Dear Editor,
I was very pleased to read that the Minister of Justice is busy getting our traffic infrastructure back on track. I am not the Commissioner of police, and I am also aware that I am not the authority to decide what the police should do. On the other hand, I believe in “know better do better” and I was also taught that if you are going to criticize something, make sure you also have a positive solution to the problem.
Sign boards for bus stops should be placed in the correct way. Especially on Nisbeth Road, they were placed for placing sake. Even if the buses were willing to stop in the correct way at the bus stop, they can’t because even though there is space and enough for correct stopping of the buses, where the signs are placed is hazardous. The only reasonably laid-out bus stop is the one opposite Carl and Son’s, and that one is being used as a parking lot and not like the no-stopping law states. The bus drivers stop any and everywhere.
They try as much as possible not to pull off the road in order to avoid other buses getting in front of them. I can speak to this because this is what the Control Unit used to control. Those controlling the buses should be able to see inside the bus from the outside, and at night the buses should have a light illuminating the cabin. Contrary to this law, the majority of the buses are heavily tinted. What about social distancing?
And nobody does anything about it. Should we be surprised when we have to read about the active cases of COVID? Tripling fines could be necessary, but is not the deterrent. The goal is to stop the illegal behaviour, so the deterrent would have to be consistent police presence and the members of the Control Unit, who in the past were very active controlling public transportation and parking violations.
Because the road infrastructure can change as well as the increase in the number of motor vehicles, laws to accommodate these situations can be added or amended.
Russell A. Simmons
You could never believe it.
I could never believe it
An Adonis of perfection
Well groomed.
Loving
Composed
Handsome
Compassionate
Helpful
Courteous.
I could never believe that
I could never believe that
That exterior façade embodied “a monster out of control”
Especially, at night.
Even, even, he could not understand –
Violently abusing his “belle” whom, he passionately loved.
Oh,
The nightly agony
Behind those closed doors, as the lion prowled around
And pounced on his helpless prey
Screams and dreams amiss, remorse and hopes abreact
That was, his nightly rendezvous.
Today, today, today,
That quiet mouse, that image of perfection,
Well groomed, handsome, compassionate,
Helpful, loving, courteous, composed,
Sits behind his desk – smiling
Sits behind his desk – smiling
Smiling, smiling, smiling.
Lena A. Gumbs
Dear Editor,
There is much talk about the need to revitalize our economy and all hope for economic development is on the upcoming season that has a positive outlook. However, little is done in order to guarantee for the island to remain a sought-after destination. Tourism industry is highly profitable. Nevertheless, the focus in St. Maarten is mostly on heads in beds, restaurants, and night clubs. And not necessarily on quality entertainment and added value shopping opportunities.
It is self-evident that destinations that offer various attractions draw more visitors than those that offer less or no form of entertainment and/or attractions. To truly benefit from the tourism industry that St. Maarten is experiencing we must capitalize on providing additional, valuable reasons for our guests to spend more money while here. As per an article in The Daily Herald of October 9, 2021, a resort in Anguilla is capitalizing on offering attractions to its guests that include two golf courses. The resort will also construct a family entertainment area that will include a waterpark, a lazy river, tropical parks, and a 500-seat live entertainment stadium, which will feature both local and international talent. We must also focus on attractions in order to remain on the destination demand list of vacation travelers.
Government mentioned plans for paving of the road(s) in Philipsburg. This is necessary and most welcome. But let us not stop there and let us capitalize on making Front and Back Streets as attractive as possible. This means adding streetlamps that luminate, but also decorate the town with flowerpots hanging from the streetlamps. For additional lighting, strings of decorative lightbulbs can be placed over the streets in a crisscross design. Paving of the roads should be made smooth. This means that asphalt is a preference. However, for a diverse and attractive look, bricks can be placed where the side-ways meet the roads.
Business in Philipsburg is mono and saturated. A temporary solution for the abandoned buildings on Front, and Back Streets is for the government to provide a facelift at minimal cost, which will be reimbursed to the government when an investor decides to utilize that unit. The present infrastructure of Philipsburg does not lend itself, nor is it suitable for shopping, or safe for night-time entertainment. The main reasons are saturation of this area by numerous stores offering a limited variety of products for sale, as well as the roads and sidewalks that leave visitors vulnerable to accidents. Not to mention the numerous empty store units that are deterrent, while the total aspect of Philipsburg paints an unsavory and unsafe picture.
Throughout the 70s, 80s and early 90s, Philipsburg was bustling because of a balance in fun-filled spending opportunities and activities. High-end boutiques, the Guavaberry Emporium, and a healthy number of restaurants, happy-hour bars, pool bars, and discotheques built and maintained the day- and night-time economic development particularly on Front Street. Today, saturation, lack of variety, early store closures, and unattractive infrastructure, are the principal choke holders of Philipsburg commercial center.
Converting Philipsburg’s present commercial composition to a mechanism system where a supplemental variety of businesses complement each other is key to revitalization of Philipsburg. The conversion of Philipsburg into an attraction center will provide fun-filled options for locals and visitors alike. But more importantly, the careful and successful transformation to a new and revitalized business model provides additional foreign capital income, which translates into sustainable income for businesses, and new job opportunities.
Attractions for Philipsburg must include free and paid attractions. Free attractions can include marching drum bands, Chinese dragon dance, Indian dance performances, and Limbo dancing performances, and opportunities on Front Street and on the Boardwalk. These attractions represent the nations living on, and symbolically sharing St. Maarten. Also included in the free attractions are a large Dutch shoe (Klomp) and a windmill for picture opportunities.
The main picture opportunity is a life-size, hollowed out sculpture of One Tȇté Lohkay with the cut-out face for a picture opportunity. In her hands, One Tȇté Lohkay is holding a sign that says, “I am One Tȇté Lohkay – Freedom Fighter.”
Proposals for paid attractions include a ferris wheel, a roller coaster that is partially submerged under the ocean in Philipsburg Harbour, and horse carriage rides. Ferris wheels are found in major capitals around the world, and they attract large crowds. Having a ferris wheel in Philipsburg will attract crowds from near and far. The ideal location for a ferris wheel would be downtown Philipsburg between the Boardwalk and Front Street. This feature attraction will give a tremendous facelift to Philipsburg and will be the center of attraction. Placing the ferris wheel in downtown Philipsburg will contribute enormously towards reviving this section of Philipsburg.
Roller coasters are a famous form of paid attraction with immense profitability possibilities. Having the first partially submerged roller coaster in the world will place St. Maarten in the top-ranking tourist destinations of the world. Adding horse carriage rides as an attraction will help grant opportunity to taxi drivers wishing to diversify from their saturated market share.
A proposal for the Philipsburg Revitalization and Economic Development Plan is sent to the Philipsburg Promotional Board for their consideration. The proposal composes day- and night-time entertainment, extended opening hours for retail stores, themed shopping and dining, bi-monthly open-air concerts, and performances, as well as paid and free activities and attractions. The proposal for the bi-monthly open-air concert is to honor the late Mr. Gregory Arrindell for his trendsetting work in this area. Given the support of other/additional attractions in Philipsburg, this project would have been successful.
We must also consider rebranding our welcome monument. ITSXME is a monument that brings a new and unique face to the traditional I SXM monument. The proposed monument derives from a project titled Sint Maarten Awareness Program 2014, presented by Mr. Danny Hassell. The purpose of the project was for product development, and the concept was for identity awareness.
It is my opinion that this concept is still relevant, and out-of-the-box thinking when compared with the traditional I SXM monument. Except for the name of the country that changes on the monument, the present form of the I SXM identity awareness concept is standard and found in many destinations. The ITSXME monument brings personality, creativity, and uniqueness to our identity awareness. A totally new and fresh look. According to Mr. Hassell, “The definition for ITSXME is, ‘We all are St. Maarten’ and serves as a logo/slogan for St. Maarten. A logo suitable for merchandising and nation-building.”
It is my opinion that if diversification of business is introduced, Philipsburg can become bigger than Bourbon Street in French Quarter, New Orleans. Let us consider business diversification from, for example, an existing jewelry store to a bar with a mechanical bull, and introducing themes in restaurants, to mention some ideas.
In order to successfully realize this, we must consider four cardinal points. 1. Front Street, Back Street, and downtown Cannegieter Street, road infrastructural repairs, 2. Philipsburg experience diversification, 3. Retail stores extended operating hours, and 4. Police presence. All these points are elaborated on in the proposal to the PPB.
St. Maarten can be revitalized and brought back as a tourist destination of high demand. All it takes is creativity, and willingness to unbiasedly work together.
Louis R. Engel
~ Save the date, December 9th Lecture ~
Dear Editor,
The United Nations Secretary General released the 2021 Sixteen days of activism ‘Concept Note For Engagement’, November 25th to December 10th. This note calls for the engagement of civic society and governments to continue its commitment to end gender-based violence. According to data collected thus far, Covid -19 pandemic continues to negatively affect societies across the globe, especially as it pertains to the increase in violence against women and children, including violence in digital context. Covid-19 world pandemic worsened the already volatile conditions within many households. Thus, the call by the UN Secretary General to step up actions that include increase in awareness campaigns and prevention strategies.
The U.N International theme for this year: Orange the World. End violence against Women Now! is extended from previous years. The colour orange signifies a brighter future ahead in our fight to end violence against women and girls. Civic Society and governments must continue to do their share globally and locally as individuals, as well as collectively in preventing further erosion of progress made over the past decade in our fight to prevent and eradicate violence against women and children. Parenting and none-conflict resolutions are included in the preventative strategies encouraged by the UN message.
Children are vulnerable. They are our future, therefore worthy of our love and deserve to be protected at all times from all forms of abuse in order to grow and emerge as healthy, productive citizens of our communities.
In observation of this year’s International Day for the awareness and elimination of violence against women and children, Peridot Foundation is pleased to partner with and announce our next event with key-note speaker Pamela Gordon Carty, founder of ‘Simply Masters Foundation’. Her address will focus on our Children, worthy to Love and Protect.
Save the date for this presentation to be held on Thursday, December 9th upcoming, at John Larmonie Center in Philipsburg.
A detailed programme of this informative event will soon follow.
Gracita Arrindell
Peridot Foundation
Dear Editor,
Given our location, shared culture, history, and blood ties, St. Maarten like other Caribbean territories was deeply disturbed by the sad and traumatic incident that took place in Jamaica – what the news termed as “a cult religious leader involved in ritualistic murder of parishioners.” History has shown us that these sad realities are all part of our lived experience; therefore, it is my firm belief that as a growing community the time is right and ripe to have serious ongoing conversations and dialogues about faith-based organizations, their doctrines and leadership models.
If truth be told, faith-based organizations are creeping up in every “nook and cranny” on St. Maarten. Questions must be raised about motivation; for example – is it a case where “many hands make light work” or are they just income-generating streams and schemes for individuals and their families? While we would all concur that the times in which we live call for spiritual and mental resilience, it is, however, incumbent on members of all organizations to ensure that the organizations to which we belong have consistent critical conversations and dialogues about the following questions (not limited to):
- Organizational leadership – are they grounded in concrete genuine work, vocation, and ongoing academic and spiritual formation?
- Ministry endeavors and ventures – are they solely for personal gain (extravagant lifestyles)? Are you engendering a culture of stewardship, dignity and respect for all resources of God (human and material)? We must embrace and appreciate the God-given gifts of integrous financial experts, and value and practice the virtues of accountability and transparency.
- Leadership models, are they inclusive and guided by servant/leadership principles? Are they despotic or unilateral? Are members of your faith communities free to be critical in constructive ways about leadership qualities and behaviors? Are there systems of oversight to manage areas of accountability, integrity, and professionality? Our leaders, regardless of their religious or ecclesiastical authority, are only human. No leader knows it all and there is no such thing as human perfection. Members of faith communities must be fully cognizant that leaders did not descend from heaven or utopia and are subject to sicknesses, temptations, weaknesses, and corruption.
- Are members free to imbibe different kinds of materials of their choosing that would lead to robust faith and spirituality? No single human being or religious organization has the whole truth in their literature or body of work. On that note avoid self-limitations when it comes to knowledge and enlightenment. Reading more, expands your thinking and fosters critical thinking and reflection skills.
- Is attention given or are members learning to recognize manipulative gestures, spiritual abuse, and forms of psychological, spiritual, and physical controls of your personhood and/or your resources (if they do exist)? Leaders cannot and should not think for you. Their role is to raise your level of thinking, your faith and spiritual awareness.
- Is your organization open for dialogue with government with regard to religious regulations (guided by human rights laws as it relates to religion)?
The times in which we live dictate that religious conversations and dialogues are important for the health of our country. It is my hope that faith-based organizations will implement preventative and proactive measures to prevent sad and horrific incidents from occurring in St. Maarten. Healthy spirituality and wholesome values should always be our ambition in our role and contribution towards development.
Dennis Baptiste
