Dear Editor,
I listen to preachers of the word from several denominations, because over the years I have experienced that a great deal of people who read the same Bible, at some point interpret it differently. I also know that on several occasions I have heard different members of the Anglican church of which I am a member, admit that they 'did not understand it that way until the priest explained it'. I state this to explain that not everybody interprets what is written the same way. I must mention though that I do not think that there are two ways to interpret "The Dutch Caribbean people got to give the Commonwealth of Dominica, St. Kitts and Grenada great respect", after stating that "The Dutch are more involved within the Caribbean nation regions, more than these Dutch Caribbean nations".
Because of how that letter was written to you by Mr. Bannis, I feel myself obliged to think," Why should my children owe you respect, even though I am the one who is feeding you?" I think that you show them gratitude". It sounds more to me that the writer is being ungrateful. Who worked for years in Aruba and Curaçao for the LAGO and the Shell? Who worked and are still working in the Dutch Caribbean islands and as they themselves still gratefully say, "All I have in my country, I can thank either Aruba, Curaçao or Sint Maarten for it". There could still be people alive who can know what I will write now.
When LAGO decided to stop its operation in Aruba, there was a massive layoff of the non-Dutch nationals . There was a process for repatriation. Those women who were married to those employees of British nationality automatically became British and went along with their husbands and their family to their husband’s country of birth to continue their life. To make a long story short, after a while those original Dutch nationality women found themselves obliged to write to the queen of Holland requesting her to grant them back the Dutch nationality in order that they could come back to the Dutch Caribbean islands because of the bad treatment they got from the women in those British islands where their husbands had taken them.
My Godmother and her husband were from St. Kitts. One month after they repatriated to St. Kitts my God-mother wrote my mother asking her to look for a place for her to rent, because she would rather live back in Aruba than to support the kind of treatment she was getting from the Kittitian women who told her that she is living high and mighty, because of the house that she built back in St. Kitts while her husband worked for Lago. I must have seen Mr. Bannis over the years, but because I cannot put a face to the name,
(if that is his correct name), I will state that I do not know Mr. Bannis and whether he is from here or not, it does not matter. But I do not think that any well-thinking native of any country would go against his government for rightly trying to achieve more for the people of their country. I can write a whole lot more about this matter, but at this time the focus should not be on my writing. The term is 'mutual respect' so I believe that whatever the intention is, it should be discussed and not be pushed down our throats.
When I was a child in my parents’ home, there was no talking back. When I became an adult, I could talk back but with respect. As I got older, the first two still count, but my parents would discuss situations with me, because they respected and valued my opinion. Not everybody will always agree with what I write, but I believe that they will agree with the heading of this letter after reading Mr. Bannis's letter to you on December 15th.
I am sure that a whole lot of those people who are from the Commonwealth of Dominica, St. Kitts and Grenada do not agree with Mr. Bannis, as he wants to start a native war with the people of the country where they have been residing in peace for so many years, including himself. I might be wrong because like I already stated I cannot put a face to the name, but the way in which his letter is written, reminds of the saying, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you".
Russell A. Simmons
