Dear Editor,
I do not have anything against any individual. What I will not accept is political leaders taking the people for a ride. And more and more the political leaders are disregarding their duties and what they were elected to do. The people in the government building are civil servants, and there are also public servants. Yes, that is what it is. We are paid by the people to serve the people. And you know what our salaries are more than those who pay us because they expect us to go out and serve them in the right way.
This is also expected of our political leaders in government. The positions in government afford us a lot of leeway, but not to be disrespectful nor to become dictators. We also should not believe, as we would say, "that we can do what we want'. We also should not, as it were, beat our chest with: ”I will not be stopped”. These are not the days for that.
The cockfighters have a saying for that. Over the years I have learned to examine what is said, and not hear who speaks. I believe nowadays that who speaks has much influence and not always positive. So, it has become necessary to pay attention to who is having the say.
The CDA asked about Brison and Corallo, and UP condemns CDA for this while dragging the people of Sint Maarten into this melee. I do not think that UP really expects the people to stand behind them. Brison did not invite the people for cocktails, neither did he let the people know what that meeting was all about. So why does UP think that the people are going to follow their lead because the CDA does not appreciate one of our political leaders hanging out with a person who was arrested by the authorities of, I believe, the country of his birth, for tax evasion and bribery of several politicians.
I came to Sint Maarten and met my close relatives involved in a business which was rivalled to the same type of business that government sustained. Because of how I carried out my duty, politicians had my every step followed to be able to get something on me, and yes, it was expected of people in certain jobs and positions to keep out of certain circles. We all know which those circles are because we gossip about it all the time and also condemn it.
It goes without saying that I do not appreciate a thief. But if a person is known to be a thief, not every robbery that was committed, was committed by that thief. So, if the UP has an axe to grind with CDA, they are mature people who run the country, so keep us out. If you want to stand up for something, stand up for seniors who worked for years for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but whose pension is not equal to everyone in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Dutch government has resigned. We read about it for two days, and before we could guess who were involved, they took French leave, and we do not even know their names. Mario di Palma of District 721 plays his music which disturbs those who live in the neighbourhood and it becomes a saga. Instead of the police being left to mediate between parties to try to come to a consensus, the president of Parliament, found himself down there to fix the situation. By interfering with what did not concern him (or did it?), he made himself look ridiculous by interfering where he should not.
And to top it off, the CDA did what the Dutch typically do, made use of a long-awaited opportunity and let Brison know to be careful not to put his Italian friends up against his TEATT Minister.
I hope it was not the honourable Rolando Brison who was the one to okay that permit in some form or fashion, because that will be another reason to investigate those young people in government, who do not take warning. (I Timothy 6:10).
Russell A. Simmons
