of living increase for the general population. Such an initiative would assist in decreasing the unemployment rate while adding a much needed substantive tax revenue to government coffers.

The yachting industry provides us with an opportunity for a "win/win" employment and increased turnover tax revenue framework.

Presently, we have a situation where we have a lot of mechanical technicians who operate small unregistered businesses, but who are also in possession of the essential skillsets necessary for entrepreneurship in the yachting sector. If these skilled mechanical technicians were to become officially registered, it would not only be a means to stimulate our economy, but also an opportunity to increase wealth and the standard of living for the general population. Additionally, it is imperative that collected and earned revenues remain in our country in order to attain the standard of living that our general population deserves.

It is my intention to ensure that our people become actively engaged contributors and beneficiaries to our economy rather than simply contributors to tax collection.

Melisa Molanus

Dear Editor,

I have to laugh when people, especially those from abroad, ask me: “On what side do you live, French or Dutch?” The question comes across as a confession of faith, or way of letting me know that the person is aware of the border which divides the 37 square miles in two.

“I live on St. Martin,” I respond, because it is really one island. I reside at the border, technically in country Sint Maarten, but I buy my bread in French Oyster Bay, work on Pond Island, do my staple food shopping at Super U in Hope Estate, and swim regularly at Orient Bay and Grand-Case. I may be employed or have my legal residence on one side, but I live on both.

I avoid Simpson Bay as much as possible and rarely eat at restaurants there, as “Dutch side” waiters expect a 15-20% tip because their salaries can be as low as US $4.50 per hour; whereas one kilometre up the road minimum wage is 14 euros per hour. And I have friends who reside in the northern half, sending their kids to school on the southern half; working in the Dutch Kingdom, while collecting welfare benefits from the French Republic because that is their human right. This is the one island I am talking about.

In terms of cultural production, the southern part of the island is more happening. Large events like Carnival, or the Oualichi Festival, where guests from abroad like Machel Montano play, assert a strictly Caribbean identity; not French, not Dutch but Caribbean, and the crowd is mostly Black. Philipsburg is where the National Institute of the Arts and Cultural Centre are located. If I want to see a French comedy performed by white people and mulattos from Guadeloupe, I go to Village D’Orient. Happy Bay is where the techno SXM Festival takes place.

Perhaps because some of us we live under the illusion of being an autonomous country, Soualigan identity is breathed on the streets of Great Bay, St. Peters and Dutch Quarter. At the same time, when an Arrindell, Hodge or Lake wants to feel closer to the ancestors, they go North to Colombier or Rambaud, located in the Collectivité de Saint-Martin.

There is no denying that most of the island’s population has their roots elsewhere, but that should not give impetus to invisibilise the autochthonous people of St. Martin. A people whose migratory character testifies to the existence of a nation. Joseph Lake Jr., born in Aruba, is the son of the late José Lake Sr., born in the Dominican Republic. Each of these and their offspring maintain their national identity, referring to St. Martin as their home. Not a place just to make a buck, to work and play harder; rather, a land, a patria to love.

These are the descendants of Africans enslaved under the Dutch Kingdom and French Republic, continuously colonised and speaking S’maaten English on both sides of the border. One St. Martin written in English, or One SXM, really does exist. It is an Afro-Caribbean nation peppered with descendants of Scandinavia, Ireland and Britain in Simpson Bay; Cantonese speaking people in supermarkets and restaurants, and Sindi merchants and their children at Cay Hill. Let us not forget the entanglement of Spanish-speaking Dominicanos. St. Martin is diverse but not disincarnated.

One SXM is a minority but not just a fantasy. It can also be interpreted as a vision for further development. It can be a strategy to eradicate poverty or synchronise public and social services to ensure equity. It can liberate the toiling masses, some of which live without running water in their homes and have sewage streaming at their front door. One SXM, the thought-dream-experience, can implement one equal healthcare system or one university with full time faculty, where the students do not have to work full time in order to pay for tuition. One SXM makes sense once it is understood, not as a fantasy but as a movement for social transformation.

Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez

President of University of St. Martin

Dear Editor,

King Willem Alexander asked for forgiveness. He said in no uncertain terms that his ancestors were wrong to take part in the trans-Atlantic slavery. Prime Minister Rutte apologized for the role of the Dutch State in making this crime against humanity a commonplace. They both displayed institutional remorse.

What’s next? Business as usual? Does the ritualistic tussle between the administration in The Hague and that in Philipsburg continue? Do St. Maarteners forgive the House of Orange, and remain loving King Willem, Queen Maxima, Princess Amalia and the Queen Mother? Or, do they push for reparations and political independence? One-SXM?

All those folks dancing to Machel Montano and other Caribbean greats at the Oualichi festival last weekend gave the realest answer to the “What’s Next” question. The revelers at Oualichi are people who follow Montano’s Caribbean ethic of ‘work hard and play harder’. For most of them life is hard, but every break they get they spend making it feel better by enjoying themselves.

The attendees to the Oualichi festival did so last weekend in all their diversity, in all their styles of comportment. Some performed the role of the drunk and disorderly, some danced exclusively with their man or woman, some whined sometimes with all and sundry as though there was no tomorrow, while others sat and watched the show and enjoyed the meals and drinks in an orderly fashion. The diversity of the country, which has become ordinary with all its frictions, tensions and imperfections, was in plain sight.

Most of the attendees of the Oualichi festival, which is a snapshot of the island, know they do not live on One SXM. Such an imaginary place, where a village reared its young and everyone got along, never existed. What did exist, as what does today, are people trying to make life better in the midst of a few rich and many poor son-of-a-guns. And son-of-a-gun-ness was and still is equally distributed among the genders and ethnicities.

As a French savant once mused, “Hell is often other people,” but sometimes they are Heaven, that is when diversity is respected and no one can claim to speak for all without proper and in-depth consultation of all. Even more paradisical is when politicians and bosses work hard and play harder in a way that benefits the least in society. Alas, that Heaven is still to come. And so One SXM remains a fantasy, and no unity flag, song, or radio program saying that it is Real, will make it so.

In more positive terms One SXM is best described as an imagined community for those dreaming of a nation-state which encompasses the entire 37 square miles. Such, remains a dream.

What is incorrigible today and thus a fact, until the vast majority deem it otherwise, is Sint Maarten and Saint Martin. The French and the Dutch sides exist. Ask anyone residing on the Dutch side who buys appliances from a store on the French side and knows they need a converter, ask any Dutch passport holder who comes into contact with the Gendarmerie, or ask anyone from the Southern side of the island who seeks a work permit on the Northern side, if the Collectivité de Saint-Martin Antilles Française with its local President it is not really real. What do you think they will say!

So too, is the fact that Sint Maarten is an autonomous country governed by a Prime Minister and a Council of Ministers checked by a parliament. Answering “What’s Next?” is an affair of the Dutch side no matter how entangled the island’s colonial history was. The interest of the French side can be taken into account, and must be as this is one island, but constitutional differences matter.

Given these realities, it is not easy to fathom what all those folks dancing at the Oualichi festival would want. “What’s Next?” for them in this whole affair about reckoning with the slavocratic past of the Kingdom of the Netherlands? Ask yourself who exactly attended the festival? Some who attended were no doubt those who imagine One SXM. Yet they were a minority that needs to be heard and respected.

But so too, in any healthy society, do other voices. Everyone must have a say in “What’s Next?”, for it is about St. Maarten. And St. Maarteners after all, extending the memorable words of Eugene Holiday, the former governor of the Southern side, are those “born here”, “those born to be here”, “those who enjoy being here”, “those who happen to find themselves here”, and “those struggling trying make a life here”.

Some residents have Dutch passports, but many do not. Many are people with Caribbean roots and many have routes that brought them to this region of the world, and specifically to St. Maarten. Think of St. Maarteners born to parents born in India or Colombia or the Netherlands or China, Turkey, Lebanon, etc., too much to mention. Their parents were “born to be here” and they are “born here” as those whose great-grandparents already resided on the island.

Those who attended Oualichi were a complex mix and “What’s Next?” concerns them all. It concerns them all, because “What’s Next?” is about the future. The question is how to remake St. Maarten after the formal apologies and the recognition that that historical wrong should be righted? Exclusivity here, as in only some can have a say, meaning the few who today can trace back their direct heritage to slavery on the island, would be Apartheid. Who would want that?

Dr. Francio Guadeloupe

Senior Researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Southeast Asian and Caribbean studies KITLV/Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam UvA