I really start to believe that the more titles, diplomas and nomination somebody has, the more stupid he becomes because he can’t think realistically.
For some time already I wanted to react on the decision the “Think Tank” made to move the Floating Market to the “Kleine Werf” because when they took that decision, I immediately thought that it would mean the end of the Floating Market as we know it, something that has been around long before even Steven Martina was born.
Let’s think realistically, even Chavez said that there is no disease that lasts 100 years and we all know that president Maduro is standing with one leg in jail and that it won’t be long before there is nothing left and people will be revolting because even the big support he has from the military is tumbling because even they are getting hungry.
So if we have a little patience those little boats will be back because there was already a big demonstration in Punto Fijo of the ship owners that all of a sudden were without an income because of the blockade and wanted to go to Curaçao to work so that they could provide for their families.
The solution of the “Think Tank” was to give the local population a chance to sell their products at the location where the floating market was.
There were 400 interested parties to sell their goods there, the question was what were they going to sell.
My fear is that in no time they will be dropping out one by one and that we’ll be stuck with empty counters because of the lack of foot traffic that used to walk by there to buy fruit and vegetables and could choose from a large selection that we don’t have locally.
Just take the Christmas period that everybody would go there to buy banana leaves to make Ayacas, you won’t be able to find them in Albert Heijn or Centrum.
Beside that we forget one very important point, the touristic value of the Floating Market that forms part of the so-desired World Heritage nomination of which we are so proud.
But, the wise men decided to move the Floating Market to the “Kleine Werf”
All well and good, only if I was the owner of one of those boats I would never want to dock there because you do not have the foot traffic and people will not walk all the way around to get their produce there, so the boats won’t be docking there for long if they won’t be able to sell their goods.
There is no infrastructure there, so what’s going to happen? They already started making little canopies to stand in the shade and if they all do that it will be one big disorganized mess and we won’t be able to organize big events there anymore.
My feeling is that the locals that will be trying there won’t last long and that little by little the Haitians will take it over (just like around the new market) and will all be selling tin iguanas and bead bracelets, primitive paintings and no more fruit or vegetables.
I would have those few boats dock at the old place so at least we can show the tourist something of the floating market instead of pluche stuffed animals and crocheted toilet paper roll covers and have to explain to the tourist what happened to the floating market, but who am I?
But one thing is for sure, the Floating Market turned into a “Floating Fiasco” and we lost another tourist attraction while according to the Central Bureau of Statistics our per capita income just dropped with 10 per cent.
I keep laughing on this rock because we are still doing one step forward and two backwards because we know it better, because “Nos Mes Por” (we can do it ourselves)
By Arthur Donker
