Dear Editor,
That’s the opening of an old lawyers joke. It goes, “What do you have when you have 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?” and the punch line is “A good start”. It always gets a good laugh right up until you need one. Then it becomes a whole different ball game.
I spent a lot of time in court when I was an engineer doing expert witness work for a variety of lawyers. Some were really good at what they did and others would have been better off learning the phrase “Do you want fries with that?” but in the end justice prevailed more often than not.
We need one of the good ones here now. A pit bull, attack dog, serial killer personal injury guy. One of those guys you see on late night TV getting billion dollar judgments from the cigarette industry.
In this newspaper yesterday [Monday – Ed.] was the story of Mr. Buncamper’s alleged corruption that made everybody downwind from the dump sick for years. According to the paper, he got bought and paid for to hire a company that allowed the dump to burn unchecked for years which, for all intents and purposes, made a lot of people very sick, probably led to some elderly dying well before their time and God help you if you were trying to sell your house during those periods when the air wasn’t fit to breathe.
In the law, or at least in the States, his actions would be seen as the proximate cause of these illnesses, deaths, and loss of property values. That “proximate cause” thing is one of those terms I heard in court over and over. The other words I heard all the time were “he knew or should have known” and “held to a higher standard”.
The “knew or should have known” thing is the linchpin of most negligence cases where someone’s actions cause some harm or injury that could have been prevented if that person had acted responsibly. It implies that a professional would certainly be aware that a failure to do his job properly would result in the direct cause of that harm. And that’s where the “higher standard” comes in. A professional is expected to know better. He can’t claim ignorance as an amateur might. Because he is a professional, the law holds him to a higher standard.
If the judge in the Buncamper case comes back with a guilty verdict then, in simple words, the court is saying that his actions were both negligent and the direct proximate cause of all the injury and harm done to hundreds of people all those years for the sake of making some fast Yankee dollars under the table.
In the States there would already be pit bull, serial killer, bottom-feeding lawyers licking their lips and canvassing those affected neighborhoods for clients. The eight-figure damage claims would already be written up and summons ready to serve warm from the word-processor even before the judge’s verdict was cool to the touch. The lawyers here seem to have more class than that but we can only hope.
If the verdict is, in fact, “guilty” then justice needs to be served here in a manner that finally sends the message to the community and the Dutch and to anyone else that cares at all about this country. He needs to go to prison and he needs to be made to pay serious damages to all those he hurt and betrayed for all those years. No compromise.
Where is a good lawyer when you need him (or her)?
Steven Johnson
Dear Editor,
I would like to respond to misinformation provided by a Dutch politician of Statian ancestry, in your newspaper editorial section of November 12, 2021. This particular Dutch politician has expressed strong Afro-centric views regarding the scientific research of Africans in the Diaspora. Although I do not agree with all of his opinions, I respect his right to have them, and indeed I do agree with some few aspects indicated. However, the emotionally-charged means of his arguments, and blatant misinformation provided, seem to be more of a quest to advance his own political career both in Holland and Statia.
Of particular concern were his accusation of “tokenism” if a person of African descent does not agree with his extremist views, and even more concerning is his charge that “Archaeology is per definition a racist discipline” as outright misinformation. Regarding all the social science fields there has been a long history of transformation from early biased philosophies to the more diverse and inclusive philosophies of today, including archaeology and for this politician’s own discipline of psychology. But as a Dutch politician, it seems he prefers to trigger emotional responses for his political gain, rather than be accurate with the facts. Something similar to what we are seeing globally with the Q-Anon phenomena of misinformation and grotesque distortions of the truth.
What is important is that Caribbean people seek not to throw the pendulum to the far extreme opposite direction, but rather to find the respectful middle-ground of full inclusiveness for Caribbean communities within the scientific study of their own heritage. What is also significant, is that technological advances of scientific heritage research now allow for an enormous amount of new information to be learned specifically about those Africans who were part of the Diaspora and thereby vastly enhance our broader understanding of the actual lives of the African ancestors of Caribbean communities today.
One of the points I have in agreement with this Dutch politician is that we need more Caribbean heritage researchers from the region! Indeed, my entire 40-year career has been built on developing community-engagement programs for heritage research, in which we are seeking to inspire more Caribbean people to become heritage researchers. Unfortunately, this politician seems to be ignoring the great diversity of Caribbean multi-cultural and multi-racial societies, and rather has expressed his view that only Black African centered persons should follow these fields of study. I absolutely agree and support that Caribbean persons of African descent should be pursuing careers as heritage researchers, and indeed many are. However, for him to specify that only Black persons should make this heritage career choice is nothing less than racism itself.
We are at a critical time for heritage research transformation on Statia, and the recently created Statia Heritage Research Commission (SHRC) is also striving to achieve many of those exact same goals this Dutch politician mentioned, including recommendations from regional and local individuals who have experience in these matters to revise and re-structure the systemic problems which have come forth from the SHRC investigations. The SHRC recommendations will be specific and detailed regarding what archaeological practice guidelines and policies need to be in place on Statia, based on International standards and respect for community voices.
Dr. Jay B. Haviser, Archaeologist
Dear Editor,
The economies of the Eastern Caribbean islands have seen many changes in fortunes over the last four decades. Typically the economies of the small island states are constrained by a dependence on the single tourism pillar with minimum diversification and very few diversification possibilities that can make a real difference. Common to them all are public sectors that are broadened to the maximum degree mainly driven by the political interest to provide employment and a lack of domestic savings that lead to long-term investments.
Dear Editor,
While viewing the Memorial Service for my dear sister-in-law, Apostle Pearl, and listening to all the good things bestowed on her, it made me think of the good times I had with her and her daughters, Mshinda and Aisha, at home in Saunders, St. Maarten.
Pearl was always ready to open her doors to welcome family members and friends. She always showed my wife and me a good time when we visited St. Maarten. She was a good entertainer. To me, her specialty was a good and passionate manager at the Cupecoy Resort.
I can recall the first time, she accommodated my wife and me in a duplex suite overlooking the Caribbean Sea from our upstairs balcony, for the entire week, complimentary. Back on my job in New York, with Pan American Airway, I boosted what a great time I had. Since we fly that cost us nothing, my boss wanted to visit St. Maarten. Again, Pearl to the rescue. She accommodated my boss with the same complimentary accommodations. They loved it so much that they went back to St. Maarten for a second time, and Pearl greeted them with the same welcome, and complimentary stay at the resort.
That’s the kind of Pearl I knew, giving and helping. My close friend was in St. Croix, and got caught in a hurricane, and the hotel they were staying got damage, flights to New York were cancelled for a few days, and it happens they got an island hopper flight to St. Maarten, to connect to New York next day. I called out to Pearl for assistance to them. Again, the good Samaritan stretched out to accommodate my friend and wife to a complimentary suite, washed all their clothing, sneakers and ironed and folded their clothes for next-day travel. These folks had never seen or had such service rendered to them in their travel lives. They could not stop in giving her high praises and thanks.
In closing, Pearl was not only my sister-in-law, she is family. She became the Apostle Pearl Pantaleon, that carried on the message of God to the people. You have earned your place with our Heavenly Father. Here you will find eternal rest.
Be Blessed.
Ferdinand Lee James and Family
Fort Pierce, Florida
Dear Editor,
The published literature describing the history of St. Martin has misled our people in so many ways that we are confused about fact and fiction. In all countries in development, rising up means building people in mind, body, and soul. Knowing your history becomes a priority and it is time that we St. Martiners get our historical facts published so that we have the correct information. I commend all those who are making dire efforts in concretizing information for publication.
On a day like St. Martin Day, November 11, we celebrate and acknowledge the North and South sides as “A united people of St. Martin”, or as we often say, “one people”. The “one people” concept of this island is real, even though there are physical borders and two administrations. When we speak of unity of the people, we break down all barriers in order to make us one, namely our culture, our language, our values, and our heritage, which are inherent in us.
When Dr. Claude Wathey and Dr. Hubert Petit in 1959 planned the 11th of November, it was to celebrate the people “together as one” … one island, one people, one destiny! What great vision they had as we celebrate St. Martin Day for the 62nd time this year!
The “people concept” hereof residing on both sides of the Island, recognizing the unity and oneness of this Island must never be forgotten. November 11 is our day, a unique national day of the people of this island, which now embraces many people and many cultures but one destiny; St. Martin.
The people of St. Martin remain inspired to attain and maintain the nation’s sovereignty, autonomy, and peaceful existence. Much can be said about the spirit of the people of this Island, through their resilience when encountered with the challenges of their complex history, polity, natural disasters (hurricanes, earthmoving, and pandemics), and unnecessary socio-economic threats in the form of poverty, and lack of opportunity and hope.
The soul of the people of St. Martin is triumphant, because of its resilience, its drive and guide to attain and maintain a St. Martin unified socio-cultural reality and heritage. The aim of the people of this constituent state is constantly focused on and guaranteeing the natural “one people” experience of this island.
Although history in all its dimensions is a contributing factor towards the evolution of a people’s future, it is detrimental for reflection on St. Martin Day to acknowledge the past and especially to accentuate and use this day as a tool to aid the empowerment and enforcement of our nation-building in progress.
Our resiliency, our persistent struggle to conscientize our own people to assume more responsibility as a committed citizen in this country, our urge to improve the pillars that really make our constituent state an autonomous country, and our proven success in living peacefully in a country with more than 120 nationalities, must encourage us to continue celebrating our St. Martin Day with the aspiration to continue improving the livelihood of our people in spite of our restrictive financial resources.
St. Martin Day celebration is a catalyzer to enforce the progress of an already existing promising unification in this country. It is all about our responsibility as a citizen, our pride, honor, dignity, and integrity to empower our island identity and future. The history of our people is embedded in the stories of our ancestors, the music and dance of our people, the food and remedies of our soil, and the occupations of our hands and minds. The labor and love, the blood and tears, renewed hopes and dreams of the people of this country have given birth to a national consciousness that must be acknowledged with this celebration on St. Martin Day.
In achieving our national destiny, which can only be prepared for democratically, lies our fullest sense of nationhood and prosperity.
Hence, I will continue to conscientize my people who deserve this great day called: “St. Martin Day.”
Congratulations St. Martin!
Dr. Luc Mercelina
Political Leader of the URSM
