PHILIPSBURG:--- While our Ministers and Parliamentarians are collecting handsome salaries of $10,000 - $12,000 per month, I, USRM Candidate Julian Rollocks Jr., believe that it is very important to remember the suffering of our hardworking police officers. These police officers have been waiting for their salary adjustments for 13 years. I have been conversing with some police officers who have admitted to me that they cannot make ends meet and others have stated unequivocally that they are in a state of
financial desperation. It is as if the government of St. Maarten is playing some sort of twisted game with our police officers. Additionally, it is shameful that the government gave our police officers fls2000 - fls3000 during carnival which was basically a tactic used to deceive, trick, and use the police officers. We are now only a few months away from December, however, the government continues to make poor excuses when it comes to paying our police officers. What else should the police officers do
in order to receive the money that is rightfully owed to them? This is no longer an issue of police officers having to wait; this has now evolved into an issue of police suffering. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Just like Dr. Martin Luther King, I contend that it is time for police officers to rise and make their voices heard.
What concerns me the most is the fact that several police officers have already left the force in pursuit of better employment opportunities. The present state of police abuse must stop! We must endeavor to retain the police officers that we currently have while simultaneously recruiting more police officers. I, Julian Rollocks Jr., stand in solidarity with all of the police officers who are facing financial hardships due to government neglect. Bear in mind that I have had my own personal experience of being abused by this government. While this government has lasted four years, it has simply been four years of suffering. St. Maarten, it is time to rise. It is time for a change that will benefit our police officers, and by extension, all of the hardworking people of St. Maarten. To the police officers, I say to you that it is time to take a stand, unify, and collect what is due to you.
A Concerned Businessman,
Mr. Julian Rollocks Jr.
