Marigot: -- Close to 700 hundred persons turned out to march peacefully through the streets of St. Martin to protest against the high cost of living on the French side of the island. The marchers began gathering in the parking lot of the Lycee Polyvalent around 8 am. Carrying banners and chanting as they walk the street were mostly teachers who are protesting against the working conditions at the dilapidate Lycee and College Morn des Accords.
The teachers said while one newspaper on the island is accusing them of wanting more monies the truth is they want better facilities for their students. Some students they say are attending school with an empty stomach simply because their parents cannot afford to feed them properly. 
"When children are hungry they simply cannot perform and something must be done to reduce the high cost of living on St. Martin. Yogurt which is part of every child's diet in France is considered a luxury on St. Martin and that must not be" said former first vice president Marthe Ogoundele Tessi. She said right now St. Martin needs price controllers. Ogoundele Tessi said prices on St. Martin are exorbitant as one liter of milk costs over two Euros. "Teachers are not fighting for themselves only as perceived in the St. Martin's Week; instead these teachers are seeing students in front of them daily without proper nourishment. Under nourished students cannot perform well and they are being criticized by everyone but the question should be asked why are these students not able to perform adequately." Said Ogoundele Tessi. Ogoundele Tessi said cost of living is one of the reasons St. Martin students drop out of school since parents simply cannot afford to feed their children. "A yogurt should not be a luxury instead it should be part of every child's diet." She insisted.
Ogoundele who once held the education portfolio at the COM said those in office took away the files from her and now they need to move faster on them. She said the teachers have a number of issues and they can no longer hold on and wait on the COM. She said the conditions at the Lycee are deplorable and they have to do a proper renovation of that school. Those in COM have to either start building the other College or Lycee even though this is a huge investment. She said when she was in office it was identified that another Lycee is needed on St. Martin as well as another College and the teachers have to make sure it is given to them even if it involves a fight. She said even though the COM is lacking finances they have to stay focus and make sure and remember that Education is their priority. "We have to let education remain our priority we cannot allow delinquency and other negative things take over. Education was the former President device and we have to stick to it" Ogoundele Tessi said.
The marchers said something has to be done for education, security, health care, the economic crisis since the entire island is in danger. "Students they said are deprived of a proper education facilities to perform optimally in the schools and if this trend continues then the younger generation will never be prepared to handle their own affairs in the future. 
As they sang through the streets they asked if President Frantz Gumbs already forgot their plight in the education system since the president worked as the deputy director for years in the Lycee. They said the president has given them false promises when he met with them and they need him to respect those promises.
Jessica Hamlet, a teacher by profession and sister of the late Jean Luc Hamlet called on the locals as well as parents to come out and support them in their fight since what they the teachers are doing is not for their own benefit. Hamlet said St. Martin youngsters need to be given the right tools and nutrition so that they can receive a proper education. Hamlet said it does matter if the teachers do not benefit from these actions but it is of ultimate importance that St. Martin is left in the hands of its younger generation. She said it is important for the students of St. Martin to be given the proper education so that they can get the right positions in government. She pleaded with parents to encourage the teachers, stay close to them so they can have the courage to continue the fight. Furthermore, she said locals' needs to come out and join the struggle. "You all should not sit back an think that whatever Guadeloupe achieve would benefit us, we are no longer under Guadeloupe so don't fool yourselves, come out and fight for your island" she pleaded.
Another teacher said they do not have what is needed to educate the students. She said that the entire island is in danger and this is not normal.
As the marchers move through the streets several businesses began pulling their shutters down showing respect to those protesting. Through the main street of Rue de la Libertie, Rue de Kennedy and Rue Charles de Gaulle the marchers made it a point to stop and let the shopkeepers know they are against the high prices on the French side of the island.
Upon arriving at the Collectivity a large delegation representing the MOSCAM and the other unions such as UTCG, EDF, the LC Fleming Hospital went into a short meeting with President of the COM Frantz Gumbs and his team which includes VP"s Claire Javois, Dr. Louis Jeffry, Pierre Alloti, and Daniel Gibbs as well as the Director of President Cabinet Pascal Averne. During that meeting the protestors made sure they gave the elected officials a list with their grievances which of course include the road tax that the COM is demanding from its citizens.
A meeting is planned for Monday afternoon said President of the MOCSAM Julien Gumbs.
President Gumbs in a statement to the press said after the meeting with the union and the Collective they have accepted to hold a first meeting at the COM at 5pm on Monday which would involve delegated prefet Dominique LaCroix as well as the school authorities namely Mr. Romney the Rectorat representative. He said during the short meeting they managed to address a few points which concerns the Lycee and its equipments, sports equipments for the College.
Gumbs said the Collectivity does have some initiatives to take and they would be assuming their part of the responsibility. The president said it is important that the Collective (MOCSAM) should not have all their questions at once since the answers with the solutions will not be given at the same time. Gumbs said it is important for them to get the calendar so that they would know when each of the points will be dealt with. He said the focus of the meeting on Monday will not be dealing with if the demands of the teachers would be met instead they would be discussing when these things would be done.
Asked if he did not think there are too many strikes taking place and when would solutions be found. President Gumbs said that since the last strike of January 19 they did not remain sleeping instead they did advance on some of the files. He said next week when there is a one week vacation all toilets of the Lycee will be repaired. Gumbs said the work will take place but they cannot execute these work while the students are in school. He said some of the work will be done during the Easter or even the summer vacation. Furthermore, the president explained that for things to get done they need to find the companies and the monies to meet the people's need. In cases like these he said a bidding process sometimes has to take place along with other administrative procedures. Asked by SMN News if he forgot the issues in the education system of St. Martin since took up his presidency position.
President Gumbs quickly responded by saying he did not forget anything and it is impossible for him to forget what has happened in education on St. Martin. He said even though he is in a different position now and has a different perspective the fact of the matter is that the College in French Quarter is the newest school built on St. Martin and presently it is the most degraded school on the French side. "How can this be explained, maybe the school was built with materials that were not good I don't know, while the Lycee was not maintained for ten years. I must admit the Region Council did put some monies in this school two years ago. I agree the needs of the schools are important but these things have to be planned since it requires lots of funding. This kind of work cannot be done in one shot it must be planned for years. " Gumbs said that someone already indicated that they need two swimming pools but he do agree they need two pools but both cannot be built during the same year.
After the meeting the marchers then hurried over to the Sous Prefecture where a delegation was invited to meet with Prefet Dominique LaCroix. Prefet LaCroix said he understood the points and he would be looking at them keenly. LaCroix said there is a price controller already on the island but the person is not focused on pricing at the moment. Lacroix promised that he would make sure proper price controls in done on the island reported Julien Gumbs.
Outside of the Sous Prefecture the teachers made sure they entertained themselves as well as the marchers who had to wait outside of Sous Prefecture. There was drum beating and dances to the tune which kept everyone alive until the meeting concluded with the Prefet.
Outside President of the MOCSAM said the prefet would be participating in Monday's meeting. He also encouraged the marchers to continue peacefully. The protestors the moved back down to the center of Marigot in front of the Nina Duverly School where several persons spoke. So far it is not clear if all those that participated in the march would remain in protest. Julien Gumbs said right now everyone is busy analyzing the progress they made thus far and hopefully a firm decision will be taken on how to proceed.
Photo Gallery of Black Friday strike on French St. Martin below.
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