Dear Editor,

  Allow me to publicly thank Mr. Russell Simmons for his comments as they relate to me in his op-ed of January 20. He states that he is not defending me, as I can do so myself. And while I like the message to others in his piece, I need to indeed defend myself against what some might call SXM’s version of “the big lie”.

  I have said it once, twice, three, four, five, six and up to seven times already, and I say it now again: I, Michael J. Ferrier do not have any delinquent financial debt to the Government of St. Maarten, or for that matter to any government, company, institution, or person anywhere in the world. So, Russell, in your commentary you might have used the word “alleged” after “Mr. Ferrier’s” and before “financial debt”.

  And also, I do take offense when it seems you lump me with “those other business people who also owe the Government plenty of money for taxes.”

  For the ninth time: I do not owe delinquent taxes, or fees of any kind, including for long lease land. I challenge anybody to prove differently.

  Peace!

Michael J. Ferrier

Dear Editor,

  During my tenure as a police officer, I have had to scrutinize many documents of people from all layers of the world.

  That contributed to me being a little more humble. I cannot readily speak for what is happening nowadays, but in my days it would surprise us to see the humility which was exposed by people who one would not expect. Doctors, lawyers, well-to-do business people, etc. It was at times like those that I understood the meaning between vinegar and honey.

  I do not usually look at the writer before reading a letter written to you, that is to avoid anticipating anything, but I could not avoid this in the letter written to you by Alex David Rosaria, because his curriculum vitae took up one sixth of the letter. Because degrees and diplomas give one the qualification to perform, that does not necessarily mean that one is going to perform well. If what people did not do bothered me that much and I had the qualification that A.D. Rosaria has, I would offer to assist them, instead of criticizing them.

  What I know from feedback that I get from a whole lot of people is that plenty of people are willing to write to you but that even though they speak English at home it is not the same as having to write to the editor of a newspaper, knowing that their letter could be published. I never tell them that their name can be withheld, because you know my opinion on that.

  In my M.U.L.O. days we had to pass exams in four languages. We were examined in reading, writing and speaking all four languages. Once I asked why the reading examination? I was told that reading a language is not the same as speaking it. When you read a language you will have to be able to understand difficult or strange words to understand the context. When you are speaking a language you are able to use several words to explain yourself.

  I do not believe in using difficult words, (even though I intentionally use them sometimes), because when I write I take into consideration that the person on the bus does not have a dictionary at hand to be able to follow what is written. I stand to be corrected, but if I can remember well, one of the reasons for writing in Papiamento was for exactly what Mr. Rosaria is criticizing. They wanted Papiamento to be recognized worldwide. I can relate to his reasoning, but having all those accolades and criticizing without offering assistance or a solution does not tell me anything.

  Because I worked at the Immigration for a good while, I know that in the world of tourism, of which Aruba, Curaçao and, of course, St. Maarten are part , the tourists are consistently delighted in listening to the native languages. Besides that, I am sure that both the Netherlands as well as the rest of the Dutch Kingdom are always well represented in the English language when necessary. It is also so that we are constantly praised because of the size of our islands with the ability to communicate in so many foreign languages. Because I follow what is happening in MLB with our professional baseball players, I know that one of the reasons that they are the center of attraction of their teammates is because they serve as the interpreter between the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking players as well as their managers.

  It will never be so that everybody in this world would be able to do everything, but when the Lord blesses you abundantly it is because you are expected to be a blessing to others.

  Now this. To that person who wanted to know if “jamming in Carnaval was also honorable”, I say, “Ask the thousands of spectators who over the years were pleasantly satisfied and approved of one of St. Maarten's finests, directing and controlling the parades in a dignified and jolly manner.”

Russell A. Simmons

Dear Editor,

  I read the story regarding the removal of the car wrecks organised by VROMI which is commendable, and this is surely a costly exercise at the expense of the (few) taxpayers on the island.

  It baffles my brain why Sint Maarten does not investigate to see how this gets dealt with in other parts of the world. Simple questions to government officials of overseas counterparts. How do you deal with this? In most countries , the VIN number gets checked and the owner traced and issued a towing fee and a fine for dumping the vehicle in the first place. You might say, the process to trace these people is too expensive and longwinded, but you will find that most of them have in the meantime acquired another vehicle which is registered through

the Licence department.

  Next time they come to collect their new number plates, a hefty fine will be waiting. If you want to properly dispose of your vehicle, it should be de-registered and brought to the dump. One cannot expect the government to keep on paying for things for which we as the public should take responsibility.

  Let us all do our bit to improve things on Sint Maarten, from not littering to respecting our fellow citizens and animals.

Rene Lammerse

Dear Editor,

  1. Police warn motorcyclists against dangerous behavior! When will the warnings stop and the zero tolerance of shenanigans on motorbikes kick in?

  2. Judge orders Air Traffic Controllers back to work. While the 30 or so ATControllers are part of the 200plus SXM-Airport employees, the controllers’ job performance, or lack thereof on days like this past January 2, can cause accidents and incidents with catastrophic and deadly consequences. Very few other SXM-Airport jobs (if any) carry such a burden. Airport Management might consider carving them out of the rest and dealing with their issues separately.

  3. Parliament to examine Brownbill’s credentials. Really? How about the “Honorable” replacement showing some integrity by offering to remove himself from consideration for the seat in Parliament that now is vacant, seeing his own experience with the justice system. What is the message here?

  4. USParty questions hospital agreement. Maybe the USParty would be better served questioning themselves and evaluating their campaign promise of “Integrity and proper representation.”

  5. Buncamper says serious choices to be made; reset button cannot be pushed again. While he says that the reset button cannot be pushed again (for the country), the lengthy press release on page 4 of the newspaper is either a political “magic trick” or proof that his own personal reset button was in fact pushed, so “business as usual” would kick in. Convicted by our court of law, unceremoniously removed from Parliament (while remaining on its payroll as MP #16), the MP appears to take a page out of an ex-USA-President’s playbook: Deny, deflect and assign “problems” to others, all the while hoping that posts on social media and in the mainstream press will cause the average citizen to soon forget all transgressions!

Michael J. Ferrier