Hoisting of the St. Eustatius flag at the start of the Statia Day ceremony at Fort Oranje on Wednesday.
Dignitaries from St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Saba, Curaçao and the United States waiting for the Statia Day Parade to pass by.
ST. EUSTATIUS--A large crowd came out to celebrate Statia Day on Wednesday, November 16. Many people said they wanted to be a part of this year’s celebration in light of the fact that democracy is slowly returning to St. Eustatius, and there was a sense of nostalgia in the air.
The programme started off at 6:00am with the hoisting of the flags of the Netherlands, the United States and St. Eustatius at Historical Fort Oranje.
Under the theme “Resilience: It’s in our DNA”, the programme had a mixture of performances and speeches throughout the morning, moderated by Mistress of Ceremonies Lois Wever-Timber.
In attendance at the festivities were Government Commissioner Alida Francis, Island Commissioner Derrick Simmons, US Consul General to the Dutch Caribbean Margy Bond, Island Council Members of Statia and dignitaries from St. Maarten, Saba, Curaçao and Statia.
Simmons said the 2022 Statia Day celebration coincides with the 246th anniversary of the “First Salute”. As a boy, his perspective of Statia Day was being part of the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade marching into Fort Oranje and taking up position just before the stairs leading up to where the flags were hoisted before 6:00am.
“If I were to live my life all over again, I would have liked to have been a history teacher. As a teenager, I thought history was information that is stored in a library, and if I needed to look up some important dates I would know where to find it,” Simmons said.
As he grew older, he became more in tune with Caribbean history, in particular as a person of African descent, which fostered his awareness of Statia’s history.
“I often find myself advocating how important the aspects of history are, in whatever we do. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” he said in quoting philosopher George Santayana.
“Persons of African descent were considered a commodity that were traded as enslaved individuals,” said Simmons, who mentioned the discussion about the Netherlands offering apologies for the role the country had played during the transatlantic slave trade.
“Taking history into consideration, it is pertinent that this apology not just be scripted words on paper, but with an act of making resources available that will bring true development to this island, and a change of attitude.”
The Statia Day programme featured a re-enactment of the First Salute with the assistance of the US Coast Guard. The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard was also in the harbour.
Following the official programme, Francis and Simmons inspected the uniformed groups, followed by a parade through Fort Oranjestraat. This year, the uniformed groups were joined by the Defence Force Band from St. Kitts, which consists of men and women.
There were performances by Misha Spanner as “Miss Aggie” and Norris “Edna” Williams, whose skit brought cheers and laughter from the crowd; Voce Dynamico; Mega D Youth Foundation featuring Juvelle Maduro; Gershon Herrera and Sjahairah Fleming who sang a duet; and American Idol finalist Nadia Turner who brought the people to their feet and received rousing applause.
