Dear Editor,
In a previous essay, the “Development from within the Caribbean” was suggested that up to five territories could be the founders of such an initiative. Which territories, is the first question that comes up. The willing and able to proactively and wholeheartedly and who are committed and competent to take on a pioneer’s role!
Does that mean the ones with the largest economies, the highest growth rate, or highest GDP, or the richest? In that case, one would tend to think of the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands, Jamaica or Bahamas. Yet, those are not necessarily the criteria. Each socio-economy is different, regardless whether economic characteristics and challenges do exist. Even countries like St. Lucia or Barbados could be one of the founding group. It all depends on what they potentially can offer each other in an inter-island development setting.
To put a team together one must look at the talent, resources, opportunities and especially the determination to reach the objectives. Goals and results count. If one would put a sport team together, one may also insist on mental maturity. It would bring me in the doghouse when trying to explain what the latter means in government politics. The last thing that is needed are summits that end in a PR campaign whereby PR to be standing for PRomises and PRopaganda and no implementation. The only PR that is acceptable is PRogress!
One cannot make a strong chain out of weak links. About 15 or 16 territories will be standing on the sideline and probably moaning, criticizing, or hoping, while the five founders will move ahead. That’s just the way it is; few are in the parade, a larger number is watching the parade, and there are some that don’t even realize that there is a parade. The ones on the sideline don’t have to stay there forever, but they have to perform and prove that they are worthy to join. One could call that creation of motivation. They may start following some of the benchmarks that are set by the founders. No one will be excluded from cooperating with the Founders, on the contrary; eventually they may be able to join the group if they subscribe to the standards developed by the founders.
The aim is not to create a Caribbean Economy Elite Club. The aim is to develop an initiative and movement to eventually create a much-needed new normal, a new socio-economic development from within in the Caribbean. That new normal sets the bar higher than usual and eliminates mediocracy. A likely major side effect will be that international investors will have an interest in the group of founding countries. Businesses and financiers are usually getting involved where there is growth and progress. That could be called the creation of an appetite. The developments will also help the much-needed diversification of the economies.
Each of the founders’ port or airport could become a transportation hub to connect with the rest of the Caribbean. The founders, as the movers of the group effort and activities, would work on improved direct connections between their territories when focusing their group development.
Once the founders have found each other and feel comfortable about jointly taking on the new challenges, the first step may be to inventorize what each’s strengths, talents, resources, and opportunities are, and then bring them into a group perspective. It has to be looked at where exchanges are useful and should be further pursued. What forms of cooperation can create new opportunities? Regulations could be adjusted and standardized between them for the purpose of being smoothened and eased for inter-island trade and transportation.
There has to be a shared vision of the use ocean resources and available minerals or raw materials. Agriculture including horticulture, and manufacturing of goods including creative products that may be exported. Tourism will not be ignored but it will need adjustments to develop more unique niche markets.
And who will be instrumental in all this? Probably it starts with one founder willing to take on the lead and discuss matters with other potential originators. It would be wise to select a panel of seven “wise men” who are impartial technocrats. Five of those could be appointed by the five founders. Two should be from outside the group and who have a more pan-regional or global view. This panel could be called a “council”. The founders must trust and have confidence in this council, and must be more than willing to follow its advice, or at least get into in-depth consultations. However, the council to a certain extent could make itself also available to other territories in the region, as such would help a future extension of the founding group.
Does the development from within the Caribbean mean that the region will be turned up-side down? Some things will remain the same, but overall new activities will be explored and cultivated. The image of the Caribbean for being known as one of the world’s top vacation destinations may be altered to one of the most flourishing subregions in the world that is attractive for many reasons. The well-being of its as many as 40 million residents on 28 territories will be the overall objective of the development from within. It is just that a different method and route is chosen than what was done before. And it could begin with just five founders, the “willing and able”.
Commander Bud Slabbaert
Dear Editor,
Last week I followed the convention of the Democratic Party in the US. While listening to the message of Michelle Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama, what struck me were the similarities with the situation we have here in Statia.
They, like DP Statia, also try to encourage people to go out and vote in order to restore the democracy. They, like DP Statia, also are taking notice of the damage that has been caused to their democratic system, in their case by a president who believes he is above the law and has the right, when he feels like, to put the law aside.
And that is the crux of the matter. We did not end up in Statia in the situation we are in to today with the intervention by the national government because state-secretary Knops or the parliament acted undemocratically as some politicians want us to believe. The intervention on Statia took place because it was the former coalition government that acted against our ruling democratic principles, put the law aside, unlawfully spent government funds, signed contracts without the legal authority to do so. They, not the national government, are fully responsible for the intervention and that your democratic right to vote has been temporarily postponed.
Fortunately, in our democratic system the possibility exists that the higher government can intervene when a lower government ignores the laws and disregards our democratic values.
The DP has worked hard and advocated from early that Statia needs to return to a local democratic government as soon as possible. We believe in the importance of democratic representation in government by the people of Statia. We were kind of disappointed when the new law for restoring government in Statia came about. Particularly the four-step approach and the period of four, maybe five years this law may be in effect. Why so long, we were wondering?
The answer came when particularly the PLP, after their more than two years of hibernation, picked up with the same rhetoric as when they were in government. No soul-searching has taken place. They are planning to govern, if they get the chance, the same way as they did before the intervention. They plan to continue their aggressive and confrontational approach that led to the intervention in February 2018. They will continue, if they get the chance, their unlawful way of running our island. I can guarantee that, if the voters give them a chance to return to government, the restoration of fully local democratic government will be something that will happen in the far distant future.
The limited authority the Island Council will have in the first phases should not be a deterrent to go out and vote. Most important is the return of representation, your representation in our Island Council.
So, if you believe in our democratic system and if you believe in local representation, then you should not stay away, but go out and cast your vote in October. It is a constitutional right your forefathers and -mothers fought for. And not even so long ago, only since 1949, 71 years ago, general voting right exists for men and women on our islands. But when I ask you to vote, I ask you to vote for a party or politicians who stand for democratic principles, who stand for rule of law, who stand for stability, who stand for good governance.
The responsibility lies by you the voter. It is up to you how long the intervention will last. Your vote is therefore extremely important. Therefore, go out and make use of your democratic right to vote!
Koos Sneek
Democratic Party St. Eustatius
Dear Editor,
This COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, I believe should open our eyes to a number of important factors, as we are observing and are experiencing day to day the financial and economic impact that such a pandemic can bring. The bigger countries can still keep their heads above water, because they have many other ways of income to keep their economy running, but for smaller islands it’s a problem. St. Maarten’s main pillar is American tourism. We don’t have any major industries or even a refinery, that can help contribute to our government coffers besides tourism. Nor do we produce or make anything of value to sell or do trade on the world market. But as times are changing, I believe it’s a wake-up call that we are and will be dealing with more future catastrophes, or calamities that will greatly affect and stagnate our economic growth or development.
Dear editor, there are some things we may not like about the Dutch, such as the stringent conditions they have given us before releasing the much-needed recovery funds. But one thing I admire about them is that although they too have suffered financial loss because of COVID-19, yet they can still manage to pour out millions from their tax treasuries to help other nations. It’s all about knowing how to manage your finances.
Why have they then become one of the riches countries in Europe? Dear editor, ST. Maarten has gone through what I would consider as its “golden years” of financial prosperity. Yes, the U.S. dollars were rolling big. I can recall before leaving Aruba, to live on this island, we use to hear how people in St. Maarten were making good money, and how guys were walking around with hundreds of dollars in their pockets. St. Maarten was developing rapidly. The tourist industry was booming. Investors were coming to this island because of its stable and progressive economy. The government coffers were being filled, and there was even talk about why not going independent. We don’t need to depend on the Dutch.
But during the course of the years, money was badly spent, mismanaged, or got into the wrong hands. Many investors, after raping this island by making big profits, even left without paying proper taxes. No government ever thought about setting up some kind of “Emergency Financial Fund” that can come into use should any future disaster or calamity occur. As I would say dear editor, “We ate, drank, partied, and made merry” until the well suddenly went dry. We never thought that the mistakes we made in the past, would someday in the future catch up with us.
As the old people would say: “Where horse reach, donkey gon’ also reach.” In 1995, Hurricane Luis came and struck us, causing our economy to stagger like a drunken man. Then in 2017, Hurricane Irma, which was worse than Hurricane Luis, paralyzed our already weakened economy. And now in 2020, COVID-19 pandemic came and finished draining whatever was left of our scanty financial resources, leaving us now flat out on our backs. Today our government coffers are empty, and we are now at the mercies of the Dutch, who have implemented some drastic draconian conditions to humble us, before giving us one additional red cent.
Dear editor, people are now asking the question as to where have all the millions of dollars, which were made during the golden years gone? Who, (or perhaps which government), should be held accountable for the loss, or bad stewardship?
Dear editor, today we are living in serious times. Worldwide changes are taking place. What never used to happen before, is happening now. Yes, tourism, just like for many other smaller islands, has been St. Maarten’s main financial support. But looking at the present and what may lie ahead in the immediate future is a clear indication that we need to come up with some other way of assisting this very fragile economy.
How would we survive if, God forbid, something worse than COVID-19 in the future paralyzed our tourist economy completely? For instance, fear, insecurity, or even a future World War can cause tourists not to travel anywhere. With cases increasing now more rapidly, it’s quite clear that the COVID-19 virus has come back, and this time with a vengeance, for more victims. The concern of this specific disease is that even though all necessary hygiene methods are applied, including a future vaccine, yet this kind of virus may continue to remain active among us for a much longer time to come. In the meantime, we cannot depend on tourism alone. If we don’t find other ways to help fill our financial coffers, then we will be also digging a deeper ditch for our future generations who already will have to continue to bear our increasing financial debts.
A Concerned citizen
Name withheld at author's request.
Dear Editor,
This topic might be one of the most important topics that I will ever write. Individual responsibility has to do with common sense and how much you value yourself. Many people are living, but they do not know their purpose in life. We did not come to this earth by accident or by evolution. That is an anti-Christ doctrine. We are put here for one purpose. But before I tell you the purpose, it is only logical and common sense to know who brought us here? The big question is always why, not who, when or what.
A human is a body that has life and has the ability to communicate systematically, using words, symbols, body gestures/posture, and facial expressions. A human has the sense to make his or her own decisions and bear the consequences of them. A human wears clothing, accessories and other necessities for human life. The individual person is in the process of making his or her life in what each one of us wants to be in the future, to ponder on the past, present, and future. The human understands that he or she is the most unique creature in this world of ours and that they are placed on this earth by a much more superior Creator. Now I will answer why.
Why were we placed here? It is written: God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” When you are in charge of something or rule it, you have dominion over it.
The next question is who gives you dominion over the other creatures in the world. That is our Creator, so common sense tells us that power or authority is granted by an entity more powerful or greater than us humans. In this case God, us humans are commanded to obey our Creator. Please understand me well, you have an independent mind to think freely because of God's grace, and you have the free will to make choices. But choices come with consequences, Authority given can also be taken away. Understand well, our source of life comes from the Creator. He said to his Son Jesus, let us make man in our image and likeness. Image in this case, to resemble God. The likeness is a spiritual attribute of the moral qualities of God. In other words, our lifestyle is intended to be and live in the manner God wants us to live. The conclusion is, your life here on earth is not for you to please yourself, you can make that choice which is surely wrong and result in consequences.
Your prime objective is to know God and to live pleasing to God, and that is why he established His everlasting commandments.
So, you see my friends, having an education is good, travelling the world is good, all opportunities are good but you were not put here for that. Those can be or are attributes, but not the purpose.
The question is: What does it profit a human to gain the whole world and lose his or her soul. If your purpose is to be pleasing to God, then you cannot endorse or support abortion, homosexuality, transgender, adultery, fornication, lying, or murder. Your goal in life is to please God; that is your purpose in life. Choices have consequences it is either eternal happiness or eternal torment. It is your individual responsibility to use your common sense. I hope this article is clear to all humans who read it.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
Dear Editor,
Over the years a whole lot of people who were not the original instigators in a fight would end up on the wrong side of the law, merely because they took the law in their own hands. I have a simple question: Are not the Dutch committing or are about to commit some kind of a crime by placing those conditions on Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten?
There is a term in the Dutch penal law which is “willens en wetens”. It is in no shape or form that the Dutch could venture to claim that they do not know the consequence of their actions when it is already established that approximately 70 per cent of the population of St. Maarten is living below or just on the poverty line. Along with that it is worldwide known and accepted that the Dutch never executed any plan which was not thought out meticulously years ahead.
COVID-19 rendered the people much more vulnerable. A temptation which the Dutch could not resist. I still believe it is criminal. St. Maarten is in the hurricane belt and it is not to be predicted what kind of devastation any hurricane will cause. Along with that the hurricanes are much stronger than in the past.
When I read the way that Holland is going about these negotiations, words like “chantage” and “afpersing” come to mind. Trump was impeached for similar behavior. My question is: why should a whole country suffer for the behavior of a few? Who put the Constitution together? Did the population throw down all those governments?
All the population did was to vote. The voting population does not even have a say in which parties should form the coalition. 300,000 people suffer for the actions of 200 on which the 300,000 do not have any influence. When the Dutch go about threatening the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, are they not aware that approximately 300,000 people are suffering and not the 200 in government? Are the Dutch really comfortable with that kind of behavior which is observed worldwide?
September is just around the corner. When the King gives his speech from the throne, is it this kind of sentiment we should expect? A scarcely-attended-to Irma-Maria devastation, COVID-19 and in the middle of a hurricane season with the largest amount of predicted hurricanes. Should not this deter the Dutch? Do they really consider it normal to disregard the safety of the people of the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom?
That cocaine bust that was made in the horse stables netted a lot of money. There is also a term in the Dutch penal law which enables that money to be used legally. “Verbeurd verklaren”. Would not it seem more humane if Knops would play with the thought: “Met deze cocaine fangst is Aruba, Curaçao en St. Maarten, met de neus in de boter gevallen” (“this haul would do Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten just fine”). Even the King on the day of his speech could sugarcoat it and say “Every bad is for a good.”
By the way, they told me that in spite of social distancing some GEBE people are already socializing and celebrating a promotion. Wash hands, wear masks and maintain a safe distance from each other. Stay safe. The corona virus is very sociable. It does not discriminate.
Russell A. Simmons
