Dear Editor,
This COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, I believe should open our eyes to a number of important factors, as we are observing and are experiencing day to day the financial and economic impact that such a pandemic can bring. The bigger countries can still keep their heads above water, because they have many other ways of income to keep their economy running, but for smaller islands it’s a problem. St. Maarten’s main pillar is American tourism. We don’t have any major industries or even a refinery, that can help contribute to our government coffers besides tourism. Nor do we produce or make anything of value to sell or do trade on the world market. But as times are changing, I believe it’s a wake-up call that we are and will be dealing with more future catastrophes, or calamities that will greatly affect and stagnate our economic growth or development.
Dear editor, there are some things we may not like about the Dutch, such as the stringent conditions they have given us before releasing the much-needed recovery funds. But one thing I admire about them is that although they too have suffered financial loss because of COVID-19, yet they can still manage to pour out millions from their tax treasuries to help other nations. It’s all about knowing how to manage your finances.
Why have they then become one of the riches countries in Europe? Dear editor, ST. Maarten has gone through what I would consider as its “golden years” of financial prosperity. Yes, the U.S. dollars were rolling big. I can recall before leaving Aruba, to live on this island, we use to hear how people in St. Maarten were making good money, and how guys were walking around with hundreds of dollars in their pockets. St. Maarten was developing rapidly. The tourist industry was booming. Investors were coming to this island because of its stable and progressive economy. The government coffers were being filled, and there was even talk about why not going independent. We don’t need to depend on the Dutch.
But during the course of the years, money was badly spent, mismanaged, or got into the wrong hands. Many investors, after raping this island by making big profits, even left without paying proper taxes. No government ever thought about setting up some kind of “Emergency Financial Fund” that can come into use should any future disaster or calamity occur. As I would say dear editor, “We ate, drank, partied, and made merry” until the well suddenly went dry. We never thought that the mistakes we made in the past, would someday in the future catch up with us.
As the old people would say: “Where horse reach, donkey gon’ also reach.” In 1995, Hurricane Luis came and struck us, causing our economy to stagger like a drunken man. Then in 2017, Hurricane Irma, which was worse than Hurricane Luis, paralyzed our already weakened economy. And now in 2020, COVID-19 pandemic came and finished draining whatever was left of our scanty financial resources, leaving us now flat out on our backs. Today our government coffers are empty, and we are now at the mercies of the Dutch, who have implemented some drastic draconian conditions to humble us, before giving us one additional red cent.
Dear editor, people are now asking the question as to where have all the millions of dollars, which were made during the golden years gone? Who, (or perhaps which government), should be held accountable for the loss, or bad stewardship?
Dear editor, today we are living in serious times. Worldwide changes are taking place. What never used to happen before, is happening now. Yes, tourism, just like for many other smaller islands, has been St. Maarten’s main financial support. But looking at the present and what may lie ahead in the immediate future is a clear indication that we need to come up with some other way of assisting this very fragile economy.
How would we survive if, God forbid, something worse than COVID-19 in the future paralyzed our tourist economy completely? For instance, fear, insecurity, or even a future World War can cause tourists not to travel anywhere. With cases increasing now more rapidly, it’s quite clear that the COVID-19 virus has come back, and this time with a vengeance, for more victims. The concern of this specific disease is that even though all necessary hygiene methods are applied, including a future vaccine, yet this kind of virus may continue to remain active among us for a much longer time to come. In the meantime, we cannot depend on tourism alone. If we don’t find other ways to help fill our financial coffers, then we will be also digging a deeper ditch for our future generations who already will have to continue to bear our increasing financial debts.
A Concerned citizen
Name withheld at author's request.
