Dear Editor,
There we go again. Minister Lee files a complaint against SMN News owner. Let me start by stating this. Because of what I did, and, even though I say it myself, being the professional that I am, I avoided personal contact with members of the press. (I have written thousands of letters to the editors) They were referred to the police brass or the police spokesperson. So, what I am about to write is not in defence of anyone.
Very early in my career, my father sat me down in front of him (I lived at home for the first four years) and said to me, “Look at you, you are looking sharp in that uniform. Your mother will not tell you that, but she feels herself the proudest mother nowadays, but you know she always reminds you that you are no better than anyone and no one is better than you.
He continued to tell me, “The fact that you are a police officer means that you are in the driver’s seat. You do not need to show off. Your appearance and your approach should automatically command respect. Furthermore, no one put a gun to your head obliging you to join the force, so you have to deal with being a policeman. If you love the profession that you choose, it will not feel like work. Contrary to most other professions, you are twice a civilian and once a police officer and the second time around as a civilian is determined by who you were as a policeman”.
I am mentioning all of this because more and more immaturity is revealing itself among our leaders in government. Within the last three months at least three ministers of government were involved in threatening court cases. Just like the policeman, no one put a gun to their heads obliging them to vie for those positions, so they should grow up and deal with what comes with the territory.
To go along with that if all of them would adhere to the rule that there should be real transparency of government, we would not find ourselves wanting to know if, what is gradually becoming the norm with people in government, there are dubious deals. No longer than last week there was an article in the paper mentioning the names of at least five people who were or are criminally investigated. It has become so that just like the word Christmas is synonymous to Jesus, the word politician is becoming synonymous to untrustworthy.
I will always understand that certain jobs come with more responsibility than others and that one should be compensated, but is not that what all those extra benefits and gratuities beside that exorbitant salary is about? I also got my blows, but I accept that that comes with the job and I will boldly state that we were not nearly compensated for the risks that go along with being a police officer on Sint Maarten.
I would also dare to say that for many years the police tact has played a role in the well-known “friendly island”. So, when our leaders in government are continuously under investigation or are constantly taking people to court, they are doing just as much damage to Sint Maarten as any other criminal. And guess who is laughing while rubbing their hands.?
Russell A. Simmons
