Dear Editor,
The entire thought of St. Maarten becoming independent has been mind-boggling to say the least. I would like to provide St. Maarten’s residents, citizens and especially the 12 Members of Parliament with some crucial questions to ponder when considering whether the decolonization (i.e. independence) process of our beloved island will be the right move. Please consider the following:
1. Would you like to have a St. Maarten passport? One’s identity or heritage does not come from a passport; it is instead engrained in our community and personalities. The essence of a St. Maartener shall never be lost simply due to the passport one holds. Rather we must focus on the advantages of our current right to a Dutch passport, which has afforded the island’s people great opportunities worldwide like enabling our children to obtain quality degrees and easy travel for all. A new country status passport comes with many obstacles for citizens. Like other independent former colonies, we may face having to submit visa applications to travel, long waiting times, costly fees, the gathering of many documents, and the possibility of being declined to travel. These new immigration procedures and regulations will heavily depend on the deals that our government will create with the rest of the world (including the Netherlands). In addition, we must factor in costs for the technology and creation of passports.
2. Will St. Maarten have embassies set up in other countries so that citizens can seek help if needed while abroad?
3. How will Sint Maarten handle a natural disaster or global pandemic?
i. Shall we train KPSM [police – Ed.] and VKS [colunteer corps] on military and humanitarian assistance?
ii. Send our negotiators with limited global experience to negotiate with other countries for financial/military/humanitarian assistance to then be financially shackled to a stranger?
iii. Form our own military overnight and spend the money in our own personal bank accounts?
4. How will St. Maarten pay back US $1.2 billion in debt and replenish the coffers to the point that there is a healthy reserve? Or do you believe the Netherlands will pay us billions in reparations? Whether it is deserved is not in question; it is simply the reality that what we deserve and what we get are rarely ever equal. Perhaps you think the Dutch will forgive this debt, just like after 10-10-10; except, our Parliamentarians have now told the Dutch that we are ungrateful for their zero per cent interest loan and that they are racists.
5. Do you believe that we can run our entire economy on tourism alone? Or what “get rich quick” ideas do you have that we can use to create a multi-pillar economy? The proof is in the pudding, COVID-19 and hurricanes have proven tourism is not cutting it.
6. Who will establish an official central bank for St. Maarten?
7. What will be our official currency and how would that switch take place? Can you imagine a product costing NAf. 5 and switching over to US $5, while our salaries are converted by the exchange rate? Yes, this can happen, as it did in Saba when they dropped the guilder. Before even suggesting an official St. Maarten dollar consider the Jamaican dollar, Aruban florin and other lower-valued currencies as you ponder.
8. How will we be viewed and included on the international stage with the World Bank, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Financial Action Task Force, United Nations, Small Island Developing States, etc.?
9. Who is truly qualified to represent us in foreign relations and speak at for example, UN assemblies?
10. Are you willing to trust existing powers on the island to preserve instead of giving up the rest of the country to more foreign investors?
11. Are you willing to make Sint Maarten a tax haven and foot the bill for foreign investors, yourselves and visitors?
12. Have you considered the medical and mental health fields?
i. Where will our doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists study and train?
ii. Where will we get medical supplies?
iii. Will there still be agreements to fly patients to the Netherlands, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic?
iv. Do we have a reliable mental health system?
13. Have you considered our judicial system?
i. Where will our lawyers and judges study and train?
ii. What bar exam will they sit?
iii. Who is qualified to that degree to set up such a system correctly?
iv. Will we have a Supreme Court? (Consider the fact that the small claims court has struggled to get up and running properly.)
v. What about the checks and balances? Do we have an independent reliable judicial system that will hold the government accountable for failures to maintain quality of living?
14. Are we keeping the copied Dutch Laws and civil law system in place and has this legal system met the needs of our island thus far?
15. Are you willing to start paying customs duty fees/taxes and administrative/processing fees for shipments on top of the already high costs? The United Kingdom, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago are prime examples of such repercussions. Surely, we will not be able to remain a duty-free island.
16. Do we have a strong infrastructure in place?
i. Telecommunications
ii. Environmental protections
iii. Sewage systems
iv. Quality roads
v. High quality and environmentally conscious utilities
vi. Proper streetlights
vii. Proper waste management (i.e. the dump)
viii. Healthcare system
ix. Honest and affordable insurance system
x. Welfare/financial aid system
xi. Disaster management, etc.
17. Have you considered our education system?
i. Will we continue to teach Dutch at schools?
ii. Is our education system ready for independence?
iii. Where will our students go for college and who is paying?
iv. Do you have 50-150,000 (US$/euros) lying around for each child?
v. What about education for special needs?
18. Will we start having property tax?
19. What will happen with the Treaty of Concordia?
20. Despite having more questions, I conclude with this: Do you see the reality of independence for St. Maarten and would you still stand proudly with the 12 Members of Parliament on this ad hoc decision?
Let us start a community-wide discussion, as this will broaden our minds and collectively create a dialogue for a responsible way forward for St. Maarten. We should no longer have to joke about #SXMIsNotARealPlace, instead we can one day become a #RealPlace to be truly proud of through peaceful, honest and forward-thinking partnerships within the Kingdom and beyond.
Bear in mind the difference between independence and freedom. Independence is earned by becoming responsible and accountable for one’s own actions and duties, which we truthfully have not earned. Freedom is a state of “being, of which we are nowhere near at the moment. Instead, we only have a false sense of freedom from lack of structure, ordinance and our rebellious behaviors.”
Our false sense of freedom is what has created both external chaos and inner turmoil. Independence will not give us freedom, as if we “free” ourselves from the Kingdom, we will only imprison ourselves to our own past mistakes, lack of responsibility and failed accountability. A burden of pain I do not wish on my people.
Join me Sint Maarten, let us stop, think and rebuild, stronger, smarter, better, together!
Deedee Johnson LLB
