Dear Editor,

  Unless there is some major event that alters the course of the ongoing presidential election campaigns, it will be high noon in the USA in November. Whether or not there are presidential debates, and chances are there won’t be any, no matter which candidate is declared the winner, the other one will, most probably, refuse to concede defeat, and his party will vigorously contest the declared result of the election. In the ongoing pandemic, exacerbated by the rampant violence on display in the streets of a number of US cities – all of them governed by the Democrats for the last 50 years or more – there is no telling how all of this will end.

  Both parties are marshaling their arguments and advocates in view of contesting the anticipated result of the election. If President Trump is declared the winner, the Democrats will, most certainly, accuse him and his Postmaster General of having weaponized the US postal service during a pandemic when voting via the mail was exceptionally necessary, crucially important. Conclusion: Republicans impeded the vote, the timely collection and processing of mailed-in ballots which accounts for the skewed result in their favor.

  If former V.P. Joseph Biden is declared the winner, Republicans will argue that Democrats, a number of their governors in particular, used the pandemic to game the system by enacting state legislation which enabled “ballot harvesting,” massive voting irregularities and fraud with the complicity/assistance of partisan unionized postal workers. Conclusion: the Democrats deliberately undermined the mail-in voting process by enacting state voting laws that facilitated massive illegal voting; they weaponized the postal system, subverted/corrupted the result.

  Unlike the month-long legal battle in 2000 that led to the Supreme Court 5-4 decision in “Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98” that ended the recount of the vote in Florida, and declared G.W. Bush the winner; unlike that battle, this time around, there will be no such feasible way of proceeding with a recount of votes. The SCOTUS may not be able to settle this deadlock except through a much longer, more complicated recount of votes in several states.  This time around, there will, most likely, be a much longer, much fiercer legal dispute than in 2000, a more entrenched battle with words while real battles rage in the streets of a number of cities throughout the nation. And when the law (battling with words) fails to settle a dispute, the age-old recourse is violence.

These are trying times indeed. Hell is empty! All of its devils have migrated here, on earth, where they are busy sowing havoc everywhere, and, lately, nowhere more so than amongst people in the Land of Liberty, the USA. The late great philosopher Will Durant opined that “the proletariat, instead of dictating, will disappear (Fallen Leaves, 2014, p. 154). It has disappeared, alright but, not before its madness, like a virus, had migrated from “the masses” to “the very few”: to “the elites.” The elites have replaced the proletariat in that old destructive quest; in that demented journey; in that delusional search for Utopia. 

  True Democrats – everywhere – must hope that, in November 2020, Americans will rescue democracy from the Globalists’ pipe dream of a plutocratic oligarchy: government of the US and the world by so-called elites; by a small group of people of great wealth and influence. They are assisted stealthily, furtively, mongoose-like by Globalist Corporate America; by the US Chamber of Commerce; by the US Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC); by elements of the US Intelligence Community and by George Soros’ minions of mindless predator worker bees – the American mass media particularly.

Gérard M. Hunt   

We all understand that the most important document that foreigners must present anywhere, whether it is to process a new permit or to renew an existing one, is the passport. Unfortunately, this document, easy to obtain for citizens of any other country, has in recent years become a nightmare for Venezuelans living abroad.

  It is not my intention to dwell here on the reasons that make it almost impossible to obtain, or renew, a passport outside of Venezuela. We all know the causes. They go through a lack of respect for human rights, ineffectiveness, political retaliation, and simple corruption.

  What I really want to talk about in this space is about the handling of this reality by the countries that receive our migrants, especially in Curaçao, the island where I have resided for almost two decades.

  It must be understood that the Consulate of Venezuela in Curaçao, in practical terms, does not exist. Dozens of Venezuelans who weekly go to the closed offices in Scharlooweg, or who try to call the phone numbers published on the official site of that diplomatic headquarters, or who try to get a simple email answered. Nobody talks about this reality publicly for fear that their passports, which today cannot be renewed, will end up being permanently blocked.

  However, for those same Venezuelans to obtain or renew a local permit, they need to present, at the island’s immigration offices, either a valid passport or, failing that, a letter signed by the Consul of the Nicolás Maduro regime on the island, in which it is stated that the person formally started the process of renewing their document.

  That is, a letter in which the Venezuelan regime admits that the fault that the bearer does not have a valid passport is not his or hers, but the regime itself.

  To give us an idea of ​​the situation, let us imagine that you are Venezuelan, that you live in Curaçao, and that you need to renew your passport. The first thing to do is try to pay $100 online to the issuing body. To do this, you should try to connect to the SAIME website at different times for several days, as the page mysteriously “goes down” when the user connects from outside Venezuela. Not many manage to overcome this first obstacle.

  Now, if you need to renew your permit to stay on the island, you have to go to the consulate in Scharlooweg every day to see if someone is working by chance. Unsuccessful, you should look to social media for alternative methods of contact. Call disconnected phones and write emails.

  If you are extremely lucky, you managed to start your renewal online, and you manage to contact the consulate, they will probably ask you to pay an additional $ 50 for the letter requesting immigration, despite the fact that their website explicitly says that this process is free.

  If you are less fortunate, like most of the people I know, and cannot be taken care of, your options are reduced to travel to Venezuela through Colombia, or Panama, or the Dominican Republic, get your passport there, and pray to the saints so that you can return safely to the island.

  Can’t you do anything from Curaçao to avoid all this?

  Why does the government of Curaçao not give us a hand by omitting the requirement of a letter issued by a government that not only is guilty of generating the collapse in the identification of people, but at least on paper, is not recognized, neither by the local government nor by the Dutch?

  Countries such as Canada, the United States and several of the South American nations that belong to the so-called Lima Group have chosen to consider our passports that have expired up to five years as valid.

  Isn’t it convenient for Curaçao to do everything possible to ensure that Venezuelans who pay their taxes today continue to do so?

  Why not put aside that consular letter that, in the best of cases, is only serving to finance authorities that are not doing their job?

  It can be understood that when granting new permits a meticulous verification of the beneficiary is carried out, however, by requiring migrants already legally established a bureaucratic document, issued by them who do not comply with renewing passports, not only the innocent workers, but also to Curaçao’s finances, which could stop receiving significant taxes in a time of great need.

Alfredo Limongi

Curaçao

Dear Editor,

  Gradually I am noticing the increase in people approaching me to ask me questions in connection with the contents of the letters I write to you, while suggesting to me what I should write about. I would tell them that what I write is not the same as Mr. Kenneth Cook. As usual I would let them know that my thoughts are not the same as their thoughts. My inspiration is not the same as their inspiration, so the basis for my opinion would not be the same as the basis for their opinion, so I would not express myself with the same sentiment as you would express yourself in many situations. The automatic reaction would be “He didn’t write what I mean”.

  As we know, everyone has a right to his own opinion. So that means that everybody can do what they want? No, that will cause confusion. For an easier explanation let me refer to the Ten Commandments, which play a huge role in ordering the behavior of man (laws, admonitions and sanctions). As life progressed, the human being did other things that, thankfully the majority did not accept and so the law grew in order to maintain, which phrase is worldwide known as “law and order” in the land. Owing to civility the people of the community also have rights.

  Before I continue let me say that I have not verified it lately, but nevertheless again I am appealing to the Minister of Education to add Civics to the curriculum in schools starting at the fifth grade so that the youth of this country at a very young age could be acquainted with their basic rights and go from there. Yes, in the fifth grade already there are potential lawyers.

  There are too many people who do not dare act upon their thoughts because of the fear of limited knowledge, not knowing that common sense can carry one a long way in a mature conversation. Experience would make some people think creative, some analyze and some verbalize. If you get these three in a serious conversation, they probably might come up with ideas enough to run a town. Not too long ago I asked a young lady if she was aware that she also can ask Parliament questions and that she was entitled to answers. She was not sure what I was talking about. Hence my continuous plight for Civics.

  One of the rights of the people is, as we say in Dutch “recht van interpeallatie”, the right to ask questions. (Google it). I know some of the readers will say that (big)people can Google it also. Noooo. That is never the same as it being instilled in you from small. Yes, I know because I have heard it several times in the past. If you make certain things available to the general public then the criminal-minded ones will make bad use of it. This is Civics that I am referring to. The rights and duties of the people and how the country is governed. Beside that there are a great deal more civic minded people than criminals. So, let the majority rule. and do not let the criminal get away with wrongdoing, neither in or out of government.

  Sorry I got carried away for a while there.

  As you can see, the heading of this letter was “Assist the public”. I believe if I would say because of the drastic changes at the SZV for obvious reasons, in time and also in communication, which causes the telecommunication to be terrible, I would suggest that the SZV phone number also be changed to a number like the police emergency 911, TelEm helpdesk 611 and 914 etc,. Almost the complete telecommunication system is prepaid. Waiting to be attended to at SZV by phone is eating up the time on the prepaid cell phones as well as landlines. So, please, Ministers of Health and Telecommunication, assist the public.

  By the way the same should be done for all government instances which must be reached via telecommunication. I believe that if the lady in Curaçao at Maduro’s bank can help me with a problem at the Windward Islands Bank in St. Maarten, via telephone, that telecommunication problem at SZV should not be a problem. I was asked if I could not contact anybody at SZV concerning that. I had to smile because that is exactly the problem – problem to get in contact. And because I am trying to stay safe, I stay home as much as possible

Russell A. Simmons

By Alex Rosaria

The US presidential elections evoke a natural fascination here in the Caribbean. Not only because we share the same hemisphere, but especially how we consume US television and its cultural exports. Mr. Biden, the Democratic nominee, and Mr. Trump, the (presumptive) Republican nominee, have different approaches to US relations in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). True, since 1990s the Caribbean has lost much of its strategic significance to Washington. Yet, our region urgently needs a new chapter in its relations with the US.

  Mr. Trump’s “America First” policy has seen the US abandon multilateral alliances and other wide-ranging agendas to engage with our region; we’ve further drifted apart. Mr. Trump skipped the 2018 Summit of the Americas and during a 2019 meeting with Caribbean leaders, he didn’t consider pressing problems facing the Caribbean such as climate change and HIV. He only discussed the Venezuelan crisis and China’s involvement in the Caribbean. His actions regarding LAC are highly influenced by Florida politics that embraces his macho talks and sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba. Mr. Trump, now a Floridian, knows he must win Florida in order to win the presidency. Given his “promise made, promise kept” motto, it’s unlikely we’ll see policy change if reelected. A victory will likely embolden him.

  That Mrs. Kamala Harris, the Vice President nominee’s father hails from Jamaica brings hope, but certainly isn’t enough. The region needs to trust Washington again after a period of disengagement and unfulfilled promises. There needs to be strong cooperation and engagement. Not only promises as Mr. Obama did during the 5^th Summit of the Americas in 2009. Mr. Biden will also have to show human consideration unlike the decision to deport Haitian refugees back to Haiti where deadly diseases ravaged after the 2010 earthquake. Most important perhaps is the realization that the US hasn’t always sought partnership, but often resorted to dictate its own terms. A new chapter of engagement between the US and the Caribbean based on mutual respect, common interests and shared values is needed. This new partnership will hinge on a core of issues.

  Climate change: Perhaps the greatest challenge for the Caribbean (including Curaçao). For these islands it’s important that the US rejoins the Paris Agreement on Climate. Without the US on board collective efforts to reduce emissions will be undercut. The islands cannot afford this especially considering the yearly damage already inflicted by natural storms. If the US remains on the side-lines, this will empower China to assume leadership.

  Pandemics: The COVID-19 has made it very clear that we require a regional coordinated response to bolster the response to future health challenges and public health emergencies.

  China factor: US disengagement in the Caribbean has strengthened China’s hand. Payback maybe for the increased US role in South China Sea and Taiwan. China also woos several Caribbean nations to vote with Beijing on major issues in the UN to further boost its global influence. Both US candidates want to contain China in LAC, but will the winner present policy that can compete with China?

  Venezuelan crisis: Both candidates need the Florida vote and have assumed a very similar stance on Venezuela. They support Mr. Guaido, sanctions, temporary protective status for Venezuelans in the US. and regime change. LAC clearly need political stability and a plan to manage the mass exodus of Venezuelans into their countries (including Curaçao).

  Corresponding banks: Indigenous banks in the Caribbean (including Curaçao) have seen the restrictions of correspondent banking relationship by international banks making it almost impossible for banks to operate. There needs to be a solution for this situation.

  Trade: How will Biden’s “Made in America” and Trump’s “America First” relate to trade with the Caribbean especially given the uncertain future of the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Will the US opt for free trade relations with the region as it has done with the Dominican Republic?

  It’s clear that the US isn’t the only option anymore in the Caribbean. US disengagement has empowered China to fill the power vacuum left behind. Not long after the US president is inaugurated in 2021, the 9^th Summit of the Americas will take place. It should by then be clear what the US intentions are in this area.

  ~ Alex David Rosaria (53) is a freelance consultant active in Asia and the Pacific. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. He is from Curaçao and has an MBA from University of Iowa (USA). ~