Dear Editor,
I am writing to you as an individual who deeply loves St. Martin, and who, with my husband, has made more than 20 visits over the last 20 years, staying on the French side. We would stay on Orient Beach each year, but spend time in Grand Case and Marigot as well.
While we did not visit the island the year that Irma struck, as Club Orient was obliterated, we did return in 2018, and we just returned from a 2-week visit there, staying in a rental at Orient Village.
I wanted to share my observations with you, in the hope that some of what we witnessed can be addressed. We arrived this year, in mid-December, a day before the roads reopened due to the protests. As soon as we could get our rental car, we returned to Marigot and Grand Case and what we saw there, now two years later, shocked and saddened us.
We saw destroyed and damaged buildings still boarded up and deteriorating. We saw dumped piles of debris along the roads and on the city streets. We saw many restaurants and retail stores that had been opened in 2018, now shuttered and abandoned 2 years later. There were many standing pools of rainwater – a true health hazard in the time of mosquito-borne diseases.
The people whom we encountered working in Marigot and Grand Case were clearly angry, and for the first time in our travels to the island, at times we felt unwelcome. We have always loved traveling to St. Martin because of its welcoming and friendly attitude. It hurt us terribly to experience this change.
The most serious aspect of all of this is that the island, left unchecked in its obvious decline and despair, will cease to be a destination for tourists like us. The cycle will be vicious and herald the decline of the economic viability of the French side. Repair is not moving quickly enough. Residents are frustrated and angry with good reason.
I wanted to share the view of a long-term tourist who knows the island well, in the hope that this will join the chorus of those seeking greater support to cart away the debris, fix infrastructure (even in Orient Beach, the sewer system is still plagued), and aggressively rebuild.
As someone who deeply cares for St. Martin, I thank you for your attention to this letter.
Ellen Maidman-Tanner
Maryland, USA
