Dear Editor,
I have noticed that since I embarked on a campaign to get rid of the old and bring in the new, young people are more and more curious about what is going on in government than before. And believe it or not, even though I always say if I did that when I was young, there are a whole lot of young people who also can, I am constantly taken aback by some of their observations. A young man asked me just last week if what he was thinking is wrong.
Because I was paying keen attention to what he was saying, I told him there is no such thing as a stupid question. I explained to him that my grandmother, who reared my mother, who in turn reared me, did not know anything about a cell phone and this is the case with millions. Not everybody knows everything.
He went on to say he believes that Holland is criticizing Sint Maarten for having too many civil servants, because they want to limit the number of people earning a liveable wage. The private sector would have to pay the liveable wage also, and that would be as if the whole country is making at least a salary compatible to the liveable wage. This would eliminate people being poor. He believes that governments all over the world are keeping most of the people from making a liveable wage to keep people poor so that the people will have to continue relying on government for help in one way or the other.
He remarked that Fidel Castro did it with his army. I explained to him that the key word here is "confusion". If there is no unity among the people, they will not be strong enough to make demands. The people who are begging government for recovery help are the same people who are going to take part in Carnival with thousand-dollar costumes for two days, and then will be back begging government for help the next day.
I usually tell people who give me tips or information to write to you themselves, but I decided not to leave what I consider vital thoughts go to waste and I am writing to you. That four-million-dollar economy with only 60,000 people does not sit well with me when I think of the percentage of people living below the poverty line, so I always take people who think along that line with me into consideration. That young man believes that government is systemically maintaining poverty on the island.
Now this. Many years ago, while working at the immigration department of the police, two young girls, 18 and 19, came to the police station after midnight pleading to be sent back home because they could not bear it no more at the compound where they were staying. They were not pleased with the way they were treated by their own countrymen. They claimed that they could not leave voluntarily, because they were not permitted to associate with others. After investigating and evaluating their story, the young women were provided with tickets back home and left within a couple of days.
I was watching a movie last evening, and the young princess who was being pressured to get married, did not want to choose any of the three princes suited for her. She told her parents: "I do not want to be captured in the selection process, because the selection process is a deliberate one to attempt to conquer love. Love is like a careless seed planted without a plan. When love is planned, it ceases to be love". Those words reminded me of part of the reason why those two young women ran away from the compound years ago.
When I combine the two parts of this letter, even though years apart but still taking place today, what must we say about the world coming together. Even though there is separation of church and state, but it being the same individuals who are expected to patronize both, does government consult with the Council of Churches periodically? What percentage of this country are believers?
Russell A. Simmons
