Dear Editor,
There once was a young girl whose parents moved the family to St. Maarten in the 1980s
The island felt like an untouched gem in the sea. its lush green hillsides, tropical plants and trees flourished. Traffic was minimal. The islanders were friendly as they still are today. One could walk along Great Bay Beach at night, soak up the moonlight, gentle sea breeze and waves as they slapped against the shoreline. The iconic Great Bay Hotel was one of the first to be built. Great Bay Hotel had a special place in our hearts. It was where this young girl and her Dad would walk along the beach to talk to guests about taking a day sail on their charter boat. It was where this young girl, all grown up, would be for her younger sister’s wedding. Oh, what great memories!
Fast forward to today. Now visiting the island every year, this girl sees the changes that years gone by have done to the island. Several major hurricanes later and many tropical storms, she sees the devastation left behind.
She sees how sad the island looks compared to those years past. She sees the abandoned buildings that are no longer livable. She sees the vehicles left behind and rusting from the sea salt air. She sees the stadium that needs help and is right beside burning trash that is so bad it causes poor air quality putting adults, kids and animals at risk of health concerns like asthma. She sees the unwanted trash tossed along the roadside. She sees the trash tossed on nature trails like the trail along Guana Bay or stuck in between rocks at the Natural Bath. She sees the sadness in the unwanted pets that have to fend for themselves because they too have been tossed out like the garbage.
There are so many dead trees and bushes that could be collected and burned safely. Road signs that could be erected again, potholes that could be filled to make driving a smooth ride. Speed bumps that could be painted so that those that have never been here can see the bumps in the dark and have time to slow down and ease over them without bottoming out a car.
Oh, if only all the islanders cared about their home, their gem in the sea. There are small groups of environmentalists that care; they take groups on the trails to pick up trash left behind by other hikers, tourists, and hurricanes. Every little bit helps in order to save not only their own environment but that of the world. That little piece of plastic tossed into the ocean by an uncaring human ends up in a fish which ends up in a bird, which kills the bird. As the oceans and skies lose their wildlife, humans keep on ruining what once was truly a paradise island.
How can this be fixed? Can it be fixed? From this girl’s eyes, it can be, to a degree.
The government could step up far more. Come on, St. Maarten officials, what are you doing to beautify the island again since Irma? Seems to me and many many other tourists, not enough.
If not already in place, have an environmental department focused only on cleaning up all the roadside & trailside trash and debris. Hire those homeless or out of work from Irma to do this. Pay them so they can build a life for themselves again while contributing to the cleanliness of this great island. Have the criminals do some of this work, make them give back to society what they took away. Supervise them and go along these inlets and beaches to clean up debris left behind from Irma, like people’s shoes, kids’ toys, mountains of plastic, boat debris and much much more.
Erect the Philipsburg sign that is lying on the roadside where the cruise passengers come out. Have some dignity and show some kind of caring to those seeing the island for the first time. Don’t let the first thing they see is a road sign twisted and lying on the ground.
What is up with GEBE? Why do they have to have so many power outages? Why is there no investment in GEBE infrastructure to keep up with the ever-growing population of the island?
Most of all, and I can’t stress this enough: Government of St. Maarten, get that Airport back to the beautiful state-of-the-art technologically-advanced airport it once was before Irma. Do it before 2019 brings along another hurricane. This year, 2019, is predicted to be the hottest in history on a global level and you know what that means. The Dutch government has offered you $100,000,000 to refurbish the Airport. DO IT! What are you waiting for? Swallow your pride and accept the $$s.
If you don’t invest in your Airport and more damage comes to it then the Airlines will go elsewhere. The economy of this island will deteriorate. The vicious cycle of homelessness, devastation, desperate islanders, increased crime, environmental impact will spiral so much out of control that there will be no stopping it.
If this young girl cares about a place she can only visit once a year, then why can’t you care all year round?
Always a St. Maarten girl
Name withheld at author's request.
