Dear Editor,
With great dissatisfaction we have been following the so-called "budget debate". During this farce we've seen and heard it all. We've seen valid points mixed with the efforts of being against things JUST for being against's sake, then seeing the same people who were against vote against their own point and in favor of what they were against!
We've seen the lack of testicular fortitude, the lack of any dualism and the so familiar dance of following party lines. All of a sudden motions were brought forward in this budget debate, which should have been brought forward to Parliament long time ago, so the people could have been able to give those newly added motions and topics the necessary attention separate from the dark cloud of the budget above their heads.
The social ills that our young country is facing are increasing and worsening rapidly. The people of young beautiful St. Maarten are dealing with the isolation of our elderly, youth unemployment, the destruction of our environment, crime, domestic violence, health issues and much more. Besides some welcomed initiatives from the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social affairs we didn't hear anything about parliament attacking these issues.
Witnessing the incompetence of our parliament makes one wonder if this country is really destined to be doomed? But look and behold! There is some light at the end of the tunnel! Lately, we have been seeing more and more social initiatives. Foundations and other NGO's, both local and abroad, are more and more presenting initiatives to tackle these social issues. Behind these foundations and other NGO's are people like you and us, common folk. Every day hundreds of volunteers get up with one mission on their mind: help the people of St. Maarten, the newly born, the youth, the elderly, the handicapped, the mentally ill and protecting the environment we all live in. After all this is Sint Maarten, this is Soualiga!
This young nation is blessed that we have so many people with compassion amongst ourselves! It is high time that our parliamentarians take a look at these volunteers, then take a look at their paychecks and benefits and then finally, a very long look in the mirror. They say 'there is strength in numbers, but parliamentarians need to realize the phrase is not talking about the numbers on their paycheck. We are more than numbers! #sxmmovement
Soualiga Social Movement
