Dear Editor,
Throughout the short history of man claims to spiritual and religious truths have been propagated by practitioners from every sect of human religious worship. But truth be told all these claims may very well amount to interpretations and theoretical constructs by individuals who are under the whip of their religious impulses and subjective desires. Central to most religion is a godhead, the organizing concept which prescribes the form and structure which its adherents and followers must conform to on their quest to discovering, knowing and becoming one with their deity.
Each religion has its own methods, techniques, rituals, morals and ethical codes for approaching and initiating contact with its object or subject of worship. And a common thread that runs through the major and popular religions of the world is an all-pervading desire to be absorbed into or gain union with its godhead – to become one with. While the concept of the deity or Godhead may differ from religion to religion, the core objective of their most devout devotees invariably remains the same – to seek the face of their supreme divine being, even if it’s for a flashing moment, to replenish their economy of hope and faith in his or her existence.
Even though all the major and not-so-major religions have their specific claim to truth of which some assert they are the sole custodians and therefore the methods, rituals and techniques for realizing that truth they invariably enjoy a monopoly over – they nevertheless make these claims at the expense of other forms of worship. It is not reassuring and securing for those who confidently claim to be solely in possession of truth to do so without ridiculing and undermining the practices and religious ways of other seekers of truth.
It is not enough for some who claim to have in their custody “the one or only way” to do so indifferent or oblivious to the claims and practices of other religion. These monopolisers of the claim to truth must espouse their claims in a manner that breathes religious hostility and intolerance. This religious bigotry is analogous to the modus operandi of capitalist markets where religious consumption is reduced to commodities; each religious sect is competitively trying to outdo the other as the only commodity worthy of consumption.
There may or may not be a divine truth residing in the bosom of every human being and other life form. But whether there is or isn’t, what the evidence suggest is that we all or most of us seems to be engaged in some form of religious or spiritual activity that is beckoning us to discover something deep within us that is much purer and more blissful than what we were conditioned to become. Whether this longing for truth, to become one with our higher divine self is an impulse we all share that is devoid of any concrete experience or there is the existence of something higher in us – a nature that’s above and beyond our baser and coarser existence – we nevertheless continue to seek.
But while we continue to faithfully seek the truth it serves us best to do so without the interference and invasion of our ego and passions. We ought to disallow our egos and passions which so often with their self-centered orientations condemn, ridicule and strive to destroy those who are engaged in divine pursuit of the very truth we are all seeking.
Orlando Patterson
Dear Editor,
Growing up I heard parents say on many occasions that “you can make the child, but you can’t make their minds.” As I grew older, while working that negative word “pride” which is the opposite of “humility” has been the cause of many unnecessary confusions and confrontations.
I am of the opinion that the Ombudsman and the Minister of Justice are at loggerheads, so I consulted some of my reliable sources who confirmed my suspicions.. I did not see it, but I was told that the Ombudsman put out a video confirming the lack of traffic policy while showing many situations why drivers should not be ticketed, mostly because of the lack of traffic signs. I must agree that I also noticed this, and I have commented that this could be one of the causes for the frustration with the public who are more and more criticizing the police for not doing anything.
I have said on several occasions that the vast majority of the public are in favor of law and order. I hope here that these mature personalities would let whatever has happened in the past be an example of how it should not be done, and that they would get together and start by getting Philipsburg traffic ready, before it really becomes a labyrinth.
Of late I constantly have to direct the tourist how to navigate Philipsburg. I do not hope that it is that video that is empowering drivers to the wrong, because I realize that increasingly the local drivers are driving in a forbidden direction whether the traffic signs are there or not.
It is past time that people in responsible positions realize and accept that it is not about them. I will repeat, no one man is an island. One should also analyze the real meaning of the saying “The bigger you are, the harder you fall”.
In the forest the firemen fight fire with fire, but the animals run away, because even they realize that it is dangerous. Do people break down the door of a house in order to catch and kill a cockroach? I believe that the Minister of Finance should take some of that money that he is wasting to put stickers on cars in order to satisfy his ego and dedicate that money to repairing the roads. That is what road tax is about.
It is time enough that those of us who know it better, show those young upstarts who believe that they know it all that knowing it all is what has Bobo asking, “Who next?”
By the way, for those of us who have often heard our parents correct us by saying that “you don’t have any pride” it is good to find out what the bible says about “pride”. There are about 45 to 50 places in the Bible where the word “pride is mentioned and it is never in a positive sense. Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”
I believe that we should replace “you don’t have any pride” with “get rid of that pride” and encourage “humility”. So let us get together and get simple things done for St. Maarten, where so many people have come because of what St. Maarten has to offer.
By the way, those people who were involved in that accident at the Cole Bay roundabout, in which there was an altercation between them and the driver of the car that bumped into them, should have the proper authorities look into that situation. What if that local driver was a “black” tourist instead, would that Asian-looking person of the other car also refer to that black person as a “nigger”? From what I understood, that Asian-looking person lives here and works in the hospitality trade. In my opinion, that Asian-looking man should not be left to think it is alright to address anyone in a derogatory manner. Especially if you do not know who they are.
I hope if it results that that person should not be here because of the negative impact his behavior could have on our economy, and the minister concerned does that which is correct, there will not be any backlash.
There was a video concerning the traffic situations and also the minister being made out to be a racist. In both of these cases, by, if I got it right, lawyers. Is this going to become a (downward) trend?. Who then can we count on to sell our St. Maarten as “The Friendly Island”? Have we realised that all of us who work in Philipsburg and surroundings, pass each other at least twice a week?
It is time to get together. I prefer honey to vinegar.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
Thank you for allowing me the space on your forum to express the ongoing saga that we, the community of Sint Eustatius, are the victims of due to abuse of power, fear, persons sitting on other persons seats, and negligence. On the island of Sint Eustatius, we have one medical centre. Even though limited in its services it is what the population relies on for medical care and services, and or access to advanced and or specialized medical care and services. It has been years since the community is complaining about the services rendered by SEHCF and the access to specialized and or advanced medical care.
To get an appointment with a general practitioner it takes up to four to six weeks after getting the run-around. After all the run-around and finally receiving an appointment, I went to the appointment and was refused to even enter the facility by non-medical professionals. This is a blatant abuse of power. Let me elaborate. Visiting the SEHCF alone today, I was informed that since a member of my household is in isolation, I cannot enter the facility. Not entering the facility in this case means NO SERVICE. No service means no medical attention. Again, medical service was rejected by non-medical staff of the institution that is being paid to provide medical care to the community of St. Eustatius. Under whose instructions, only God knows.
Secondly, I was informed that the situation for which I am attending the facility is not an emergency. I asked the individual how she knew that I don’t have an emergency? The ignorant lady told me because I have an appointment. I asked how else can one visit a General Practitioner if they don’t make an appointment? She stated, “sorry but you are not allowed in the facility”.
The individual then told me the GGD said, “I should be in quarantine and should not be on the road”. I asked since when? And why would GGD tell them that? The ignorant lady then indicated that she is following GGD rules. This is where a non-medical professional working at SEHCF is now sitting on GGD seat and deciding for them. Since medical service was rejected by the facility, I left and drove to the GGD office. I explained what transpired and indicated that I was informed that GGD was responsible for me not being able to visit nor attend the medical appointment. As I had anticipated GGD had no clue as what I was referring too.
GGD, after assessing the information confirmed that I am not in quarantine, nor do I have a reason to be. They further explained that they don’t decide for SEHCF who enters or does not enter their facility. The GGD staff contacted SEHCF to inquire and then SEHCF became very creative in their doings. It is no secret and is not rocket science to us as patients/clients of the SEHCF that the sooner one receives treatment for his or her medical situation the better it will be for the patient/client.
Here we have an institution that with their actions and or lack thereof are ensuring that the very persons that they should be serving are not receiving the care that they are entitled to. SEHCF is getting paid to render a service, while collecting for the services they are rejecting the services to the clients/ patients.
It is as if the inhabitants of this island must be begging for services that are being paid for and that they are entitled to, only to have wrong persons in the wrong positions who are abusing their power by deciding who should and should not receive service.
I would like to publicly request the board and management of the St. Eustatius Health Care Foundation to:
- Educate their staff on the purpose, vision, goal and mission of the SEHCF.
- Train their staff on how to provide adequate services to clients/patients.
- Educate their staff on their roles to ensure they work and decide within the scope of their roles and not on other organizations roles.
- Educate their staff on the legal ramifications and consequences as it relates to the refusal of medical care directly or indirectly by SEHCF.
In closing, I would like to thank the publishers for allowing me the space in their communication medium to let my voice be heard. I do hope that the SEHCF takes actions in rectifying these situations because our people’s lives are in their hands!
Arlene Spanner-Schmidt
Dear Editor,
I think your readers should be informed of how the new universal insurance plan for tourists is working out. Now that there are only 25 active cases left in Sint Maarten, it would be good to know how much money the government collected from tourists, how much NAGICO received for itself, and in particular, how many claims were made by tourists against the insurance scheme, and how much it paid out for their care, since this all began about six months ago.
David Wineberg
Dear Editor,
The COVID-19 pandemic has really taken a toll on our “Sweet St. Maarten”. Decision-makers have implemented some cost-cutting measures that negatively affect the income of our people. It has contributed to a reduction of business activities, which led to reduction of working hours for employees and unfortunately, in some cases, dismissal of employees as well as closure of some businesses.
To make matters worse, the cost of living continues to go up while decision-makers drag their feet to put measures (not limited to legislations) in place to help ease the burden of the people of our country especially pertaining to acquiring our basic needs. No citizen of this country should ever have to choose one basic need over the other. For e.g., buying groceries, paying rent, buying gas, paying utility bills (including Internet) or providing for their child(ren)’s needs.
There are those that believe that by solely increasing the minimum wage, it will solve our cost-of-living issues. On the contrary, I believe based on experience it will cause cost of living to get even more expensive. When minimum wage goes up, business owners will in return raise the prices of their goods and services and most of the time even at a higher rate than the adjusted minimum wage, making the purchasing power of the population more difficult. As the cost-of-living drastically continues to go up, it has triggered a significant decrease in our middle-class population, while in turn causing an increase in our low-class population, creating more poverty.
A crucial component regarding the cost of living on St. Maarten which needs to be addressed urgently in combination with the increase of minimum wage is the establishment of a poverty line. “No Poverty” is the first item on the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030. How can we strive for this without establishing a poverty line? From 2012 to 2022, some decision-makers have even requested for the competent authority to conduct a poverty line study. Up to date this poverty line has not been established.
In addition, it was also mentioned in the ruling of the advice from the Constitutional Court (2021) that a poverty line needs to be in place. This would have given more merit to the case of the 12.5 per cent cut that affected our educators, workers of the PJIA (airport), TelEm Group of Companies, GEBE, the St. Maarten Port, and civil servants, just to name a few key sectors who were negatively affected and by extension thousands of families in our community.
As cost of fuel, food, shelter, utilities, medical care and child-care continues to go up, decision-makers need to start implementing counter measures to keep the cost of living as low as possible. Measures such as; revamping of our price control system, especially that of food suppliers and hardware stores.
Another option is to maximize going green. Even among countries that are our kingdom partners, going green has proven to be a good means to help cut the cost of utilities for consumers.
An alternative option is to establish a proper public transportation system. This would minimize the necessity of purchasing a vehicle which has an operational and maintenance cost attached.
Another option can be to empower the rental tribunal to evaluate rent prices of dwellings and business property that have a maximum market value of US $300,000 instead of NAf. 200,000 established in 2014.
There are many other solutions that can be created and applied to lower the cost of living in St. Maarten, they are a click away and they need to be properly vetted and implemented like yesterday.
Richinel Brug
