Anyone visiting Caracas would immediately notice the abundance of both fresh and colourful fruits and vegetables all over the city. Vendors in about every other corner of Caracas lay their farm products on handmade stalls where they display several kinds of mangoes, as well as huge avocados, tangerines, tomatoes and Venezuelan papayas, which are called “lechosa” here, a lot juicier than papayas from other countries. No doubt this is the result of a huge expansion and increase in food production in Venezuela.
Nonetheless, the sale of fruits and vegetables across Caracas pales in comparison to the ultimate exhibition and trade of homegrown food at Parque Los Caobos, near the centre of the capital city. I am referring to the iconic,
7-year-old “Feria Conuquera” that brings together once a month a community of hard-working, imaginative, urban agricultural entrepreneurs who do not just sell their products for an incredibly affordable price. They also share their wisdom, while easily engaging consumers in conversations that range from tips on how to grow certain types of food to networking and advertisement.
In addition to the regular sale of nicely-grown agricultural products, you would see at the “Feria Conuquera” elaborated – added value – items such as hot sauces, several types of honey, breads, sweets, coffee and chocolate, among other delectable items. Indeed, it is local and community production – embedded in both urban and rural agriculture – that has staved off the aggressive economic warfare and blockade against Venezuela for the past six years or so.
I consider myself lucky, for I spent most of my time at the “Feria Conuquera” with a particularly good friend of mine, and such a brilliant mind, Giselle Perdomo, whose beautiful 4-year-old daughter, Yara, is my goddaughter. While at Giselle’s stall, I ate coffee bread and a sandwich and drank sugar cane juice (guarapo), all prepared by her with such enthusiasm and earnestness. Giselle is one of the founding mothers of “Feria Conuquera.”
“Feria Conuquera” literally means “Small Farmers’ Fair.” However, the meaning of a Venezuelan “conuco” goes beyond a smallholding plot. The “conuco” is the place where the First Indigenous Nations in Venezuela practiced different forms of planting and harvest.
Therefore, spirituality and ancestry play an especially important role in the economic production of Venezuelan “conucos.” This is so not only because of the history of resistance by the Indigenous people in terms of preserving their ancestral deeds to their lands, but also because – contrary to the evolution of large estates – conuco harvesting implies a healthier and organic form of food consumption. Also, true to the original spirit of “conuco” farming, just about all vendors from “Feria Conuquera” would gather at the end of their journey and barter their products, just like the original Indigenous people – and Venezuelans from the countryside – would do to maximize their work and avoid fiat transactions that tend to exclude small farmers in the first place.
When I told my friend José Roberto Duque – both a prominent and prolific Venezuelan writer and researcher – that I was going to “Feria Conuquera,” he immediately advised me to get in touch with Carolina Castro and her partner Freddy Muñoz, small farmers from La Guaira, who would be there. After a handshake and a small introduction, Carolina kindly gifted me with some beautiful green plantains and a bunch of radishes. “You must come to our ‘conuco’ in La Guaira. It will be quite an experience,” said Carolina.
Such openness, healthiness, solidarity, camaraderie and humanity, while purchasing food, cannot be found in your regular supermarket.
Álvaro Sánchez Cordero
Venezuelan Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
Dear Editor,
I reiterate my position that the rights of the people of country St. Maarten are not being upheld, promoted, nor defended by the current NA/UP coalition.
Good corporate governance practices are conveniently ignored depending on who is involved, while the fundamental rights of the people rooted in the constitution of country St. Maarten are placed on the back burner in place of frivolous ideas that do not address the realistic challenges our people are facing.
The recent turn of events at PJIA is a prime example of selective enforcement of good corporate governance practices and selective enforcement of rules and regulations. The 500-page dossier submitted by the COO [chief operating officer – Ed.] has yet to be addressed by either Government or Parliament. The law and rules of engagement should never be subjective, it is of the utmost importance for the sake of transparency that their implementation remain objective.
According to Article 44 of the St. Maarten Constitution, Parliament represents the entire population of country St. Maarten which means they have a legal and moral obligation to seek the wellbeing of the country as much as possible not on a temporary basis but long term.
The 12.5 per cent cut in so-called benefit is causing more harm than good and it has not been proven to have any other effect on the people of country St. Maarten other than increased hardship. This is contrary to Article 44 of our constitution and needs to be reversed on that basis.
The promotion of Bitcoin without any legislation being put in place is counter-productive and in direct opposition to Article 44 of the constitution because without legislation government’s coffers are bypassed and by extension Articles 18 and 19 of the constitution of country St. Maarten.
Article 18 - 1. The government’s constant concern is directed at the protection of children and young people and the promotion of their right to education, welfare, cultural development and leisure activities. 2. The government’s constant concern is directed at the protection of elderly and persons with a disability and at the promotion of their health and welfare. How is this to be achieved without the collection of taxes?
Article 19 - 1. It shall be the government’s constant concern to secure the means of subsistence of the population and to achieve the distribution of wealth. 2. Rules concerning entitlements to social security benefits shall be laid down by or pursuant to national ordinance. 3. Dutch nationals residing in St. Maarten who are unable to provide for themselves shall have a right, to be laid down by national ordinance, to aid from the government. How can this be achieved if selected groups are encouraged by parliament to participate in unregulated monetary activities?
Responsible governing should entail that decisions taken contribute positively to government ability to promote the fundamental rights of the people based on the constitution. Decisions made contrary to these principles will stifle our growth potential today and for generations to come.
Pamela Gordon Carty
Leader of the United St. Maarten Party
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,
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,
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
