Allow me to begin by saying good day to you and to the citizens of St. Maarten.
I am writing regarding to lots of the negative developments on our island that has been publicized in the media. The society tends to rely solely on
pointing fingers and playing the blame games. The most common target for finger pointing and blame games has been our Government. The elected governments of past / present/ future are only there to help represent us.
It is us who rules this country in this democracy. We, the society of St. Maarten, are also to blame. Many of us have become laid back and constantly depending on others to solve our problems for us. It is our duty, each and every single one of us, to contribute to our country and show to the world how truly devoted we the St. Maarteners are to our island.
We also need to know, remember and honor our history and culture. It is the backbone that makes us who we are and identify us to the rest of the region and to the world. By not knowing our past, we won't know who we truly are. As a result of this we will be walking blindly into our future. Our heritage is molded into all of us. Don't leave our heritage and history become extinct! We must ask ourselves: how many of us besides the senior citizens even know how to dance the different folklore dances that we have or at least even know their names? There are many other aspects of our heritage and culture many of us don't even know or remember.
Despite how modern the world has become, many countries hold strong to their cultural heritage as it identifies them to the world and also reminds
themselves of their ancestry. It is time we do likewise and not put our forefathers to shame.
It is sad to hear how violent and unsafe St. Maarten has become recently. And this image is what people, especially visitors, will remember more
easily about us. There was a time we used to proudly call our island; "The Friendly Island". It is time we gave this nickname true meaning again. We
shouldn't be leaving it all up to the police, the VKS, the court to solve this problem. St. Maarten is our home and each and every one of us should do our part to win back our island, make St. Maarten earn back its name as the Friendly Island. When we work together we are stronger. We shouldn't live in fear. Fear should live in those who want to provoke fear in us and our visitors. This is our island and I say enough is enough! We can achieve it without having to stoop down low to their level.
The younger generation will be nothing if we turn our backs to them, ignore them, and leave them deal with our mess we leave behind for them. Many of us claim that the younger generations no longer have respect, and are violent. It is not their fault, it is our fault, because many of the generation of now and before us got side tracked and lost sight of doing our part to guide the youth on the proper path. All of us suppose to be role models for the generation to come. What kinds of examples are we teaching when we cheat, lie, steal, disrespect our bodies, abuse and disrespect others?! How do we expect for us to be respected if we can't show respect?! "It takes a village to raise a child"; an old saying goes, therefore the way the society of St. Maarten functions affects the way each and every child is raised.
The youths, even us the adults as well, need role models to help get St. Maarten back on the right track. When we look back into our history many of our historical icons didn't do anything big or grand. Each of them simply with their own little parts and together contributed tremendously to our
island, because they loved and cared deeply for St Maarten and its citizens. In short each and every single one of those individuals made an impact for our island no matter how small it was. The impact to our island was greatly enhanced when more people joined in doing their own contribution. These historical icons should be role models to us on how we, the citizens of St. Maarten, should be. The same can happen still, today and in the future, if each of us does our little part/contribution in trying to save what is left of St. Maarten's History and Culture out of love/compassion/ before it crumbles to dust and be forever forgotten. For those of us who are skeptical about the Impact of one individual, look at other world's historical icons who did their small part that started spreading like fire: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Robert Baden-Powell and Mahatma Gandhi, just to name a few. These historic icons didn't do what they did to gain fame. They did what they did because they felt in their heart it was the right thing to do which caught the attention of others and eventually the world. Even a droplet of water can have an impact when it hits the surface of water, creating a ripple effect across the surface. That is the Impact of One.
This is our moment to shine and change our words into action. The future of St. Maarten lies with each and every one of us who is a citizen of this
island. It isn't the country that makes the people! It is its people who make a country! The future of St. Maarten begins with us now. Together we
can make a brighter future for St. Maarten if we are true patriots of our island! We have only one St. Maarten and she can never be replaced once she is gone! Semper Pro Grediens!
So let us the people, the inhabitants and visitors find ways in bettering and preserving our island and its culture!
Sincerely yours,
Georgino Barnes