Dear Editor,
To the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, the Hon. Mr. Rodolphe Samuel, representatives of the Catholic School Board, and the management of St. Dominic Primary School, I sincerely ask: What is the way forward?
My child may be just the one per cent that can be affected by the deadly virus called COVID-19. However, it is 100 per cent my responsibility to ensure his safety and wellbeing.
We know that COVID-19 has brought challenges and struggles to our daily lives. From the beginning we have adopted new habits to adapt to this new normal and this new way of life certainly includes our environment and our children. However, with proper planning and open communication with stakeholders, these challenges can be mitigated to ensure the safety of one’s child(ren).
The new normal includes concerns that many parents have about going back to school, especially for those whose children have chronic illnesses and underlying conditions, like mine.
Although we look forward to that day where our children can resume some sort of normalcy in their lives, we also must analyze its risks.
Among concerned parents, there has been talk about three options for returning to school: in-person, online or a hybrid of the two. The latter includes separating groups to avoid having many children in the classroom, alternating the days of in-person and online education.
In my opinion having 20-30 kids per classroom is a bit concerning. How can social distancing be adhered to? Why hasn’t a general meeting been held with the parents to assure the wellbeing and safety of their children? Why hasn’t the Catholic School Board considered all other options for returning to school?
There’s a lot of WHYs and NO answers being provided to inquiring parents.
On November 2, 2020, my child resumed in-person classes because he is in exam class. The thought of him returning to school honestly scared me, but I sent him to school for the first week.
After a few cases of COVID-19 cases in the primary schools, I consulted with his physician and it was decided that my child be immediately taken out of school and resume online schooling. I reached out to the school’s manager and both teachers who directly deal with my son.
The response I received from the school was a bit disheartening. I was told that the current situation with the school’s Internet would not allow for my child to do classes online. There was no plan or any sort of solution.
I later reached out to his homeroom teacher and she was sympathetic. She said that she would try her best to accommodate my child, given the circumstances. She surpassed her duty as an instructor and for that I am appreciative.
However, on November 13, 2020, I received a letter that said one of my child’s teachers was in contact with a person who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and will be in quarantine for 14 days. It said she will revert to Zoom lessons while in quarantine.
I thought to myself that it could have happened to anyone. But I also thought: Why is the school now able to revert to Zoom for the teacher but could not facilitate my child on Zoom?
I immediately contacted the school to share my concerns because my son was called in during the week to do some tests and to hand in projects, which was requested by the now-quarantined teacher.
The school manager was not available to take the call. Therefore, my concerns were shared with the office staff who answered the phone.
She assured me that my child was not in contact with said teacher but was instead placed in the office to do his test. She indicated that the school manager would return my call.
On Sunday, November 15, 2020, while scrolling through Facebook I came upon a letter sent out on Saturday, November 14, 2020, regarding an office staff member at the school who tested positive for COVID-19. It said the entire school management would quarantine at home for 14 days.
To date, no one has contacted me about the information that was published via a news source on social media.
A press release was published by the Ministry of Education indicating that schools were not adhering to the government’s social distancing and hygiene guidelines and that routine inspections would be made unannounced. That is not enough Hon. Minister!
We need a plan A, B, C, and D. We must adapt to the new norm. It is not enough to just state that routine inspections will be made. School management and teachers should be penalized if the rules are not adhered to. These persons are not just responsible for their lives but also responsible for the lives of others. It’s just not enough!
My child may be the one per cent of children that can be affected drastically with this scary virus – a virus that does not discriminate – but my child is 100 per cent of my life and it is my full duty to ensure his safety. How can parents feel some sort of assurance that everything is being done to ensure the safety and well-being of their kids?
Although some of what I shared is my personal situation, this is not personal. Many parents share concerns about the well-being and safety of their kids. I will stand and represent what many think but cannot put into words.
I believe that, at this crucial moment, there is nothing more important than the health of our children, and if we weigh the health of our children against their education, their health seems more important.
We should remember that nothing is forever, and these moments of crisis will, sooner or later, pass and we will have time to recover in all aspects. How can we all be met halfway?
A concerned parent.
Dear Editor,
The planned Sandy Ground Marina would completely change the face of the village, the pond, the beach and the entire harbour, as well as the lives of countless people who live in or visit the village daily. It does not appear to have any measurable benefit to Anguilla, environmentally is a complete disaster, and does not even seem to be legally sound.
Impact on residents
The impact on Sandy Ground residents is enormous. I have been trying to visualise what it will be like to have large equipment dredging the pond, probably day and night. The noise and smell alone will be enough to send all the residents somewhere else, but where? The beach is likely to change after the dredging of the entrance channel, and may even disappear. With all the dredging in the pond what will happen to the narrow strip that is Sandy Ground village? Could it possibly survive? So maybe we will have no village and no beach.
Legal implications
There are many legal questions that need to be answered and I call upon the new government to conduct an investigation into the legitimacy of the process and the agreements entered into. The general and financial terms of agreement are extremely questionable as is the formal tendering process.
How is it possible for the government to sell public land and encumber private land without any formal community concurrence? The agreement calls for the government to assist with the purchase of private land, is this to be a forced sale? All Customs duties for the construction and outfitting of the project have been waived – millions of dollars. Further, it was signed after the House of Assembly was dissolved and the rules of office, as per the Governor, were that only documents for day-to-day essentials were to be signed until a new government was installed.
Is it legal for a developer to take over the entire harbour and limit mooring for our pleasure and fishing boats and perhaps control the traditional events that take place there? The sale of land on this scale and the 200-year lease are completely unprecedented in Anguilla.
Environmental impact
There are so many environmental questions but one of the first is where the mud from the pond will be deposited after dredging the pond to some 20 feet or more. And additionally, where will the mud and sand from digging the 30-foot-deep entrance channel to the pond be put? It was suggested that this may go halfway to Sandy Island and of course affect the water on the beach, if any beach is left after the dredging.
And how about the birds? The pond is the home for more than 20 species of birds and at the last count there were nearly 1,000 birds seen, many of which are regionally endemic.
Surplus of villas and hotel rooms
Anguilla has a large number of villas, many stay empty and many are currently for sale. Why then would we need 150 more villas and residences in the pond? Even in good seasons our hotels are never overflowing with guests and for part of the year they are half empty. Why then do we need another hotel that along with the villas would completely change the character of Sandy Ground? It seems too that these villas and hotel are going to be built on reclaimed land in the pond – how long will that take to settle enough for building, if at all.
Benefit to Anguilla and Anguillians
How will Anguilla benefit from this development? The modest annual benefit seems very low. There is very little economic viability in the project. It seems to me that the developer will make money from the sale of the villas and condominiums but is there any money to be made for Anguillians from the actual marina that will likely be empty for 6 months of the year when all the mega-yachts go to the Mediterranean? Even when the mega yachts are here they are pretty self-sufficient, so Anguillians are not likely to benefit a great deal. And with their own chef on board not many are going to venture out to our restaurants. Plus, if you were on your yacht would you rather be anchored at Rendezvous or Cove Bay for the night or in Sandy Ground pond with no real view of the sea?
In his address on World Town Planning Day the Minister of Home Affairs Kenneth Hodge gave the following quote which is most appropriate for this development.
In the words of Edward T. McMahon, the renowned advocate on sustainable development: “Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destruction of community character is not. The question is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The question is how.”
Summary
Anguilla needs a marina, but not one for mega-yachts and not in Sandy Ground. Let us find a suitable location for a marina that can service the smaller yachts that frequent the island and Anguillians could benefit by offering repair facilities, painting, food service, groceries, mechanical services and more. Please save Sandy Ground from this development and leave it for us all to enjoy.
Brenda Carty
Dear Editor,
Almighty Father, on this celebration of St. Martin Day we humbly lift up to You our country and our leaders. We beseech You, dear Lord, to bestow your blessing on our country so that it may be bountiful and productive, free from unemployment, hunger, and poverty. Protect us from natural disasters and crime. Bless our leaders so that they may administer the affairs of our country with integrity, honesty, free from lust of power and money; free from partisanship and partiality.
May our leaders abide in You as You abide in us, dear Lord, so that they may conduct our affairs in accordance to Your will for us. We pray, dear Lord, that our citizens, especially our young people, may grow to know You and serve You. We pray that they may reject all negative influences on their lives.
Spread Your Holy Spirit across the land so that this nation St. Martin may be one which lives to the honour and glory of Your name. This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
Please allow me some space in The Daily Herald to voice my gratitude, and, hopefully, that of all St. Martiners, to Mme. Marie-Aimé Gamess Fleming for her long years of devoted and discreet service to the Saint Martin community. Marie-Aimé Fleming spent her entire career serving St. Martiners at the Sous-Préfecture in Marigot. We wish her the best of health and happiness in her ongoing retirement, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, and cherished by all of her relatives and friends in Saint Martin, in Martinique and elsewhere.
When I first met Mme Fleming, back in the early ’60s, I was in my late teens; she was then newlywed and in her mid-20s: the prettiest lady I had ever seen. My cousin Justin had the very good fortune of meeting her in Martinique where, for a time, he lived and worked. As I listened to him relate to my mother (his aunt) how he was smitten with his Marie-Aimé the first time he saw her; how he pursued her until she accepted to befriend him and, eventually, to become his wife; she stood quietly, with a big smile on her face.
She seemed oblivious to the conversation, and for a very good reason: Marie-Aimé did not understand a word of English. But her love for my cousin was written all over her demeanor, and in her face – in her eyes – more than anywhere else. She was slim to perfection with the waist of a wasp and the sweetest of smiles; her hair was long, very long, and the color of her eyes: ebony – jet black – astonishing! I was captivated by her elegance, by her charm; as Ruby Bute might put it, by “all the love in her eyes,” and by the beauty of her name: Marie-Aimé! What a pity such a name has fallen into disesteem.
After serious studies in Martinique that had prepared Marie-Aimé Gamess for a career in the “Trésorerie de la Martinique” (Public Finances and Management), she followed her husband back to Saint Martin where she began a career at the newly installed Sous-Préfecture in Marigot. And it is there, “on the Fort Hill,” at a stone’s throw from where would become her home, in Galisbay, that Marie-Aimé Fleming spent her entire career working at the Sous-Préfecture, managing the Sous-Préfet’s office, serving all St. Martiners.
Though married to a Fleming, Marie-Aimé never once succumbed to partisanship; never once did Mme. Fleming intentionally misfile the documents of anyone – no matter the person’s social status, no matter their political affiliation. Over the years, the Sous-Préfets came and they departed; so did, at a slower rate, the Mayors and some other officials. And they all left Mme. Fleming at her desk organizing the arrivals, and the departures and everything else in between.
Over the years I visited with Marie-Aimé and Cousin Justin at their home in Galisbay. I looked forward to the hour or two I spent in their company, usually in the afternoon, on their back balcony. The most gracious of hostesses, Mémé always insisted that I have something to eat, and that I drink some of her freshly made lemonade while we chatted and reminisced. From the balcony, I admired an amazing number of their more regular visitors: Sucriers, Sugar Birds or Yellow Breasts that Cousin Justin used to feed, somewhat in atonement for having slain some of their kind when he was a boy.
Some years after the passing of my cousin, on one of my visits, as I gazed in wonder at Marie-Aimé’s frantic feathered guests, she explained that they were Justin’s friends, the whole lot of them; that they had forgiven him everything. Tu sais, ce sont les amis de Justin, ils sont nombreux; ils lui ont tout pardonné. She was smiling jokingly, almost laughing; and I was jolted back to that very first time I had met her.
Dedicated and discreet, Marie-Aimé Fléming remains the person she has always been: that lady “on the Fort-Hill, in the Sous-Préfet’s office,” always patient, always kind and courteous. She was always there – eager to help St. Martiners as best she could, no matter their political leaning. In that office, during some 40 years or more, Mme. Fleming served all St. Martiners with devotion, with dedication, with fairness and integrity.
Like most West Indian mothers of her generation and of later times, Marie-Aimé Fleming is also the solid sturdy hand that helped to keep her family ship afloat and on course; she made it unsinkable even during the worst of storms, none of them more trying, I presume, than when my cousin, her Justin, suffered a severe stroke and was cared for, at home, until his passing several years later.
The life and career of Marie-Aimé Gamess Fleming are exemplary in every sense of the word and she is worthy of the highest of praises. In praising her, I praise my own long deceased mother, who loved Marie-Aimé dearly, as well as all the departed, and all of the living, breathing mothers of this land, without whom St. Martiners – we, male St. Martiners, in particular – would be an even sorrier bunch of misfits.
Some months ago, I had planned a visit with Mme. Fleming; I had not seen her for a good while, and she had had some serious health issues which she had managed to overcome, thanks to her indomitable will, to the loving care of her family, and of her doctors in St. Martin and in Martinique. The scheduled meeting was not possible: COVID-19 made it too dangerous. But I look forward to visiting with Mme. Fleming and her sugar birds as soon as she is able to see me.
Gérard M. Hunt
Dear Editor,
The United Democratic Party of St. Maarten extends congratulations to President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris of the United States of America.
To all the American people for massively exercising their fundamental democratic right to elect their President and Senate and House representatives: “You have demonstrated that the power of the people is by the ballot.”
History has been made showing that regardless of age, race, gender, ethnicity, barriers have been broken. Imagine, how many girls and women have been inspired around the world by seeing Kamala Harris as VP-Elect.
Locally in our own country, we can stand proud of all the barriers broken in our political environment over the years. You truly can be anyone you want to be, even in the highest office in St. Maarten.
We wish you wisdom as you prepare for the transition to a new administration and we look forward with great anticipation to the new White House term and good relations with the Caribbean Region.
While the global challenges are daunting and magnified in small island developing states such as ours, the outcome of the US election gives us hope.
We look towards a renewed impetus in relations overall and in the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) for our micro island state in particular and look forward to the new year and new Administration with much hope and anticipation.
God bless the USA and Sint Maarten.
United Democratic Party of St. Maarten
