Dear Editor,
On several occasions while I was working as a police officer I was approached by, members of political parties wanting to know if I was interested in becoming a member of the party. My initial response was always, “Being a police officer is part of my calling, I enjoy serving and protecting the people.” I would also let them know that even though I may not say everything, whatever I say is the truth. Once I speak the truth I can forget what I said but when I am reminded of it I will repeat the same thing because it is the truth.
My father used to tell us that people get an upset stomach, even ulcers because of not being able to speak their mind by telling the truth. He would say a whole lot of people turn to liquor because it loosens their tongue. When we asked him what he meant he would explain. Over the years people have found out that when they were drunk they would say things and the next day are surprised when others tell them what they said the night before. So as time went by people would use liquor as an excuse to say what they did not dare say while they were sober.
He told me one time that his mother and his aunt would say things to my grandfather and great uncle which he didn’t understand until years later when he came across “A drunken man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts” in the book The philosophy of life. He would tell us that there are always two sides to a story, because both parties would tell you things which favor them and oftentimes both parties would also lie. That is why you should always try to find out what is the truth.
I remember at one time my father told a politician calling him by his name, “Wah lies you was telling the people out there last night.” And spontaneously that politician answered my father, “Exactly what they want to hear.” That remained with me ever since. It might not have been a lie or reality, but it is what the people wanted to hear. Whether it is attainable or not does not matter. But I would think, “He does not even care whether he can produce or not?” That was my awakening to what politics is about and I did not think that that was fair.
I wrote all of this to ask, “Why is it taking so long?” This is my take on this. These kinds of politicians never liked anyone looking over their shoulders. Because formerly a police report had to go along with almost every kind of permit issued. A negative advice was not well accepted by politicians because they would not be able to fool the people that it is they, the politicians who give them what they petitioned, as opposed to what they were entitled to once it complied with the requirements stipulated by law.
And even though the police are no longer directly involved in the controls or issuing of permits, the police are still involved in the general control of almost everything. This sometimes sheds light on some things which actually should not come out in the light.
My question has always been, “Why are you mad at me for doing the right thing?” Would it be fair for me to think that because making deals by people in government (alleged) along with the above, and because there are no deals to be made in getting things done for the police, there is no interest in fixing things for the police?
What I do not understand is why we have not heard from the side of the Prosecutor’s Office, which is supposed to be the defender of the people, urging the government on, to regulate things for the police in order to be able to secure public order? On the contrary, those who are always preaching about responsibility showed their real colors by repatriating all their police people to Holland, irrespective of the consequences of the police in St. Maarten being understaffed. The pattern continues. There is no interest in the well-being of the people.
Every dictator would tell you that he pays his soldiers well.
So, I am still asking myself if government continues, no matter the toppling of governments, is it arbitrariness or incompetence of the personnel of the justice department who were there over those years, not to regulate things for the police?
Because of this I asked who is actually advising the Minister of Justice? They told me all of this is because of a falling out. I could not put two and two together and I am not into speculating … .
Russell A. Simmons
