Dear Editor,

  While shopping for a “Welkom” sign to put on the front door, I met an acquaintance in the hardware store. We chit chat a little and then the situation with the guilty verdicts came up. During that conversation “I do not defend criminals” was expressed. When I heard that it rocketed me back about 40 years.

  I was working on Aruba between 1979 and 1982 and stayed at my parents’ home. My father had stopped sailing , so we saw each other every day and of course had some good conversations. He accepted me being a police officer, but he would always hint that I would make a good lawyer. During one of those conversations, he said to me lawyers can protect people also. All they have to do is refuse to defend criminals. I never remembered that until I spoke to that gentleman a few days ago.

  My father summed it up this way. When the criminal realizes that he cannot get the lawyer of his choice to defend him, he would be reluctant to commit crime. The crime rate would go down significantly. At that time I told him that the court appoints lawyers for defendants who cannot afford a lawyer.

  That might be so, he said, but the routine criminal knows which lawyer is good at what. But when he has no choice but to accept the one which is assigned to him, that’s a different story. They will not have access to seasoned criminal lawyers and would realize that it is not worth it. Crime rate will go down; less people in prison, including those 27 years and younger. With less convicts, no need for expanding or building new prisons, lawyers will have more time to adequately attend to civil cases. The rightful people will get what is entitled to them and the statistics would help to eradicate that dreadful word “corrupt”. I am sitting here typing this letter and blaming myself for not remembering what I would say is one of the most realistic things that my father had said to me years ago.

  This past week I was told a few things as a consequence of the letters that I have written to you. One of them is what a friend of mine once told me. He said, “If people follow what you write they won’t get locked up, because you have goat mouth.” Another one told me one time that I am working with the Dutchman. I literally laughed out loud, because he did not realize that I was a policeman for years and that I could know something about law enforcement and crime detection.

  But the latest one that I heard is the truth and staring us in our face – “Right now the word parliamentarian seems to be synonymous to prisoner”. I applaud where it came from, because who else is left to highlight and denounce that kind of behaviour?

 The following might be challenged by skeptics, but I believe that basically the human being is good and where there is a will there’s a way. These last few days we have come to realize that money is not the cure for sickness, but that it is still so that the love of money is the root of all evil, so my question is: Can “not defending crime” be a deterrent to crime?

Russell A. Simmons

On the right bank of the mighty Suriname river, on a 125-acre plot of land

There survives a lone Big Tree

It marks the outer border of Bigi Bon, Grote Boom in Dutch, Big Tree in English

Bigi Bon was the plantation my ancestors were enslaved on in Suriname

Ironically the official name of this slave camp full of people who had no freedom, was La Liberté, The Freedom.

I found my great-great-great-grandmother hidden deep in the archives of this place

I also found her children and her grandchildren

Their friends

Their relatives

Their neighbors

All enslaved Africans

People with no autonomy, stripped of their past, their future uncertain

But with only their pride and their resilience to cling to

They did something amazing

My great-great-grandmother figured out that she herself could be a Bigi Bon

That she could stand proud and rise victorious over centuries of efforts to quell the spirit of her people

As we do

She purchased the plantation

And turned this place that spelled marginalization for her ancestors

Into an investment for herself and for the generations that would follow after her

She planted the Big Tree

And handed it down to her children

My grandfather raised his family here

With his wife, my grandmother, the grandchild of the unbending Granman Broos, king of the Baka Busi suma who lived upriver at Rorac

King Broos was a Big Tree in his own right

I honored him in Ghana this year

But that’s another story for another day

My mom, her sisters and brothers were born at Bigi Bon

They were raised In the shade of the Big Tree

Bigi Bon is still in our possession

Once there were two Big Trees that marked its border on the banks of the mighty Sranan River

One survived

Imagine what all it has been witness to …

I named our foundation Bigi Bon

In honor of the ancestors

The Big Trees

They watch over us all

Just like every Big Tree provides shade, food, protection and housing to other beings that it towers over

And just like the current generation should provide protection and care and guidance to the next generation

A buncha words to express my gratitude to you

For your support

Your counsel

Your contribution

Your participation

Your involvement

Your understanding

Your involvement in Weekend College

Your addition to AFRO Magazine

Your workshops at OZOSchool

Your love

Or something else some other time

Either way

You helped make the mark

You helped clear the path

We’re all Big Trees

We zijn allemaal Grote Bomen

Unu ala mala na Bigi Bon

A buncha words to say “HAPPY HOLIDAYS”

Stay the Big Tree you are

What is Christmas without?

Marvin Hokstam

Journalist, writer, educator

 Dear Editor,

  Several days a week cars swoosh by men and women cleaning our streets, come rain or shine.

Some of these workers wear a hat or some other garment wrapped tightly around their head and face to protect from the blistering sun, from dirt, or grass particles flying around as they go about their tasks. Working in small groups, some holding a shield to safeguard vehicles from possible damage, while having little protection themselves from ongoing traffic such as container-trucks, or small motorcades including quads.

  While we are aware of the fact that cleaning agents are paid to do this line of work, we must be kinder and more appreciative of the work they do in order to keep our island clean and beautiful for our citizens, as well as for our valued visitors.

  A good start to show we care and respect these workers is to stop throwing trash out of vehicles. These workers are not our personal picker-uppers! Government can be more proactive by placing road signs back at strategic locations warning of fines to pay by perpetrators when caught. Regrettable, some of those who continue to litter our island include garbage-collecting companies contracted by government, thus paid for by our tax paying residents. Many of these vehicles remain uncovered as they head towards the landfill in Philipsburg to offload their trash, usually leaving a trail of their load behind. This brings to mind the definition of insanity: “Doing the same things over and over again and each time expecting a different outcome”. We must change our behaviour and stop loitering our neighbourhoods.

  These road-cleaning workers deserve respect and hopefully an end-of-the-year bonus from their respective employers for the work they do.

  Special gratitude and words of encouragement go out as well to management of the Sint Maarten Harbour group of companies represented by new managing Director Alexander Gumbs. Their decision to include the Freddy Lejuez bridge in Simpson Bay in their annual Holiday decorations currently carried out by a team of young electricians headed by well-known resident Addison Richardson, better known as uncle Shadz, is not only fabulous. It is historic! This bridge will be a festive backdrop for our citizens, as well as our yachting visitors. With so many distractions and negativity it is good to pause and choose a positive.

  We are thankful to many other citizens and companies who take their responsibilities seriously and execute these with pride to serve. This time around, both the road-cleaning crews as well as  Alexander Gumbs deserve to be highly commended. Sometimes a seemingly small decision can have a big impact.

Gracita Arrindell

Leader, People’s Progressive Alliance

Dear Editor,

  In the spirit of annual New Year reflections I have tried to create a thumbnail picture of how I find the position St. Maarten is in at the end of 2021 and what the future looks like for the country in the coming years.

  First and foremost are the studies that show that there is little or no chance of the economy reverting to growth numbers that were seen in the ’80s and ’90s. At that time of fast tourism development, low labour costs through immigration existed, limited government meant limited regulation and low public expenses. Now with the same non-expandable single pillar economy, such growth is extremely unlikely. Without growth in the economy, the size of the population and the cost of the public sector point to longer-term deficits.

  The political situation is such that only a party with strong commitment to the entitlements of the public sector is likely to obtain a majority.

  The public debt and the immediate liquidity shortages exclude any possibility of investments that might lead to the development of industry diversification and if the capital were to be available it is doubtful whether the dominating political entities would support opportunities in respect of legislation and budgeting. Foreign direct investment in economy expanding and public sector revenue creating activities is unlikely.

  Most of the good possibilities of increasing public sector revenue via indirect taxation are limited due to the open border with the French side and harmonization seems not to be realizable. Whilst some revenue increases may be possible through the targeting of specific sectors only a massive change in the taxation circumstances would create a breakthrough.

  Whilst the Dutch have a vision of how the situation could be rescued via the COHO [Caribbean Body for Reform and Development – Ed.], it would appear that solutions by the Dutch are not going to receive a hearty welcome nor likely to enjoy strong execution support.

  The majority in the St. Maarten Parliament does not have a vision of how the country could break out of its obviously deep economic hole other than all public debt being forgiven by the Netherlands. Even if that were to happen, then unless conditions were to change a new significant debt would quickly be recreated.

  The Netherlands wants to restructure various parts of the economy so that they are more sustainable but a record of poor cooperation has led to an approach where coercive financial force is being used which in turn is probably creating more resistance to cooperation, regardless of the sense and value of the proposals.

  The population is confused. They resort to parties and politicians who were connected with the growth of the ’80s and ’90s but those parties and politicians do not have the courage and or knowledge to deal with the deeply rooted problems that have now become clear post [Hurricane] Irma and under pandemic. Simply claiming “resilience” does not seem to be turning things around.

  Does this paint an accurate picture of Sint Maarten?

Robbie Ferron