Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Dear Editor,
After hearing the many varying opinions on our stance against continuous meddling and intervention by the Dutch in our affairs without any legal basis, I wondered and asked why the silence in Philipsburg is so deafening. And the thought came to me then of the prayers of our forefathers, especially their cry for divine intervention in times like these.
It was rather ironic that our country was hit by a hurricane and we heard no enquiries or queries from the Dutch on the damages or state of affairs on the island. They persisted with their unproven and rumour-driven attacks and cowardly using the immunity offered in parliament to slander and character assassinations.
But it seems that HOPE truly rings eternal for just when we thought that there was no help in sight, our parliament for the first time in four plus years rose to the occasion. We have finally realized the meaning of our motto "country before self" in passing the motion on Wednesday, our parliament has truly shown their conviction to protect our country and defend our people against any and all simply living up to the oath of office.
We have received solidarity and commitment from country Aruba and Curaçao in our battle for justice in protecting our fragile autonomy and the right of our young country to do for itself without outside intervention.
It stands to reason if one is against giving of their taxpayers' money to help me, why should you want to dictate when you so choose? Size and economics are not the only driving factors in evaluating the workings of a government, because we are a small society with direct contact with our people our social responsibility bears greater.
We respect and in some cases admire what some countries were able to achieve for their people. And we are convinced that we will get there also on our own time and our own struggle. If when it comes to paying your missing-in-action, then remove yourself also when it comes to governing. Our Parliament has made us proud, not just by word but deed, we have finally seen the light and at the end of the day sink or float, we only have ourselves to depend on. Simply put, it's just us!
Elton Jones