Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
POND ISLAND, St. Maarten – Family and colleagues gave a moving send-off to late TelEm Group employee, Mr. Kenneth Blijden, during a memorial service at the Royal Funeral Home, Sucker Garden, Thursday.
Mr. Blijden passed away at the St. Martin’s home last week following illness and having clocked more than 30 years in the service of TelEm.
Sister, Carmen van den Akker-Blijden thanked everyone for turning out in impressive numbers to say a final farewell to her brother, who she admitted could be “difficult†at times, although everyone knew his heart was in the right place.
Among those in attendance was Prime Minister, Marcel Gumbs and Mrs. Gumbs, UPP leader and faction leader, Mr. Theo Heyliger and Mr. Franklin Meyers, DP leader, Mrs. Sarah Wescott-Williams, and Member of Parliament Mr. Cornelius DeWeever.
Members of the TelEm Group Supervisory Board of Directors, Mr. Paul Marshall (VP) and Mr. Steven Constance, former TelEm Managing Director, Mr. Curtis Haynes, and Bureau of Telecommunication and Post director (BTP), Mr. Anthony Carty, also attended the memorial service together with TelEm Group management and staff and a host of persons from various sections of the community.
“Ken was present at a family reunion when everyone got together after many years and it was a very happy occasion for the family and for Ken,†said Carmen, who proceeded to speak about the character and individual nature that made her brother such a special person.
She noted that he was born in Aruba and came to St. Maarten to seek work. He got married, set up home and built his own network of friends in and out of the workplace.
“He loved his work. He would always speak to me about his work and would often bounce things off me and I know that he did not feel appreciated in the end,†said Carmen.
Carmen said she was especially proud that members of the family, with all their own differences, could each be present to greet well-wishers together as one family and to recognize Ken in their own special way because of what he meant to each and every one of them.
Tributes were paid to Mr. Blijden as a consciencious TelEm Group worker for many years, by Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Mr. Eldert Louisa, who spoke on behalf of management and staff of TelEm Group.
Mr. Louisa recognized his late colleague’s contribution as the first employee in the company to master the operation of a digital switch, and thereafter have a true passion for working with switches and in switching technology.
He expressed to those gathered, the part the technician and engineer had in not only the development of St. Maarten’s telecommunication infrastructure, but also his valuable assistance to the company’s partner on the French side, Dauphin Telecom, whose representative was also present at the memorial service.
Family, friends and Mr. Louisa also all recognized the part played by Mr. Blijden as TelEm Group’s first STTK union leader and later the first president of the newly formed St. Maarten Communication Union (SMCU).
“Because of the work of Mr. Blijden on behalf of TelEm workers, many workers were able to enjoy one of the best CLA agreements with good benefits for workers, of any company on St. Maarten,†said Mr. Louisa.
“Mr. Kenneth Blijden did not do things quietly and he was not a person to change his mind easily once that mind was set. That is not an unusual thing for an engineer who cares about what he does,†offered Mr. Louisa.
On behalf of management and staff he thanked the family for the 30 years Mr. Blijden had given to company and wanted them to be proud of his achievements over the years, and he takes his final rest in peace.
The final word was left to Mr. Blijden’s uncle, Laurence Blijden, who said anyone who knows the Blijden family would not be surprised that Kenneth was a true Blijden in looks and in manner.
“He grew up in a home where he father and unclues always spoke politics and always had something to say, and so did Ken,†added the Blijden elder.
