Dear Editor,
When traumatic memories become dictatorial, whimsically deciding which memories should surface and which ought to remain submerged, it invariably does so indifferent to and independent of the memorial request and psychological needs of its mortal host. Commandeering the memory bank, an involuntary proliferation of cruel and distasteful memories are forcefully withdrawn from its reserves, tyrannizing and overwhelming the amygdala into suppressing more tolerable and therapeutically desirable recollections from surfacing.
Like a maddening dictator clinging to power, employing all the coercive mechanisms at his or her disposal, so are memories that are oppressive in nature, displacing and suppressing enjoyable reminiscences seeking to appear on the screens of our conscious minds.
Wrestling with irksome evocations from our memory bank which are usually competing for permanent residency in the forefront of our minds, tires us to the point that we would rather opt for voluntary amnesia. As we are constantly bombarded by irritating visceral sensations which so often accompany our unwanted memories. Many of us have had to deal with harrowing memories, the agonies of which anxiously elevate our heart rate and make us perspire profusely, one amongst many of the unhealthy and intolerable physiological symptoms we unwillingly have to experience when subjected to bad and what seems like never-ending domineering memories.
Struggling as we may to choose recollections that are more palatable to recall, we nevertheless, powerlessly succumb to the onslaught of traumatic flashbacks. We frustratingly remain helpless and unable to reverse the tides which gush forth a profusion of unbearable remembrances on the surface of our conscious minds. Our at times manifest impotence and failure to always consciously choose the memories we are desirous of recalling so often discourages us from searching for any underlying curative cause.
But all may not be lost if just for a moment we take a peep inwards into the dark abyss of our unconscious mysterious minds. Searching the depths of our layered minds we may very well discover clues that can uncover what hitherto we have incorrectly determined to be our inability to decide which memory we are desirous of consciously experiencing.
We can psychoanalytically survey the milieu of our unconscious minds, probing its depth in order to gain insight into what may unknowingly and frustratingly continue to cause memories we are not desirous of having to coercively make their way to the forefront of our conscious minds. According to the founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, “until you make the unconscious conscious it will continue to direct your life and you will call it fate”.
So, while we may understandably feel powerless to reign in the unpleasant reminders which terrorize us ever so often, Jung nevertheless has proposed a psychological project which if undertaken promises to liberate us from the tyranny of our harrowing memories.
What we may then gradually realize while progressively becoming conscious and convinced of Jung’s timeless psychological insight is that our untidy memories are activated by triggers we are often unconscious of. So, after all we may not necessarily be the hapless slaves we at times make ourselves out to be. Our suffering resulting from the traumatic recollections we were unconsciously allowing to show up and persist uncontrollably were actually of our own making. But now with this increased level of awareness and understanding liberating us from what was once our ignorant resignation to a fate we lazily assumed was unalterable, we are no longer susceptible to the perpetual domination of upsetting memories.
Conscious now of the stimuli from our external environment and the thoughts that are triggering undesirable recollections from our reservoir of memories, we are no longer vulnerable to their prolong arbitrary and non consensual appearances. While we may not be able to entirely eradicate the displeasing memories that inadvertently show up. However, being aware of what are eliciting their unpalatable presence we can nevertheless become empowered through our awareness to disallow their perpetuation, a consequence of us being conscious of the triggers that are responsible for their onset.
Orlando Patterson
Dear Editor,
This article discusses the mindset of the electorate and political parties in St. Maarten.
The truth is that the people of St. Maarten are getting the political candidates they deserve, even though they may pretend otherwise. Accepting and staying silent about the situation implies approval. Let's take a look at the reality of the political landscape in St. Maarten.
In truth, there is no clear ideology. Instead, the political scene is dominated by a few families and individuals with questionable intentions who seek power at any cost, even if it means harming St. Maarten. Many of the individuals who present themselves as candidates are the last people who should be in positions of power.
Most voters in St. Maarten sense that something is wrong, but they are afraid to confront the truth. Every political party hosts people who lack moral values, and this reflects the current societal attitudes.
The prevalent spirit is one of division, destruction, confusion, and deception. Older generations are becoming irrelevant, while those aged 55 and younger are poised to bring about negative changes.
Without a sound understanding of what is good, people tend to gravitate towards what is bad by nature. Political parties are stoking racism, pitting the rich against the poor, black against white, and promoting immoral behaviour in the guise of acceptability. This is destructive, and we must question why this is happening.
There is a pattern of creating problems only to present oneself as the solution. However, this strategy is flawed since the problems cannot be effectively resolved.
St. Maarten has been granted more autonomy since 2010, but the situation has only worsened during this period.
The question arising from this analysis is often: "Why don't you provide us with solutions to these problems?" The response is simple: we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask whether we truly desire a change for the better.
Genuine desire for positive change demands both physical and spiritual action, including challenging wrongdoing and evil. Unfortunately, this is not the course of action we tend to take.
Instead, we passively participate in the electoral process without holding corrupt politicians accountable. This only emboldens more people with nefarious intentions to put themselves forward as candidates.
In conclusion, if people continue to support this charade, they are essentially endorsing poverty and misery.
The Patriot Miguel Arrindell
Dear Editor,
Rarely have I witnessed a company so severely mistreated by its own shareholders as is the case with GEBE. We all recognize our current situation, and it’s tempting – especially for some – to blame the current management for mishandling matters.
However, this decline didn’t start recently; it has been a decades-long drama. While I won’t pretend to understand all the technical challenges, one thing is clear: no other electricity company in the former Netherlands Antilles or Aruba has made such poor decisions at the shareholder level.
During my intermittent tenure as a consultant with the company, I’ve seen competent management boards dismissed, supposedly in the name of good governance, while utterly inept managers and directors were appointed, dismissed, and sometimes reappointed. How can we manage one of the island’s most critical companies with such flip-flopping decisions? While GEBE was never beloved, it was at least respected and, to some extent, stable.
Too much political interference has brought GEBE to its current state. Decisions were often driven by personal or political agendas rather than objective, professional considerations. Aqualectra in Curaçao, WEB Aruba, WEB Bonaire, STUCO on Statia, or Saba Electric Company SEC – none face the issues plaguing GEBE. Why is that?
Isn’t it high time to entrust a competent, forward-thinking body with a broad mandate to define the company’s path? If this company isn’t “too important to fail,” then which one on the island is?
Sometimes having the government as a shareholder is a blessing. In this case, it has proven a terrible curse. One of the really sad parts is that GEBE has many excellent, well-qualified employees. They too deserve better management at the top and, especially, on a shareholder level.
Harald Linkels
Organizational psychologist
Dear Editor,
In 2018, during the collapse of the previous airline, as a shareholder of a small company that operated charter flights, I felt the need to help Curaçao with a new airline. At that time, I had been retired for 14 years, but I still wanted to do something significant for my country.
A contact connected me with the owner of Avianca, and I reached out to him. We had several discussions, and I was invited to Bogotá, Colombia, to talk about establishing a new airline in Curaçao. We immediately began the process, and together with some employees from the previous company, we started making all the necessary preparations, and that’s how JetAir was born.
At the end of negotiations with Avianca, things didn’t go as planned because I had to start the company with my own resources. They later would have participated by providing two planes.
Aside from that, they also demanded a majority of the shares. We couldn’t reach an agreement, and I found myself alone in deep waters, with big waves, strong currents, and no buoy.
Why did I continue? Because I continue to believe in Curaçao. A small island without a national airline would be a huge setback for our economy and the general well-being of our population.
Seeing that there were already two airlines covering the traffic between Aruba and Bonaire, we opted to fly the traditional longer routes that our airlines have always flown. Together with some colleagues who knew more about aviation than I did, we developed a business plan and prepared the manuals for use in various departments.
We calculated that since we already had an AOC (Air Operator Certificate) for charter flights and wanted to change this to regular flights, the process wouldn’t take more than six months. During this process, we purchased two Fokker 70 aircraft to meet the requirement of having planes ready on the tarmac as a condition for obtaining our AOC. Gradually, we started hiring staff and sending them to the Netherlands for training to operate the type of aircraft we planned to use.
Unfortunately, instead of the six months we expected, the AOC process took 14 months, putting us in a multitude of unnecessary expenses. Initially, we had 35 employees on payroll and 12 mechanics to maintain the aircraft. This was at the beginning, with more staff being hired later on.
When everyone returned from their courses, we had to fly 100 hours of training flights together with an aviation inspector for our operation to be approved. This cost us around 320,000.00 florins in fuel, not counting all the salaries that had to be paid during that time.
Finally in November 2019, we received our AOC from the Minister, designating JetAir as the national airline of Curaçao. We began operating our first flights to St. Maarten.
Just as we started our initial flights, two months later, COVID-19 hit, and we had to suspend all operations for two long years, with all the corresponding expenses to keep the company alive. Despite our planes being grounded, maintenance had to continue as if nothing had happened.
During the Covid period, both aircraft had to undergo their C-checks. The first one cost 1.3 million euros, and the second cost 1.2 million euros. All this before we could truly begin providing service to our clients.
During the Covid period, every airline faced problems, including JetAir. The first company to cry for help was KLM, which requested and received 9 billion euros from the Dutch government to cover its expenses during Covid.
Winair was subsidized by the government of St. Maarten. Airlines worldwide were subsidized by their respective governments.
During the Covid era, the Netherlands sent a large sum of money to Curaçao for the government to subsidize and try to save Curaçao’s vital companies from bankruptcy. We requested assistance from the government of that time, and after much pleading, we began receiving a very small sum over a period of 8 to 9 months, which wasn’t even enough to cover the “social burdens” of our employees at the end of the month.
I continued to hold on tightly to ensure nothing happened to JetAir, spending all my money to keep our national airline on its feet. At least I can say, “I put my OWN money where my mouth is.”
Why did I continue to invest so much money despite everyone recommending I “bail out” seeing that the company was doing so poorly? Because I am a very persistent person with the conviction that JetAir’s best days were still to come. In that, I was mistaken.
I didn’t need any airline to make money because I had been retired for 14 years. I simply wanted to do something significant for Curaçao, where I grew up and matured.
It’s important for everyone to understand that I am the same Curaçaolenean as those who criticize me. The only difference is that I stepped up to do something good for this country, which is a rare phenomenon on this island.
After going through a “Perfect Storm” for three long years, carrying an entire airline on my shoulders just to not lose the ideal with which I started the company. I believe everyone knows that there is no industry more complicated than the aviation industry where luck can turn a company’s fortune upside down.
Returning: From the moment Covid happened, Jetair was bankrupt. For almost three long years, I always carried the hope that things would change with time.
This year, we received assistance from the government through CTB and CAH, which helped us cover all the expenses for that month.
Since last year, we’ve been looking for partners to join us on several occasions, but most of them wanted to fly between Venezuela, Curaçao and Miami. That wasn’t possible because in the 14 years since Curaçao lost its Category 1 status in 2010, this country has been unable to change this status in a way that would allow us to also get a share of the pie that American Airlines has.
There, I want to refute the fact that all airlines in Curaçao have lived off flights between Venezuela, Curaçao and the US, and vice versa, and JetAir did not have that opportunity. I’m sure that if we had the possibility to fly the VEN-CUR-MIA route and vice versa, Jetair would not have found itself in such a deplorable situation.
Meanwhile, with Curaçao not regaining its Category 1 status, it can bury its aviation industry with JetAir. The lack of this is really the main cause for JetAir’s downfall. Now it’s too late!
PS.
Word to the people: Forgive me for everything that has happened in recent days. The way things turned out in the end was stipulated throughout the entire process of terminating the company. There was never any intention to take advantage of our customers who innocently bought tickets.
Unfortunately, all of this fell into the bankruptcy pot, which benefited no one. There, I want to ask everyone who was harmed, my sincerest apologies.
Sorry once again, for everything that went wrong after 6 years, where I did everything I could to give Curaçao a national airline. I did my best!
With sorrow in my heart,
Antonio Ribeiro
Dear Editor,
During this week’s parliament meeting, instead of offering concrete solutions to resolve this nation’s energy crisis, many members of parliament blamed past governments for the current problem. Although blaming others has been a natural instinct among humans since the creation of the Garden of Eden, I am not interested in listening to members of parliament doing it.
Why no member of parliament offered the name of another company that can send container generators in less than three months to St. Maarten? One member of parliament identified last week an island that can be contacted for these types of generators. This is a time all members of parliament need to work together to bring relief to the consumers as quickly as possible.
What will happen to this country if a major hurricane strikes St. Maarten in the midst of this crisis? What if all members of parliament conduct themselves in the same fashion?
This is a crisis that will reveal which members of parliament truly care about the needs of the St. Maarten populace. Additionally, this crisis will uncover which members of parliament are true and visionary leaders. This is no time for politics. It’s a time for statesmanship and unity. If all members of parliament work together the crisis will be addressed.
Many of my friends have expressed to me that they doubt all members of parliament understand the gravity of this situation. Some of them told me that most of the members of parliament have homes outfitted with generators. Thus, how can they truly comprehend the cries of the citizens? This is what some of my friends keep enquiring about.
Unlike many members of parliament, many citizens cannot afford generators. Does the government have a plan to assist very vulnerable and impoverished families with generators? The cost of many of these generators exceeds the minimum wage.
If this crisis persists for months certainly it will adversely impact the economy, crime and education. Imagine students being unable to do homework and study due to longer power outages.
In closing, together we will rise from this crisis or many of us will fall together.
Kenneth Cook
