"We stand with the Cuban people," US President Joe Biden says in an official White House statement, responding to protests across the Caribbean island country, "and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic, and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime."

  Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel disagrees as to the nature of the protests. "All this discontent, these feelings of dissatisfaction, what is the ultimate cause of all that?" he asks. "It’s the blockade. This is part of the U.S. playbook to destabilize us, to generate chaos, to break our will and spirit."

  Diaz-Canel has a point. There's no actual "blockade," but there is an embargo, now yearly 60 years long, under which most trade with Cuba is forbidden to American businesses (and foreign business which operate the US).

  The supposed purpose of the embargo has been, simply put, to make life hard enough on the Cuban people that they rise up and overthrow the communist regime. So, when Diaz-Canel blames the embargo for popular discomfort and dissatisfaction, a US claim that he is wrong is essentially an admission that the embargo serves no worthwhile purpose whatsoever. Which seems to be the case.

  Six decades of failure to achieve its purpose kind of speaks for itself, don't you think? If Biden really wants to "stand with the Cuban people," there are two easy steps he can take to do so in an honest way.

  First, he can ask Congress to lift the embargo and declare a policy of unilateral free trade with Cuba. If Cubans are not going to be permitted to trade with Americans, let the Cuban regime, not the US regime, be the ones to say so – and to pay any price in popularity that comes with the decision.

  Second, he can ask Congress to end all restrictions on travel and migration between Cuba and the US. If you are a Cuban who wants to visit or live in America, or vice versa, and if you can find a way to make the journey, the US government will not stand in your way. (again, if the Cuban government does, that is on them).

  Will those two things happen? Not likely. Florida's a swing presidential state with a strong lobby and associated Cuban-American voting block that favours economic protectionism in the name of an "anti-communism" that aims to keep Cuba's Communist Party in charge at all costs.

  But if he dares risk it, Biden can actually stand up for freedom – in a way that invites the Cuban people to reveal and act on their true preferences, whatever those preferences may be – instead of just mouthing dishonest platitudes.

Thomas L. Knapp

Dear Editor,

  While authority figures regularly condemn our youngsters, calling out undesirable behaviour, they seem misguided in how to adequately address these behaviours and empower our youngsters.

  In 2011, I created the programme “Get off the Block, Get on the Bus, and Get Busy” (GB3) to try to address the immediate needs of our wandering youth. The programme was praised by a number of people, including subsequent ministers, as a step in the right direction.

  Yet today, a decade later, not one person in office has presented a plan to address the empowerment of our young people, especially our young men, in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.

  Instead, what we see over the years are a string of ad-hoc measures, a little funding here and there for youth-related programmes, some training here and there for personnel to quickly fill critical vacancies, and a return to yesterday’s models – the exact models that have left so many of our challenges unresolved – to solve today’s problems.

  Our lone university, a beacon of hope when it started in 1989, now sits as an “empty shell,” as one local reporter puts it, void of any substantive programmes based on a vision of nation-building.

  Meanwhile, the University of Curaçao and foreign institutions are actively competing for our young minds and bodies to fill their empty classes.

  We see contractors lining up to bid to build a new “state of the art” prison and discussions about creating military-style training for our youth while the rest of the modern world is seeking to build strong economies through education reform that empowers their people in areas such as literacy, finance, science, and technology.

  We complain about the level of violence our youth are exposed to in music videos and video games. Yet those in authority legitimize organized violence by exposing our youth to these European-styled militarized programmes – that, if I may dare add, are part of a historic, institutionalized system, in which the black skin of especially our young men is still seen, and invariably hated, as an enemy for police and soldiers to be threatened by, to criminalize (including to be taught to self-hate), and even to choke or be shot to death.

  A quick glance around the world shows that the kind of militarization that is being proposed by our minister of justice for our youth in St. Martin has only served to legitimize organized violence, including increase in armed gang activities, and to further disenfranchise the youth of the countries and territories where they are used.

Our youth do not need militarization.

  What they need is to be empowered to expand and reach their full human potential. They deserve to be educated in a system that recognizes their individual gifts and talents and nurtures these talents to create a more empowered nation.

  There has to be a bigger vision to equip our youngsters, our future leaders, with the skills and knowledge to compete in a globalized world and to create a sustainable economy where all St. Martin individuals and families will be able to thrive.

  To help them, those in authority should be innovating, creating new models, specifically designed to address our unique challenges and to contribute to solutions for our region rather than trying to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s failed solutions.

Rhoda Arrindell, PhD

Dear Editor,

  I extend my deepest sympathy and condolences to the people of Haiti. The recent assassination of the President of Haiti Jovenel Moïse is a stark reminder of the instability that has plagued the Caribbean island for decades, or might I add, for more than two centuries.

  Haiti, while rich in mineral resources and said to be the poorest country in the hemisphere, is rife with turmoil. What is unfortunate is that too many persons look at the island's present condition and neglect to consider the past. The first island to attain its independence after defeating colonial countries such as Spain, England and the last one being France is still paying the price today on the political, social and economic front. The most powerful army at the time led by Napoleon Bonaparte was outwitted by gut and guile.

  Haiti, as most of us know, became the first independent country in the Caribbean in 1804 but it did not come without a price. They had to pay their colonizer France. It is said that in 1825 France, with warships ready, sailed to Haiti and demanded that they compensate France for its loss of slaves and its slave colony in exchange for French recognition of Haiti as a sovereign republic. How hypocritical is this? France demanded 150 million francs. This amount is equivalent to $21 billion in today's currency.

  Imagine, the same France is today still collecting the infamous French colonial tax from some 13 African countries annually to the tune of some $500 billion yet nothing is being said about this by the international community. This conspiracy continues today. They, the African countries, are forced to keep 50 percent of their foreign exchange reserves in an operation account held at the French treasury (I term this perpetual colonization). As a matter of fact, to paraphrase France's late president Charles de Gaulle who said that if these African countries cease from sending their funds to France, the country will drop to a third world status. And this from a continent where it is said that 40 of the 55 countries are poor.

  Back to the problem of Haiti. France received the final payment from Haiti in 1893/4 but it is said because the government of the United States funded the acquisition of Haiti's treasury in 1911 in order to receive payments related to indemnity, it took Haiti until 1947 to finalize its payment which is about 122 years. And we wonder why Haiti is still struggling? Can anyone tell us what happened to the some $900 million of the country's funds that were deposited in a Swiss account by former presidents who were protected until their demise by foreign governments? Promised donations after the earthquake never materialized.

  Please study Haiti's history and you will discover the continuous outside political, social and economic interference which continues to fuel past and current events and keep the nation of Haiti still hostage. Haiti needs the support of her brothers and sisters of the diaspora, not criticism and ridicule. Thanks to her bravery we are free today.

George Pantophlet

Member of Parliament

Dear Editor,

  I believe that the term is “in proportion to”. I believe that businesses employ in numbers in proportion to their steady clientele. I believe that restaurants also do the same. Yes, I am aware that nowadays because of modern technology in order not to have to be bothered with the so-called aches and pains of hiring human beings more and more the robotic arm is being used. But it still remains that when it is about dealing with human behavior, whether to protect or serve it takes the involvement of another human being.

  I would be that last person to go against the police because I believe that I can count myself among those who really know the ins and outs of policing in St. Maarten. St. Maarten is a unique country and policing should be carried out in a unique way. That is why I do not agree with those who claim that publicly demonstrating will not hamper the police work.

  I know different. I have decided to write this letter today because of the contents of the sermon preached on Sunday, the 11^th, in the Anglican Church.

  Part of it was “There are some things you do not do” and that reminded me again of my parents who would always tell us, “Not because something is not forbidden, you should do it if it is not the right thing to do.” The judges, the prosecutors and even the defending lawyers know the reason for having police in a country. When there is an optimal functioning police force this should be just like a heartbeat, silently supporting our life. The visibility of the police has always been a deterrent to crime and it will not change.

  Police action should not be at the expense of the public. Security cameras do great work in policing but as long as there is not the correct follow-up it makes no sense.

  The heading of my letter is reckless behavior, because that is what it is. We have a traffic ordinance which in my view could be thrown out the door. Drivers do what they want in broad daylight because they are not being reprimanded for their reckless behavior.

  The latest infringement that I have witnessed is a female driver with East Indian features. She drove from Cannegieter Street to Back Street, made a U-turn in the intersection Back Street/Hendrikstraat and drove back towards Cannegieter Street. The traffic on Back Street had to back up a little in order for her to be able to complete the U-turn. It was not a rental number.

  It has become a norm for some people who own off-road bikes to drive in opposite direction over the roads like Back Street and the different alleys between Front Street, Back Street and Cannegieter Street. Stopping without pulling to the complete right of the road when using the cell phone to text has become a norm also. Drivers of heavy equipment vehicles constantly disregard the width of the road. I can go on and on with the infringements.

  Sunday mornings on the way to church riders ride two and three next to each other not taking into consideration the row of cars formed behind them. Not to talk about the dark tint and the different ways of driving while using the cell phone.

  Someone asked me one time why is it that on small island like St. Maarten the police are not contented. I have said it for at least 10 years now. When politicians need votes they disregard law and order. And in these last 10 years we know how many elections there were and how much the politicians needed the people, so it became a habit to disregard law and order. And I will challenge anyone of them who has been in government to prove me different and show the people the facts.

  Much work is needed between government along with the police brass and leaders of the police union. The policeman is not a tradesman. His/her duties are not the same as a public servant. The police are there to protect and serve and should not be made to be distracted from that. Too often there are people who did not walk in the policeman’s shoes deciding. This will always cause discontentment. Police officers do not complain, they comply.

Russell A. Simmons