SXM StMaartenNews March 2023 Edition

Dutch college wants to increase awareness about safety and security management in St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG -- A delegation of NHL Stenden, a college established in Leeuwarden, was in St. Maarten consisting of Denise Jacobs, Sander Mooibroek and Marije de Bruin. Jacobs is the former head of the National Detectives Agency (Landsrecherche) and of the Detective Department of the St. Maarten police force KPSM. The mission: increasing awareness about security in the broadest sense.

Jacobs teaches Safety and Security Management and Policies at NHL Stenden’s

faculty of Safety and Security Science.

NHL Stenden has made it a mission to implement the national policy for internationalizing. “We want to generate more interest in security in the broadest sense in St. Maarten,” Jacobs says.

“The objective is also to solidify a partnership with St. Maarten, to create continuity for NHL Stenden’s students and to contribute to safety and security on the island.”

The NHL Stenden-delegation also met with Terrance Rey, who happens to be the deputy secretary of the Progress Committee to hear his views on security.

The delegation first wants

to create awareness on the subject and security in government, government-owned companies, corporations and organizations with the objective of placing students for internships and job training. The students will make security assessments and provide recommendations for security strategies and policies. A selection of companies and organizations NHL Stenden see potential for cooperation with are for instance the airport, the harbor, TelEm, GEBE, banks, insurance companies, and the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF). With GEBE the focus can be, for instance, on conducting a cyber-securi-

ty assessment and creating a policy plan.

“Are you interested in societal developments and do you want to contribute to a safe society?” That is the teaser NHL Stenden has posted on its website to attract students for its Integral Safety Science program. The program covers topics like youth criminality, cyber crime and terrorismthreats. Students can opt to specialize as a cyber safety expert, or in the fields of company and security, human factors, law, management and safety. They also become a part of NHL Stenden’s expansive network and they get the opportunity to execute real-life assignments.

Bribery-suspect detained and then released from detention one day later

PHILIPSBURG -- The RST arrested Member of Parliament Rolando Brison on Friday on suspicions of bribery and abuse of power and released him again on Saturday. While a press release from the prosecutor’s office does not mention the arrested politician by name, former Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier was quick with posting a picture of Brison and the text: “Detained.” Several media have reported that the arrested politician is indeed MP Bri-

son. Under the supervision of the judge of instruction, officers conducted searches at Brison’s residence and at his office in the parliament building.

The prosecutor’s office did not immediately reply to questions about the case. So, it remained unclear when the prosecutor’s office submitted a request for permission to prosecute the parliamentarian to the appeals court in Curacao. However, the prosecutor’s office noted that it does not need permission from the appeals

court for the investigation. Such permission becomes only opportune when the case is ready to go to court and when prosecutors are about to issue a summons to appear in court against a politician. Asked about the identity of the arrested politician, the prosecutor’s office said that it is not prepared to release the name of the suspect at this stage of the investigation, or even provide the media with his initials.

“Security is a very topical issue,” the school writes on its website. “It is high on the agenda of politics and the private sector.”

It furthermore states that security is important in several environments, like chemical companies, events, crisis management, social security, livability and cyber safety. Students get more than training in the field of security. They also study administrative law, research, psychology, policy, organization and management.

For more information, feel free to contact University of Applied Sciences (NHL Stenden Hogeschool) via its website at www.nhlstenden.com.

Two new fire trucks to offer advanced technologies for

PJIAE N.V.

SIMPSON BAY – Following an acceptance handing over in Austria from March 6 through 9, 2023, the Airport’s Rescue and Firefighters (R&FF) will acquire two (2) new fire trucks for emergency response at the aerodrome of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA). The safety vehicles are part of Management’s strategic plan to further enhance its operations. At present, PJIA has two (2) trucks, which served a lifespan of fifteen (15) years.

“The Rosenbauer Panther

6x6 is the fire truck of the future,” disclosed Manilo Penijn, Airport Chief of the Rescue and Firefighters.

“Built from the ground up using the most advanced technologies, the Panther is one of the safest models in the industry for our firefighters and airport environment. Airport’s Management opted for this European model which boasts of a high level of maneuverability, innovative safety features, and is fully networked.

Similar fire trucks are already being utilized by the

Rescue and Firefighters of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport in Anguilla, therefore our local firefighters traveled over for some hands-on training. Next up will be the start of the construction of the Rescue and Firefighter’s building,” summarized Chief Manilo.

The features of the fire trucks make the Rosenbuaer Panther 6x6 one of the most modern emergency vehicles on the market and set an entirely new standard within the fire response industry.

About Princess Juliana International Airport

Princess Juliana International Airport is one of the busiest airport in the Northeast Caribbean. It is the most important airport hub for Saba, St Eustatius, St Barths, Anguilla, Dominica, Nevis, and Tortola. The airport is one of the largest employers on the island. It has 277 workers and 1700 workers within the entire airport community. The reconstruction works of the airport have started in September 2021. The new Departure Hall will be officially opened in 2023.

The terminal building will be opened in 2024. Contractor Ballast Nedam International Projects (BNIP) is working with

local people and companies which is essential for socio-economic recovery of Sint Maarten.

Historic Timeline

Princess Juliana Airport was officially opened by Princess Juliana in 1944. In 2006, her Majesty Queen Beatrix inaugurated the new terminal building. In 2017, the airport was hit by Hurricane Irma (Cat 5) In January 2020, Princess Juliana International Airport signed the World Bank/EIB loan to reconstruct the terminal. In July 2021, Ballast Nedam International Project signed the contract to start the reconstruction.

StMaartenNews.com

Telephone: +1-721-588-0800

Whatsapp: +1-721-588-0800

Email: info@stmaartennews.com

Website: www.stmaartennews.com

Facebook: stmaartennewsdotcom

Photo Caption – The Rosenbuaer Panther 6x6 fire truck in Austria.

Tax reform Profit tax Dear Editor,

Viren V Kotai

MP Heyliger-Marten pushes for changes to the Kingdom Charter

Having discussed this in the past and considering that this topic has been broached by a couple of other persons in the public domain, I would like to again bring this topic of matter up.

It is the issue of the high-profit tax on our island.

What is profit tax or corporate tax?

A corporate tax is a total tax applied to the net profits of a company i.e. gross profits less expenses, depreciation, operation costs, and other costs.

The global average corporate tax rate is 23.64% as per Investopedia.

St. Maarten (Dutch) has a rate of 34.5%. Whilst our neighbouring islands such as Aruba & Curacao have a corporate tax of 22%. In addition, few countries in the Caribbean region such as Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos, and the Cayman Islands do not charge a corporation tax at all.

This structure perhaps assists these islands mentioned above in being more appealing to many entrepreneurs and US businesses. Combined with a simple structure for setting up offshore businesses, they have successfully become destinations for this service.

Presently, following a decade of debate, 142 countries recently agreed to the first major overhaul of the international tax system in a century.

With support and under direction from the IMF (International Monetary Fund), multinational companies which have a significant business, but few or no local operations, would not be allowed to allocate profits to countries in absence of physical establishments, thus reducing their dependencies for shell corporations in 0% tax jurisdictions.

The IMF has also suggested a global minimum effective tax rate of 15%, therefore putting pressure on 0% tax jurisdictions and reducing the need for corporations to hold shell companies.

Conversely, a very high corporate tax, like in St. Maarten, encourages profit shifting to lower tax jurisdictions. Considering our island which has a higher percentage of small businesses, a lower profit tax rate will encourage businesses to report profits legitimately.

Reducing the profit tax will boost new investments as a larger book profit makes a business eligible to get financing from a bank more easily. It also reduces the need for a business to use more creative accounting thus letting the money stay in the system.

Higher financing and more business expansion leads to wage growth and a higher GDP. It would be worthwhile to see what our island’s profit tax collection stands at 34.5% or in other words how many companies are actually profitable and to what extent?

All in all, we have been immensely stagnant on putting a tax reform into proper action. The positives of reforming our tax system outweigh the negatives we are currently facing. A reduced rate would enable more companies to be included in this ambit of “profitable” companies, which in turn would broaden the base of the collection.

If our neighbouring islands can progress over the years, what is stopping us?

PHILIPSBURG -- Drastic reforms to the Kingdom Charter should be the only relevant topic for the next Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (Ipko), Independent Mp Grisha Heyliger-Marten stated in a press release: “There are stacks and stacks of documentation pointing out that the Kingdom Charter does not and cannot work, and is not in compliance with international law.”

During the most recent IPKO-meeting in Curacao, MP Heyliger-Marten expressed her dissatisfaction with the fact that “the discussion about changing the Kingdom Charter seems to be avoided.”

All governments within the kingdom complain about the Charter’s structure and its deficient articles, but nobody seems to want to address the problems, the MP stated.

In Curacao, MP HeyligerMarten attended the IPKO for the fourth time, noting that its participants “keep beating around the bush without making any changes for the betterment of our people, just to keep the fata morgana alive of a so-called functioning kingdom based on equality.”

Heyliger-Marten said that she is tired of this repetitive process. ”It is time for our parliaments to call a spade a spade. We need to make definitive decisions about where we want to go with our respective populations and the kingdom, why and how.”

The MP pointed to the article 73 fact sheet, motions from all parliaments in the kingdom, court proceedings,

and reports from the CERD (Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination), saying: “I don’t know what else is needed to substantiate that we cannot continue with these dysfunctional and abusive relationships within an unlawful Kingdom Charter.”

Changing the Charter to something that abides by international law is not complicated, Heyliger-Marten says. “List the articles in the Charter that violate international law and cause complications in the relationship between the kingdom partners and either scrap or amend them. It is really that simple because we know exactly which articles we are talking about.”

The independent MP does not want to stop there and calls for a screening of all current laws within the kingdom to check whether they comply with international law. She intends to send a letter with the relevant request to the chair of

parliament in Philipsburg, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, the Dutch Parliament and First Chamber and the Kingdom Council of Ministers.

Heyliger-Marten furthermore stated that she is pleased with the IPKO’s decision that all parliaments should be involved in the preparation for the kingdom conference and that they should also be represented there. “This is how it should be, since the parliaments are the ones who ultimately have to approve amendments to the Kingdom Charter and any other laws.”

Her focus remains on fundamental changes to the Kingdom Charter. “If we are not willing to do that we might as well stop organizing IPKO’s and dismantle the Kingdom Charter once and for all, instead of continuing to chase an illusion for another 68 years.”

Bribery-suspect detained....

Continued from page 1...

Brison’s arrest had immediate consequences for the political balance of power. With his absence, the coalition of the Silveria Jacobs government would have no longer had a majority in parliament. It could only count on the support of seven MPs, equal to the number in the camp of the opposition. With the release of Brison, the coalition can utter a sigh of relief.

Keeping Brison detained was not an option, because he would have had to be transferred to the Pointe Blanche prison this week. And there is no place in the prison. The prosecutor’s office said in a press release that the arrested and now released politician remains a suspect in the Lissaboninvestigation. This probe is based on the suspicion that Brison took bribes and abused his position. More arrests and searches are not ruled out.

The Lissabon-investigation is conducted by the Detective Cooperation Team RST under the direction of the central team of the attorney general’s office of Curacao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, Statia and Saba.

Continued reading: From United Suspects to United Perpetrators

St. Maarten’s reputation got another wallop when the RST arrested Member of Parliament Rolando Brison on Friday and released him again on Saturday evening. The suspicions against the MP are bribery and abuse of power. He remains a suspect.

When prosecutors suspect you of something, it does not necessarily mean that you are guilty. That applies

to all citizens and also to Brison.

But when you are a public figure, like Brison is as a member of parliament, the dynamics change dramatically. On one side of the fence, people have a tendency to scream guilty. On the other side of the fence are the suspect’s supporters who will maintain that he would never do a thing like that. Smack in the middle are politicians who don’t want to burn their fingers on such delicate matters and they proclaim therefore that justice must run its course.

Unfortunately, our country can make a rather impressive list of politicians who ended up on the wrong side of the law. For instance: Theo Heyliger, Chanel Brownbill, Frans Richardson, and now - if only as a suspect - Rolando Brison. It is not our role to defend Brison. Nor is it our role to hang him high. We observe and from where we are looking at this case, things don’t look to bright for him. Why?

This is because politicians, other than common mortals, have built an additional layer of protection into the law. Prosecutors cannot just go after politicians because they suspect them of criminal wrongdoing. The prosecutors have to go to the appeals court in Curacao first to ask permission to prosecute a politician. Right now, they are not prosecuting, they are investigating. That is probably also the reason why the prosecutor’s office declined to publish the name or even the initials of the parliamentarians they arrested on Friday.

Article 2 of the national ordinance that regulates the prosecuting of politicians states: “Prosecuting a politician who is suspected of a crime only takes place after an order to prosecute from the Appeals Court (in Dutch: het Hof), after a demand by the attorney-general.”

This mechanism was put in place to prevent politically motivated prosecution. So prosecutors first have to convince three judges in Curacao that they have a case. Or, to say this in a different way, that the suspicions they have are based on something that has a reasonable chance of getting a conviction. If their

arguments are not convincing enough, the court will withhold permission. The national ordinance says however nothing about investigating wrongdoing by a politician. That does not require permission from the court. The prosecutor’s office has pointed out that this rule only comes into play when the case is ready to go to court and when there is an intention to issue a summons against the suspect. The expression that there is no smoke without fire comes to mind. In this case, there must be a lot of smoke (otherwise there would not be an investigation, let alone an arrest), making me think that the fire cannot be far away.

A crypto currency promoter called Marc posted a Youtube video this past weekend in which he refers to Brison’s support for crypto, saying that his arrest, justified or not, makes the digital currency look bad. In the past, Brison has requested that his MP-salary be paid in crypto. Finance Minister Ardwell Irion told StMaartenNews.com that he did indeed receive the request, but that it was never executed.

What do politicians do when they are caught with their grubby hands in the cookie jar? In many jurisdictions, those politicians would step down in a hurry, usually mumbling something about protecting the integrity of their party, or the reputation of the parliament, combined with a request to respect their privacy.

That is not the tradition in St. Maarten or on any other island of the former Netherlands Antilles. The reason is simple: money. Parliamentarians in St. Maarten receive an abnormal high remuneration for their work. Without the membership of the parliament, most of them have nothing. They could end up selling soup to survive and we have to admit: that is not an attractive perspective.

Brison, still leader of the UP, will simply go through the motions, maybe admit that he made (again) a mistake, laughing all the way to the bank. This does not make St. Maarten look good. It does not make the parliament look good. And it certainly does not make the UP, up to now known as the United People’s party - look any good. Maybe they ought to change their name for the next elections to United Perpetrators.

Press Release from the Public Prosecutor’s Office

17 March 2023

Member of Parliament arrested for bribery

On Friday, March 17, 2023, the Criminal Investigation Team RST arrested a Member of Parliament of Sint Maarten. In addition, searches were conducted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate RC at the suspect’s residence and his workplace at the Parliament Building in Sint Maarten.

The arrest and the house searches took place in connection with a criminal investigation called “Lissa-

bon” where the suspicion is that the Member of Parliament took bribes and abused his position. The investigation is ongoing and further arrests or searches are not ruled out.

The “Lissabon” investigation is being conducted by RST under the direction of the Central Team of the Attorney General’s Office of Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

The Central Team focuses on a specialized approach to combat corruption and subversive crimes.

[END PRESS RELEASE]

Press Release from the Public Prosecutor’s Office18 March 2023

Member of Parliament released, remains suspect

On 18 March 2023, the Member of Parliament of Sint Maarten, arrested on 17 March, has been released from custody. He remains a suspect in the ongoing a criminal investigation called “Lissabon”. The MP is suspected taking bribes and abusing his position.

The investigation is ongoing and further arrests or searches are not ruled out.

The “Lissabon” investigation is being conducted by RST under the direction of the Central Team of the Attorney General’s Office of Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

The Central Team focuses on a specialized approach to combat corruption and subversive crimes.

SXM Airport: Demand for ultra-luxury air service in our region

The Dangers of Selling Your

Vote

Grand rising people of Sint Maarten.

My name is Joseph Peterson, I’m a candidate on the URSM party list. I am here to talk to you about The Dangers of Selling Your Vote.

candidate to win the election.

SIMPSON BAY -- The ultra-luxury carrier Qatar Airways performed a “Spectacular landing” at the Princess Juliana International Airport on Friday, February 17, 2023. The long-haul carrier served a direct chartered private flight and is known to have the longest range of the A340-family. The state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar is Qatar Airways. The Airbus A340-500 is also a four-engine widebody airliner with a maximum capacity of 375 passengers.

Director of Operations, Emile Levons – “The airline travels to over 150 destinations throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, using a fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Qatar Airways is produced by the European manufacturer, Airbus S.A.S. headquartered at the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha.”

Chief Executive Officer of PJIAE N.V., Brian Mingo, “The private jets have increased to nearly 10,000 in 2022, showing signs that it is up from 7,000 annually. The direct flight from Qatar Airways presents the demand for ultra-luxury flights in our region. This is a niche market that the Management of the Princess Juliana International Airport is looking into with the necessary insights from our commercial team and stakeholders. Our award-winning airport provides service to twenty (20) commercial carriers and serves our private flight service through two (2) fixedbased operators, ExecuJet, and Arrindell Aviation by Signature.”

About Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is the national airline of the State of Qatar. Based in Doha, the airline’s trendsetting on-board product focuses on comfort,

fine cuisine, and the latest in-flight audio & video entertainment. The award-winning air service has a modern aircraft fleet averaging around five (5) years of age. Qatar Airways serves more than 150 key business and leisure destinations worldwide, with a fleet of over 200 aircraft. The airline flies to Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and South America.

About Princess Juliana International Airport

Princess Juliana International Airport is one of the busiest airport in the Northeast Caribbean. It is the most important airport hub for Saba, St Eustatius, St Barths, Anguilla, Dominica, Nevis, and Tortola. The airport is one of the largest employers on the island. It has 277 workers and 1700 workers within the entire airport community. The reconstruction works of the airport have started in September 2021. The new Departure Hall will be officially opened in 2023.

The terminal building will be opened in 2024. Contractor Ballast Nedam International Projects (BNIP) is working with local people and companies which is essential for socio-economic recovery of Sint Maarten.

Historic Timeline

Princess Juliana Airport was officially opened by Princess Juliana in 1944. In 2006, her Majesty Queen Beatrix inaugurated the new terminal building. In 2017, the airport was hit by Hurricane Irma (Cat 5) In January 2020, Princess Juliana International Airport signed the World Bank/EIB loan to reconstruct the terminal. In July 2021, Ballast Nedam International Project signed the contract to start the reconstruction.

You are a loyal follower of your political party, however you need to ask yourself the question: are you better off now, then how you were before you voted for them, if you are not satisfied with your situation right now, then it’s time for you to make a change.

I have lived practically my entire life on Sint Maarten. I’ve seen all the different political parties come and go.

Every election is the same thing, those that is in power now try to fool the people by doing small things like fixing the roads, and other small things, which makes me to wonder what happened to the years that they are in power, and why they don’t follow through on their commitment to the people that voted them in to Parliament.

Why aren’t they helping the people, and why do they wait until it comes close to a new election year to start doing small things, to fool the people to vote them back in Parliament. I’m here now to tell those people of Sint Maarten that believe that your vote doesn’t make a difference, I totally understand where you’re coming from. There are some political parties hoping that you stay at home because they have their followers, and if you continue to believe that your vote doesn’t make a difference, then they have a chance to win, and get right back in Government. I know your hurting and struggling right now. Some of you are working two or even three jobs to make ends meet, and you really want to make a difference. In this upcoming election,

you’re willing to come out to vote, and right now you don’t know which political party will have the integrity and strength to make the difference that this Country really needs right now.

Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM), our name says it, we are Unified and Resilient. We strongly believe in the principle of democracy rule of Law and inclusion, while upholding and honoring our citizens values as the fundamental rights, freedoms, conscious conviction for all.

URSM will lead with a clear vision and approach that is anchored in dignity, integrity, equality, peace and respect, contributing to the betterment of the people and Sint Maarten. Now, to our topic of the article The Dangers of Vote Buying. There are different political parties running for this new election, and every one of the candidates of course have their favorite followers. Some have rich followers, and some have regular followers; of course, there are those that are going to try to buy your vote. It might not be the politician themselves, but one of those rich followers are willing to buy your vote for the candidate that they are supporting, because they want their

The integrity of the politician that their followers are buying votes for, is questionable. If those politicians do not reach out to their followers, and letting them know that it is wrong to buy votes, then that politician has no morals, no Character, and no integrity, and definitely does not deserve to be in parliament. Those citizens that are willing to sell their vote need to think about their future, because the funds or items that you are going to get for your vote, will only last for that day or month or so. What happens to you for the rest of the four years, when that politician is going to be in parliament. Do you believe that the politician you voted for is going to help you. They might not be the politician that bought your vote, it’s probably one of their rich followers that wanted them to win the election, so be careful to whom you are selling your vote too. Quite frankly, your vote is valued more than what they might want to pay you.

You have the power this election to make a difference, I urge you to come out and vote, do your research and vote for the right party the one that is going to help the people of this Country.

The URSM is a new party, and our Leader Dr. Luc Mercelina has been preparing his candidates for this election, and we do believe that we have a team of candidates, that are ready to lead our people and bring our country back on its feet, and make Sint Maarten once again, the Jewel of the Caribbean.

If you want a serious Government who will “HELP YOU” and Not “HURT YOU” … you must vote URSM

Follow me on my Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ ursmjgp

Photo Caption – The Qatar Airways airbus 340-500 during its “Spectacular Landing” at the Princess Juliana International Airport.

DIRECT FLIGHT FROM QATAR AIRWAYS SHOWS DEMAND FOR ULTRA-LUXURY AIR SERVICE IN OUR REGION

Members of Parliament tour airport construction site

PUBLIC OUTREACH CAMPAIGN CONTINUES WITH CONSTRUCTION SITE TOUR FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS OF ST. MAARTEN

UP celebrates speedy release party leader

PHILIPSBURG -- United

People’s UP Party Leader and Member of Parliament, the Honourable Rolando Brison, walked out of the Philipsburg police station a free man within a day of being detained for questioning.

His speedy release sparked a celebration within the UP Party. MP Brison met with family members and supporters and was in good spirits when he thanked them for their support and prayers, a press release from the UP Party Board said.

SIMPSON BAY -- Four (4) parliamentarians graciously accepted an invitation to tour the construction site of the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) on Friday, February 17, 2023.

The tour served as an integral component of the Public Outreach Campaign by the PJIA Corporate Communication and Project Management Unit (PMU), to offer the necessary stakeholder’s engagement by way of information disclosure.

Readily available to take the invited tour were President of Parliament, MP Cookie Bijlani, MP Angelique Roumou, MP George Pantophlet, MP Ludmilla Duncan, and support staff.

The revised timeline, the phased-planned approach, and the cost overview of the construction project were among the many factors presented by the Airport Chief, Mr. Brian Mingo, and the Project Director of the Project Management Unit,

Mr. Mirto Breell. Some of the final updates made to the parliamentarians was following the mold remediation process on May 6, 2021, and during the Inter-parliamentary Consultation for the Kingdom (IPKO) in May 2022.

About the Public Outreach Campaign

The Public Outreach Campaign (POC) updates both internal and external stakeholders like the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority (SMCAA), Meteorological team, Simpson Bay Recreational Community Association, St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), Beacon Hill Community Council, the Tourism Stakeholders Committee, Air Service Development (ASDC), affiliated unions, and the airport community.

About Princess Juliana International Airport

Princess Juliana International Airport is one of the busiest airport in the Northeast Caribbean. It is the most important airport hub for Saba, St Eustatius, St Barths, Anguilla, Domi-

nica, Nevis, and Tortola. The airport is one of the largest employers on the island. It has 277 workers and 1700 workers within the entire airport community. The reconstruction works of the airport have started in September 2021. The new Departure Hall will be officially opened in 2023. The terminal building will be opened in 2024. Contractor Ballast Nedam International Projects (BNIP) is working with local people and companies which is essential for socio-economic recovery of Sint Maarten.

Historic Timeline

Princess Juliana Airport was officially opened by Princess Juliana in 1944. In 2006, her Majesty Queen Beatrix inaugurated the new terminal building. In 2017, the airport was hit by Hurricane Irma (Cat 5) In January 2020, Princess Juliana International Airport signed the World Bank/EIB loan to reconstruct the terminal. In July 2021, Ballast Nedam International Project signed the contract to start the reconstruction.

“All things considered, the discussions with the authorities went well; my focus was on the truth and clarifying any misunderstandings and misconceptions. Thank you all for the prayers, love and support.”

In the press release issued Sunday evening, the UP Party Board stated that the Leader would address the Country during the budget debate this coming Tuesday. He is also focused on delving into the Country’s most urgent matter, which is the national budget to the Country that will make way for many essential investments for the Country and provisions to continue to provide for the Country. “Our sincere gratitude and thanks go out to the many people at home and abroad who called and sent messages in solidarity with MP Brison, his family and the UP Party. Your prayers and determination to continue standing UP with the United People’s Party and our Leader during these challenging times will not be forgotten and is greatly appreciated.”

Former police officer of KPSM lost his life in curacao

PHILIPSBURG/WIL -

LEMSTAD -- The Police Force of St. Maarten KPSM received the very sad news today, March 19, 2023, that a former police officer of St. Maarten has lost his life after a shooting incident in Curacao.

According to the information from the Police Force of Curacao KPC, the former colleague’s car was blocked on one of the roads

and he was shot at and subsequently lost his life.

The young officer tendered his resignation from KPSM a few months ago and moved back to Curacao. KPSM is monitoring the ongoing investigation in Curacao.

The management team of KPSM expressed condolences to the former police officer’s family, friends and fellow colleagues of KPSM on his passing.

Photo Caption – (Right) Airport Chief, Brian Mingo addressing the Honorable Members of Parliament during the tour of the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project at the former Departure Hall.

Election Guide The Do’s and Don’ts of electing our leaders

Dear Editor,

With the elections slated to be at the end of this year, we’ve already seen several parties and persons pop out of the woodworks in an effort to convince you, the reading, voting populous, to vote for them. I strongly encourage those that truly want change for the better for St. Maarten to jump into the arena, as with the current political climate one thing is clear, we need change. However, we must be wary of falling in the same pitfalls as we’ve done in the past. We need a way to effectively separate the wheat from the chaff, a task that isn’t as easy as one might think. The problem is it is often those with the most charisma, large families, weak moral compasses, or compelling speech that end up taking advantage of us. The question then arises, how do we see passed the words? How can we pick the ones that even when secretly recorded, have the best interest of the people of St. Maarten at heart? In this guide I attempt to do just that. Give you, the voting people of this nation, a checklist of sorts to hold up to your prospective candidates to gauge how well they score, and to truly see if they are worthy of your precious vote. The Do’s There are a variety of characteristics that people should look for in their elected leaders, depending on their personal values and priorities. However, some common characteristics that many people consider important in a leader include:

• Integrity: A leader who demonstrates honesty, ethics, and moral principles in their words and actions can build trust with their constituents.

• Competence: A leader who possesses the skills and knowledge necessary

to effectively perform the duties of their office can inspire confidence in their ability to govern.

• Vision: A leader who has a clear, compelling vision for the future of their community or country can inspire others to work towards a shared goal.

• Empathy: A leader who is able to listen to and understand the needs and concerns of their constituents can build strong relationships and create policies that serve the interests of the people.

• Courage: A leader who is willing to take bold action and make difficult decisions, even in the face of opposition or controversy, can demonstrate strong leadership and inspire others to follow.

• Collaboration: A leader who is able to work effectively with others, including those with differing perspectives and opinions, can foster a sense of unity and teamwork that can lead to greater success.

• Accountability: A leader who takes responsibility for their actions and decisions and is willing to be transparent about their work can build trust and demonstrate their commitment to serving their constituents.

Truly all of the above characteristics are required on St. Maarten, but integrity, accountability, vision, and collaboration stand out to me as being the most urgent. The trust has been lost in our governing institutions, slowly decayed by individualistic pursuits at the cost of the greater good for the island. Again, I’ll reiterate my standpoint on the matter:

“When you have the right people, the right mindset, the right political will, and the right policies in place to

benefit the collective over the individual, the end result is that EVERYONE is better off.”

The Don’ts As for the don’ts, there are several pitfalls we need to actively avoid here, these are:

• Avoid voting for someone solely based on their personality or charisma. While these traits can be appealing, they do not necessarily indicate that the person is the best candidate for the job.

• By extension, also don’t vote simply because someone has the right last name. Family ties in power may seem like a net gain for you, however when factoring in the decay in trust, and the cost of this decay, you and the rest of your family end up spending way more in mediocre education, healthcare, infrastructure, and so much more.

• Avoid voting for someone who makes unrealistic promises or guarantees.

Be wary of politicians who claim that they can solve all of your problems, as this is often an indication that they are not being honest or realistic about what they can accomplish.

• Avoid voting for someone who engages in negative campaigning or mudslinging. Candidates who resort to personal attacks and character assassination are often trying to distract voters from their own shortcomings or lack of qualifications. This is a significant red flag and should not be overlooked.

• Avoid voting for someone who has a history of unethical or illegal behavior. Candidates who have been involved in corruption, fraud, or other criminal activities are unlikely to be effective leaders and may even be a liability to the community they serve. This is the biggest red flag that needs to be avoided at all cost. With the above you have a good starting point to assess and score various candidates accordingly. It is by no means an end-all guide

that factors in everything however it’s a start. How you exactly go about it is up to you, you can assign different “weights” to those categories you deem more important than others. A candidate can receive plus points for all the Do’s that they have and minus points (or zero if not applicable) for all the Don’ts. As long as you’re consistent the results should give you a very decent overview which can then be shared on social media or used to fuel lively debates amongst your friends and family. Please see the below table which can be used:

In closing St. Maarten is at a crucial crossroad. We can sell ourselves short and maintain the path of status quo (which, in actuality, is slow decay). Or we can make that all too important right turn onto the path of continuous sustainable improvement, rebuilding trust, and ensuring that everyone is better off, not just a select few. So please, vote wisely!

~ David Salomon

Tricky business

tral Bank going to agree with that kind of corporate blackmail.

The second and also unlikely possibility is that Ansary will give up completely and fork over all the money in one go. End of story. Knowing a bit of Ansary’s history, that is not gonna happen either.

By Hilbert Haar

People in Curacao were surprised by the offer of Hushang Ansary’s attorney to abide by a ruling from the Court in First Instance from November 2021. I was not surprised. I was stunned, because said ruling sentenced Ansary and a few others to pay insurance company Ennia more than a billion guilders (around $583 million). The appeal against that ruling is scheduled to take place later this month. So what game is Ansary playing this time? Buying time? That is one thought that came to mind when I read that his company Parman wants to hold “appropriate meetings” with the Central Bank (Ennia’s supervisor) to formulate a process for the timely completion of a settlement. The Central Bank has not yet publicly reacted to Ansary’s surprise move but I expect it to be something like this. “Formulate a process? We don’t need a process. We need the money. If you want to abide by the court ruling, pay. If you want to talk instead, we’ll see you in court this month.”

The court ruling of November 2021 has cornered Ansary. He has nowhere to go, except to the appeals court and given the fact that he has now offered to settle suggests that he does not want to go there. The 95year old American-Iranian businessman has nothing to win on appeal and everything to lose.

One may wonder what Ansary thinks to achieve with appropriate meetings. It sounds very much like an attempt to negotiate. But negotiate what? An arrangement to pay in installments? A discount?

In the background plays another issue: the lawsuit his daughter Nina has filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia. It feels like a rather frivolous lawsuit, but still. If she sticks to it, the Central Bank will have to spend money on attorneys and travel and it will have to suffer bad publicity because Ansary has accused the Central Bank of unlawfully retaining control of private assets. Fodder for conspiracy theorists.

There are three possible outcomes. The first, and most unlikely, is that the Central Bank will agree to hold appropriate meetings with authorized representatives of Parman. What do these guys have to offer?

Dropping Nina Ansary’s lawsuit in exchange for an arrangement to pay one billion guilders in installments? No way is the Cen-

So the sad but inevitable conclusion must be that Parman’s representatives will find themselves in court again sometime this month with an attempt to get the November 2021 court ruling thrown out. Appealing a court ruling is tricky business, because the higher court is going to do the whole procedure all over again from the beginning. Maybe the judges will find a reason to lower the amount of money Ansary and his co-conspirators will have to pay. But that is a big maybe. It is equally possible that they find reason to sentence the defendants to pay back even more money. Whatever the outcome, such a court case will mean more bad publicity for the defendants. and sure enough, taking part in such a judicial circus is going to cost the Central Bank money too. The attorneys will be happy because their payday is guaranteed. And what if the appeal ruling turns against Ansary? He will still have to pay and the Central Bank will, still be waiting for the money insurance company Ennia is entitled to.

A piece of advice for the defendants in this theftof-the-century case: give it up. Be a man, acknowledge your mistakes and pony up. Am I not allowed to dream as well?

Photo caption: Hushang Ansary outside courthouse in Curacao. Archive photo AntilliaansDagblad Oct 2021.

Column

By Terrance Rey

There are several parallels from Sint Maarten’s past with what is now happening around the establishment of COHO, the Caribbean Agency for Reforms and Development. The Netherlands has lent millions in liquidity support to Sint Maarten during the pandemic. But that is a development that cannot be sustained for long. Within Europe, the Netherlands must also provide the necessary liquidity support to partner countries within the European Union. However, that is billions of euros. Of course, the Netherlands could not leave the islands within the Kingdom to their fate during the pandemic. But in the past, it had been very different for a while. I am talking about the period when the Netherlands, as the Republic of the United Netherlands, had to recover from the devastating French rule. The United West India Company (WIC II), which colonized and economically exploited the islands for decades, ceased operations in 1791. In the 160 years under the rule of the WIC, only the most necessary structures were built on Sint Maarten. The wooden jetties from the Great Salt Pond to Great Bay (only in the beginning), Fort Amsterdam (on the site of the Spanish fort), St. Peter’s Battery and the layout of Philipsburg are the only pieces of physical evidence known from that period.

The original function of the ‘brick building’ in Backstreet is unknown, but it was built in 1785 by Commandeur J.S. Gibbes. It may have been a warehouse for the WIC. There was also a Dutch Reformed Church (the official religion in the Republic) in Cul de Sac, which was to be rebuilt in Philipsburg in 1738 on the site of the Oranjeschool. The plantation owners and their slaves created the pans in the Great

A lesson from the history of Sint Maarten

Salt Pond. They were intended for the people of the entire island, according to the treaty of Concordia concluded in 1648. All waterworks and improvements to the Great Salt Pond were made in the 19th century.

Recently, through Facebook posts from the island archivist Alfonso Blijden, we got to know something about the history of Sint Maarten. Thanks to the writings of architect and historian Elso Kraai, I can retell the above about Sint Maarten in this column. Elso has recorded a lot about the architectural history of Sint Maarten. He recently told me a lot about the history of the ‘Courthouse,’ the first administrative office on Sint Maarten. Together with several others, Elso is now busy with the restoration and renovation of the courthouse. Before that, they did a lot of research in the archives of Sint Maarten. In archival records from 1780 to 1830, when the Netherlands transitioned from a republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Sint Maarten was a trading post under the administration of the United West Indies Company before it became a municipality of the Netherlands. During that period, many petitions were sent to the Netherlands asking

for help. Documents can be found in the archives wherein the commanders requested the Directors of the WIC to help Sint Maarten financially solve technical and social issues. The reactions kept coming back with the answer that the colonies had to solve their own problems. At that time, Sint Maarten was left to its own devices.

At some point, there was a turning point. Abuses had arisen in the regime that led to irregularities on Sint Maarten between 1785 and 1787. Two years later, a commission of inquiry was sent by the Supreme Director of the WIC.

In early 1790, during the investigation, the resignation of Commander Gibbes and the entire Council was accepted.

Dr. W.H. Rink, a lawyer who lived on the island and owned the plantation ‘Retreat,’ was

appointed as the new commander by the WIC in February 1790. Rink was a welcome guest for many in the community and had a good relationship with the commander of the French side of the island. In June 1790, Rink sent a letter to the Directors of the WIC with the request to build an administrative office. The cost estimate for the construction was 14,000 florins. I assume he got zilch on the request. Fortunately, the salt harvest of 1789 was very successful. After 1790 when the WIC went bankrupt, no more payments were made to the WIC for the sale of salt and goods. Although salt production failed for several years in the 1890s due to heavy rainfall and hurricanes, the salt industry in St. Maarten picked up again because the young nation of America and Canada needed a lot of salt for the fishing industry and the preservation of food. Money was received in abundance from the sale and taxes of salt. Some studies show that more than a quarter of a million guilders were collected during that time. At the time, that was a fortune, of course. Several factors played an important role that forced the Council of Sint Maarten to make their ‘own’ decisions. They had income from the sale of salt, the WIC no longer existed and the Republic was in turmoil. This allowed the island to initiate a major project.

Like the administration building, what we now know as the Courthouse. Finally, there was a building in Philipsburg for and of the municipality itself. The island council members at that time in 1793 were W.H. Rink, as chairman; R.F. Muller, H. Godet, I. Pantophlet, A. Van Heijningen and A. Cannegieter, all names of well-known families that still exist in Sint Maarten today.

From this, we can conclude that Sint Maarten, in a period when the island was left to its own devices, had the courage and good fortune to support itself. Parallels with the present can be drawn by comparing the salt production from Sint Maarten’s days of old with the possibility to generate income via the internet today. For example, by setting up a solar panel park to mine bitcoins electronically. With that, I want to end this column with the question of whether Sint Maarten could support itself, for example, by investing in crypto-currency and generating income for the island by offering digital money. In this pandemic period, there is a lot of money in circulation looking for a safe haven to be secured against devaluation and inflation. In other words, Sint Maarten has the opportunity, among other things, to become a digital trading post for crypto-currency and thus not be dependent on the Netherlands for liquidity support. Many lessons can be learned from the past for Sint Maarten to ensure a sustainable future, just as the Cannegieters, the Van Heijningens, the Pantophlets and many others did for the island in the 18th century. The Courthouse in Philipsburg is as a monument a testimony to that legacy.

This article has also been published in the book Cusha Columns by Terrance Rey.

Photo caption: File photo of the Courthouse. Photo taken by Tim van Dijk.

“I know art is capable of healing,” says Clara Reyes, Head of the Culture Department and Co-Founder of National Institute of Arts. “I know it. Without a doubt. As a matter of fact, just as I breathe air in, and I breathe air out. Art heals, and that’s it. Art heals through a variety of reasons: it’s a dialogue with the self, and you’re always questioning yourself. Art heals because of its absorption into the body. It heals in very pragmatic ways. It allows people to access their emotional state and investigate. Through various therapies and investigative journeys into the self, we dig deeper into the emotional psyche.”

Art Therapy is the use of artistic activities, such as coloring, drawing, painting, photography, and sculpting, to treat psychological disorders and improve one’s mental health. Other forms of creative therapy include dance therapy, drama therapy, expressive therapy, music therapy, and writing therapy.

It’s a technique that comes from the idea that creative expression can assist in healing and mental well-being. The goal is to use the creative process to help people explore self-expression and, in doing so, find new ways to gain personal insight and develop new coping skills. When creating art, people have the ability to explore their emotions, develop self-awareness, cope with stress, boost self-esteem, and work on social skills.

It can be used to treat mental disorders and psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, family and relationship problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and stress, especially when used together with other psychotherapy techniques such as group therapy

St. Maarten teens win debating competition in Antigua

or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

However, art therapy isn’t for everyone. While being talented isn’t a requirement for art therapy to be successful, people who believe they’re not creative might be hesitant or skeptical of the process. Additionally, it hasn’t been found effective for all types of mental health conditions such as schizophrenia. Further research is needed to explore how and when art therapy would be most beneficial.

“Whether you’re a dancer, an actor, a performer, a circus performer. You develop strong physical strength because of all the dexterity involved, virtuosity, and physical skill sets that are required. Art heals in terms of psycho-social wellness. It heals in cognitive skills development. It heals through its activity. Art has an entry point into the human experience that allows for dialogue, discovery, and repairing.”

An example of art being used to help mental health is the Art Heals program written by Clara Reyes for the National Institute of Arts (N.I.A.). This program took place after Irma devastated St. Maarten in 2017.

“We used the program to give children a voice after the hurricane, because the arts allow you a vehicle to express yourself. We created poetry, and the kids wrote and talked about the fear they experienced during the hurricane.

Stephanie Hassett, who worked at the Mental Health Foundation, worked with us and explained the signs of Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD), which is what a lot of people were facing. Through the program, we found fun, creative ways to express the things we were dealing with in our bodies - not letting the fear overtake you.”

PHILIPSBURG -- A team of teenaged debaters from St. Maarten won a debating competition in Antigua earlier this month. St. Maarten beat St. Kitts in the finals, debating the topic: “The Caribbean’s failure to take mental illness seriously has caused irreparable damage to families and communities.” Debaters Pooja Ramkripaul and Adio Williams successfully supported this proposition.

Ramkripaul, a student from St. Dominic High won the prize for the best debater of the competition. St Maarten’s team consisted of eight members, aged between 14 and 19. Apart from Ramkripaul they were Odinakachukwu Nwoke (Milton Peters College), Nysette Gomes (MPC), Fayah Ortega (MPC), Adio Williams (St. Dominic High), Radharani Natram (St. Dominic), Seybian Ortega (Learning Unlimited), Mahuli Richardson (Learning Unlimited) and Radiah Mathew (MPC).

The Leeward Island Debating competition took place on Saturday, March 14, at the John E. St. Luce Finance and Conference Center in Antigua.

To reach the finals, St. Maarten beat Anguilla in a debate over the topic: “Caribbean countries should prescribe that one-third of parliamentary representatives must be females.” Debaters Mathew and Nwoke

opposed this proposition and won.

St. Kitts bested Antigua over the topic “Efforts to reverse climate change are doomed to fail.”

“Debating is a great skill to enroll your child in,” assistant coach Norisca Fleming said. “It helps them with public speaking, critical thinking and research skills. They can use it for their curriculum if they intend to go to college. It is also useful in their daily lives.”

The coaching team consisted of Roberto Arrindell, Norisca Fleming, Reverend Liana Richardson-Woods and Nicole Williams-Wynter.

The Hyacinth Richardson Educational Awareness foundation has been a member of the Leeward Islands Debate Competition since 2005. Richardson, a Member of Parliament, traveled with the debaters to Antigua as their coordinator.

Odinakachukwu Nwoke said

before the beginning of the contest that getting ready for the debate was very stressful. “I feel like everything was worth it because I feel like we are prepared to go in, have a good time, show our best selves and possibly win.”

Adio Williams: “It is a fun pastime. You learn a lot, exchange ideas and hear different perspectives.”

Nwoke was not so sure before she tried her hand at debating.

“I never saw myself as a debater until my English teacher, Miss Fleming, convinced me to try out for the debate club at my school. At my first try-out I realized that I love bringing up my opinion based on facts and articulating my words. From there, my passion grew.”

Coach Fleming said that the participating students are very dedicated and that they had worked hard in preparation for the competition. “Most of them are in exam class, so having to do both too some good dedication.”

Coach Roberto Arrindell had some prophetic words before the beginning of the competition. “The students are very well prepared despite the circumstances. We expect to go there, do our best and return with the trophy.”

The debate streamed live on Sunday, March 5. Readers can watch the video recording on YouTube via: https://www. youtube.com/live/-Kdf_aYaxU?feature=share.

Final debate: https://www. youtube.com/live/dggnRE2ngY?feature=share

on what Art means to her Clara Reyes

“I’ve been lucky enough to have grown up in a household where art history and art making was a daily part of my life,” shares Clara Reyes, Head of the Culture Department and Co-Founder of National Institute of Arts, “I had a mother who created a space for me to be this consummate artist by providing the opportunities for me to be enrolled in as many creative, as well as, sporting activities.

My mother ensured that our family, all of her children, were enrolled in multiple interdisciplinary activities. So steel-pan lessons, typing lessons, piano lessons, guitar lessons, softball, volleyball, hiking, secretarial courses, night schools. And she was able to pay for all my dance classes, my gymnastics classes, all of that.

She celebrated our talents. She celebrated our creativity. And as a young child in St. Maarten, via the St Maarten

Council of the Arts and such luminaries as Anastacia Larmonie, Josiane Artsen Fleming, and Mavis Brooks-Solomon. These were some of the teachers instrumental in maintaining that space for the youth of St Maarten through events such as the Children’s Book Week, and multiple other creative outlets done with productions, elementary schools, and high schools.

So really and truly, I grew up in St Maarten at a time when there was such a nurturing atmosphere for young people. And there was a group of elders - the St Maarten Council of the Arts, Mr. Camille Bailey, and Miss Scott to name a few. So many people were in involved with children’s lives. And I was one of those beneficiaries of that atmosphere where there was such a nurturing atmosphere for young people to find their space.

It’s just a part of who I am. I’ve identified as an artist, as

a creative being, as a creative, expressive person, and opportunities were made available to me to fully engage in all things creative and expressive. I participated in them and in safe, nurturing spaces. So I could sing, I could dance, I could act, I could run, I could jump. I could fly, I could soar in my magnificence of finding myself in that creative space.

Living and breathing within the artist space, I didn’t think of what art meant to me. I knew it was a place that received me, embraced me, and allowed me to be me as I was meant to be as a creative being. But when I see it today as an educator, and see the benefits of it, to know that I really and wholly understand that artistry is literally fulfilling the best of our self, of our humanity.

Involving with the arts allows us to fulfill our full human potential. We reach our intellectual high. We reach our intel-

lectual pinnacle - the zenith of the fullness of our humanity through the arts. And artistry is not necessarily just singing and dancing.

Artistry is the excellence of our self, the best part of our humanity, the elevated, the spiritual, the cosmic connection of excellence and execution - excellence in discovery, excellence in voice, excellence and finding voice, excellence in discourse, in critical thinking, and creative thinking. So artistry is really an all-encompassing experience to where the humanity fulfills its destiny, its purpose of transcending limitations placed upon them.

So being an artist is the connection to a complete plug and connection. Tapping into the creative energy of the creator and allowing us to find the best of ourselves through our talents. Through the thing that makes us whole and rich and dense.”

Art

Tokyo Brown

“I’ve been doing digital art for two years, but I’ve been drawing for about 6 or 7 years,” says 20-year-old digital artist, Tokyo Brown.

“I developed my skills through lots of practice — recreating already existing art until I developed my style and no longer needed to recreate. I can just draw my own.

I started creating erotic digital art, because I saw there was no black representation in the area I was interested in.

For me, the black female body is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The different skin tones and the curves are gorgeous.

I also love how strong our black men are naturally, so I draw a lot of physically strong men.

I find a bit of inspiration everywhere — music, mainly in literature, and film.

My goal is to create work people can relate to. It’s a bit out there, but people see

something familiar to their eye yet it’s different and it’s colorful. It attracts people’s attention.

I believe that art has a huge role in society. Art is a way for artists to express themselves through whatever they feel is going on in this world. It can denounce or expose a lot of things that are happening. Things people may not want to talk about, but artists can put it in their art and show that this is the truth — bringing awareness to the situation.

I think art is like a superpower. We have this talent of being able to draw, paint, or make music. It’s not something everybody can do, but we can do it, and we can make whatever we want.

But it’s hard to make a living if you want to do this full-time. If you’re passionate about art, you can’t survive strictly off it.

Being an artist in St. Maarten, I feel like people don’t take you as seriously as you take yourself. People try to underhand you and ask for you to

do things for exposure, but exposure doesn’t pay the bills.

We’re not given our flowers as much as we should. We’re not being paid as much as we should. People want these extravagant works but don’t want to pay for them.

I think one thing that St. Maarten needs is a space where artists can showcase their work, be taken seriously, and be able to get paid jobs.

My support system is my mother and my best friends, because, with the type of art I make, people may not understand why I’m doing it. It has a deeper meaning than just erotica. It’s about representation. It can be discouraging when people don’t understand what I’m doing. But my mom and my best friends, they’ve always hyped me up and I appreciate that.

Honestly, my message to the public is: support young local black artists, please! We are talented. We are more than capable, and we need that recognition from our people.”

Tess

that children engage in creative activities”

By Hilbert Haar

GREAT BAY – With a grant from the Prince Bernhard Fund, artcraft café and art school owner Tess Verheij thought she had it made for at least fifteen underprivileged but talented local children: a weekly art class for a whole year. The funding is there and Verheij is ready to begin but there is one stumbling block: no children. Verheij calls on children aged between 8 and 18 who have not only a talent but also a taste for art to drop in at her business on Old Street to register. She also calls on schools to encourage talented children to join the project.

Free art lessons project is looking for talented youngsters

Verheij is not at all surprised about the seeming lack of interest. Her art school has

more than a hundred students, but most of them are of Indian or Dutch descent with only a few locals sprinkled in between.

“There is no cultural background, they don’t teach art in school and parents do not recognize that it is important for children to engage in creative activities.”

Verheij should know. She taught drawing for a couple of years at the Milton Peters College until her attempts to broaden her class into art history were frustrated. She left and started to teach drawing from home until things went out of control. “There were too many people coming to my home.”

That’s when she moved her activities to a small place on Old Street in Philipsburg, on the corner with Back Street. The place had no running water and no bathroom and

in the end, it was just too small. Then she moved next to the eatery Les Saveurs de France into her current location on Old Street, where she will soon have the first floor at her disposal as well. This will become the location for the art school, while the gallery remains open downstairs.

Verheij teaches six days a week – one or two groups every afternoon on weekdays, five groups on Saturdays and one on Sundays. While a customer base of one hundred students may sound impressive, Verheij says that more needs to be done at the basis to awaken the creative talents in especially youngsters – and she has a plan to achieve this.

“I am talking with Education Minister Silveria Jacobs about this,” she says. “My idea is to send youngsters who have finished secondary school and who are interested in art to my company for a basic training of a year. After that, they could get a job teaching in our schools. Such a basic training could also be useful for teachers who are already working in the schools.” This would bring trained art teachers into the schools, where currently art is a bit of an unwanted stepchild. “It is all so pragmatic,” Verheij says. “They teach reading, writing and math and they give the children a lot of homework. Even my 4-year old son comes home with a little notebook in which he has to write numbers. But kids his age should not get homework; he should do this at school.”

The MAC school is a rare exemption in the field of art education. “In December of last year and earlier this month

they organized an art expo. They asked me to be there with my material. The themes were this time animals and plants of St. Maarten. I had outlined them so the children could work with it. And they did it wonderfully, they really came to life. And all that was achieved by one teacher who put her shoulders under this project.”

[adrotate banner=”5”]

Verheij landed in St. Maarten back in 2008. Before her arrival, she had an art craft café in Great Britain for four years. It took up all of her time: “I worked too hard, until my daughters said, mom, are we ever going to go to a park for a change? That opened my eyes. I sold everything and we traveled with a camper through Europe for a year. We spent the winter in Egypt.”

Then came the realization that it was time to find another job and to settle down somewhere. Verheij applied to all schools in the Netherlands Antilles – a region she wanted to go to. In the end, Milton Pieters College in St. Maarten hired her in 2008, after a Skype-interview.

Verheij applied for funding to the Prince Bernhard Fund to finance a teaching project for underprivileged children. “There are so many talented children on the island, but their parents do not see the value of art training, or they are unable to pay for it. If we do not do anything for those children, the situation becomes hopeless.”

The Prince Bernhard Fund approved the project and now the door is open for fifteen students to receive free art

training for a year in weekly classes of one-and-a-half hour. But a first call for interested children to register fell on deaf ears.

Verheij: “I put so much work in getting the funding and now it appears that I have to start looking for these children as well.”

In that sense, this article should giver that search party at least a little boost. Interested children will have to show their talent to Verheij by submitting three pieces of work they have already done: a portrait, a still life or landscape and a fantasy drawing. “It does not have to be elaborate, it can be done in pencil,” she says. “But those examples will show me if a child has some talent. That is a minimum requirement.”

The closing date for submissions is the end of March, so there is plenty of time to create something. ‘I also want a commitment for children who sign up,” Verheij says. “They have to come every week.” While this project is in its startup stage, Verheij has already another inspiring activity up her sleeve: a Valentine’s Day expo on Friday, February 10, starting at 7 p.m.

“All you need is love for the artist – that is the theme of this expo,” Verheij says. “All my students are busy with a piece of art that are an expression of love.”

The results will not only be on display at the expo, the students are also free to sell their work. Professional auctioneer Antoine Mandy will be at hand and select twenty pieces for auctioning. The proceeds will be used to fund the art school.

Photo caption: Artcraft café and art school owner Tess Verheij is desperately looking for talented children. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

Verheij:“Important

First Annual Miss Essence and Mind

Belair Community Center was the center of attraction on Saturday March 11, 2023, as it hosted the first annual Miss Essence and Mind. The Center was packed with pageantry lovers and supporters of the 6 beautiful ladies who graced the stage in various swimsuit segments of the show.

Pageant organizer Paula Gordon and her team Essence and Mind Committee left no stone unturned as everything was well planned out for the audience to enjoy. From the time you entered the transformed Center you felt Royal by a welcome drink provided by sponsor LaMarca, to pictures taken by Ronchi James, to a well decorated stage. The show started on time with a beautiful choreographed dance by former Queen Melissa Boasman and Shanice Powell, then to the opening segment of introduction that was not judged to the various segments which were:

1 Identical Swimsuit

2 Creative Swimsuit

3 Carnival Swimsuit

4 Glits and Glam

Receiving sashes for the various segments were:

Best Identical Swimsuit went to Tasyanna Clifton who also captured Best Carnival Swimsuit.

Best Creative Swimsuit went to Miss Patara Davis who also captured Best Question and Answer.

Best Glitz and Glam went to Miss Jessenia Jessica Lazaro.

Placing 3rd runner up was Miss Richallien York who was also sashed with Miss Social Media.

2nd runner up went to Miss Jessenia Jessica Lazaro and

1st runner up went to Miss Tasyanna Clifton. The first Miss Essence and Mind Swimsuit Queen was Miss Patara Davis. The crowd was pleased with the results as it was echoed throughout the hall that the show was judged fairly. Paula Gordon went the extra mile to bring in two renowned international judges hailing from Antigua and St. Kitts, both with an impressive resume when it comes to pageantry along with our very own Miss Amanda Bedminster. Forming part of the judging committee was also local bailiff Solange Apon, Activist Shujah Reiph, Shamika de Weever, Former pageant runner up Kenecia David and heading the panel of judges was head judge Duncan van Heyningen from Deviage Entertainment.

Winners of the pageant will further represent Sint Maarten in various pageant shows in the region and also in Essence and Mind International Pageant Show slated for October right here in Sint Maarten.

Paula Gordon went on to thank the main sponsors of the event:

It’s Time SXM who sponsored the main prize of $1500 to the queen and who was represented on the night by its president Cloyd Ohndhae Marlin who was also on hand to present the check and the cash prize same night.

Sponsors Bradshaw Executive Travel and Motor World were on hand to present the winning trophies to the Queen and runners-up.

Mr. Connor of Fire Fit Gym donated each contestant a twomonth free gym membership.

Essence and Mind would like to thank all its sponsors and volunteers for assisting in making the pageant a huge success.

Student of St. Dominic High School, Nariesha Wilson is a 17-year-old artist who does painting, photography, crochet, and jewelry making. She embarked on her artistic journey 3 years ago when painting in art class. “I started to develop a truly strong connection with painting,” Nariesha says, “which led me to use it as an outlet. I saw what I could do with art and wanted to dive in deeper”.

“Other than painting, my favourite art is photography. Photography is the first thing I’ve ever wanted to do. It has a lot of special moments with me. Like when I got my first camera, when I took my first pictures, and when I first learned to edit. I gained a lot of confidence from photography. I started with nature photography, and as I began talking pictures of people, I became more outgoing

As for crochet, I’ve been doing it for a year now. I love it because it distresses me a lot. It’s actually really nice to see how one small chain can turn into giant bag. It’s very fulfilling.

As for jewelry making, which I also incorporate crochet into, I’ve been doing that for two years. It mostly started in 2020, during the quarantine. I was pretty poor and I was like, you know what? I’m going to make some very fun and quirky jewelry. I’m not as connected to my jewelry making. For me, it’s more of a fun hobby that I like to do from time to time. But I think it’s pretty cool.

I developed my art mostly through practice. Art consumes my entire life, so I kind of have to practice it all the time. And the more I practice, the better I become. And I’m happy to have my mother as my biggest supporter, who has always pushed me to be out there with my work - displaying and selling my art.

My one goal is to make the individual feel something while looking at it, whether it’s confusion, happiness, or sadness. Whatever it is, I just want them to feel something to think about, something to a related to them in any sort of way. I focus a lot on the human experience, emotions, phobias, and insecurities.

I believe art is important to society because it is everywhere, it is what makes us a society. People need to settle down and appreciate different things, instead of slowly turning into mindless bots with no feelings - numb to being human

I find inspiration through life, through nature, but also from other artists. Seeing what they do makes me want to follow along and try to improve.

On St. Maarten, I am very much inspired by an account called Neha Soneji. She makes really beautiful murals that have been displayed in town before, and Henri Nimrodstein, he makes wonderful images that are of such high quality, I hope to be at that level soon in my paintings and photography.

Being an artist on St. Maarten can be very nice, but at the same time, there’s a weird thing about not getting recognized. We have to fight to survive - get our own income, our own things. There isn’t much for artists on St. Maarten, and I think the Government should be funding and doing more.”

Nariesha Wilson

Lack of PRISON capacity leaves dozens of CRIMINALS on the

streets

PHILIPSBURG -- There are 136 current verdicts, Minister of Justice Anna Richardson told the parliamentary Justice Committee recently. This means that 136 criminals who have a prison sentence to their name, are still waiting to serve that sentence. This is due to the lack of capacity at the Pointe Blanche prison.

The prison currently has forty cells with a maximum occupancy of two inmates per cell. Minister Richardson said that it is “a sad reality” that verdicts are outpacing the available detention capacity. This is due to measures aimed at tackling capacity issues, the minister explained. These measures limit the capacity to two inmates per cell and promote the use of alternative detention facilities, like the Miss Lalie Center that was reopened in 2019. The justice department also uses monitoring with electronic ankle bracelets and early release once an inmate meets certain criteria. The justice ministry meets frequently with prison management, the public prosecutor’s office and the parole board “to assess the situation and to decide on the most appropriate measures.”

Photo Caption: Justice Minister Anna E. Richardson meeting with Progress

TelEm Group CEO Kendall Dupersoy appointed to CANTO board

Committee SXM.

Minister Richardson has explored options to send undocumented inmates back to their country of origin to serve the remainder of their sentences there, combined with a ban on returning to St. Maarten for a number of years. Those options run into trouble with the lack of treaties with other countries. If there is no treaty, St. Maarten depends on the willingness of other countries to cooperate. “A prison sentence must work as a deterrent for crime in St. Maarten and victims of crimes must know that justice is being served,” Richardson said.

The minister has consulted with kingdom partners on more than one occasion about transferring inmates to other parts of the kingdom. “Unfortunately, this is St. Maarten’s problem to solve,” she remarked.

ity than the current prison. Phase one of the new prison project will take around twenty months. At the end of that phase, a transitional facility will have been procured, according to UNOPS. StMaartenNews.com has approached the public prosecutor’s office with questions about current sentences but it did not receive satisfactory answers. The Prosecutor’s Office only replied that it is “by the nature of its function, constantly dealing with cases in general and awaiting verdicts, in the Court in First Instance or at the appeals court.”

Pond Island -- TelEm Group CEO, Mr. Kendall Dupersoy has been elected to the board of CANTO (Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organization). The appointment was made during the 39th annual general meeting of CANTO in Suriname earlier this month. According to Mr. Dupersoy, the nomination was prompted by board member Mrs. Helma Etnel, who will be standing down from the board in keeping with her retirement from the TelEm Group of Companies to make way for a new CFO next month.

maintaining products and services and revenues in a fast-changing telecommunication market,” said Mr. Dupersoy.

The partnership with UNOPS (United Nations Office of Project Services) offers a solution in the long term. UNOPS is involved in the project for the construction of a new prison.

To this end, the Pointe Blanche prison will be demolished and inmates will have to be incarcerated at a transitional facility. Minister Richardson wants that facility to have more capac-

Asked how many politicians are still waiting for the execution of their verdicts, the reply was that the Prosecutor’s Office “does not catalogue its cases based on the profession or the standing of a person.” For this reason, the Prosecutor’s Office said it was unable to indicate how many convicted politicians are on the waiting list. Statements made by Minister Richardson during the Justice committee-meeting offer a different perspective, saying that out of the 87 inmates that call the Pointe Blanche prison their home at the moment, 24 are undocumented, half are first-time offenders, 11 are between the ages of 18 and 25 and four inmates are close to serving 2/3 of their sentences.

CANTO, a non-profit association that holds annual telecommunication conferences in island member countries, is made up of operators, organizations, companies, and individuals in the ITC sector. The association has a Caribbean focus on dealing with ITC issues for the region but with a global perspective. Included in the services offered by CANTO are their annual conference and trade exhibition, annual general meeting, ITC training and workshops, and various ITC publications.

Mr. Dupersoy says he is honored to maintain a TelEm Group presence at the board level of CANTO and that the regional telecommunication organization will continue to play an important role in telecommunication development in the Caribbean region.

“Regional operators can benefit much by cooperating and partnering in various areas of telecommunications, particularly when it comes to

The CEO says TelEm’s Group rollout of a fiber optic infrastructure is quite advanced when compared with fiber networks in other Caribbean islands therefore the company can already offer much assistance in the way of advice to its regional neighbors based on lessons learned.

“We are continuing to look at different ways of working closer in the Caribbean telecommunication-wise”, said Mr. Dupersoy citing partnering with operators on the French side of the island in a new internet exchange initiative and closer to home, the company’s own IPTV system which has prioritized making regional broadcasts an important part of the company’s IPTV program lineup.

“Mrs. Etnel has over the years worked very closely with CANTO and I would very much like to maintain that relationship as a new board member to the benefit to TelEm Group, its employees, and St. Maarten generally”, said Mr. Dupersoy.

Letter to the editor re voting booth rear curtain removal.

Reading the front page article in the Daily Herald of February 22, 2023, regarding a squabble over the PFP proposal to remove the rear curtain from the voting booths, I took note:

NA’s George Pantophlet thinks the voters lack understanding and need more education. (Huh??). Faction Ludmila Duncan likes the PFP idea but wants the presence of other persons in the polling stations to be looked at. Good point. How about larger voting halls, with do-not-cross lines painted on the floor 20 feet from the entrance to each voting booth? While voters

are in the booths, NO-ONE is to cross the line. Faction Grisha Heyliger-Marten fully supports the PFP proposal… Good for her! UD faction leader Sarah Wescot-Williams and her party also fully support the PFP proposal! Yessss!! But, as expected, almost violent drama-laced opposition to the simple proposal to remove the rear curtain comes from Faction Christophe Emmanuel and the Rolando Brison version of the UP faction... At all costs, the curtains must stay! I wonder why?

Michael J. Ferrier St. Maarten 02/22/2023

Photo Caption: UNOPS delegation visiting St. Maarten.

Breathless asks attention for sleep apnea

PHILIPSBURG -- In December 2022, journalist Hilbert Haar was diagnosed with vascular dementia, or cognitive impairment. Main cause: years of sleep apnea, a disorder general practitioners seldom consider, mainly because patients report vague complaints that are oftentimes associated with a burnout.

Patients who suffer from sleep apnea stop breathing more than once during their sleep, for several seconds. This results in a shortage of oxygen supply to the brain - with all its consequences. Vascular dementia is a process that can be halted, according to some medical professionals. It is also reversible provided it is diagnosed at an early stage. Sleep apnea can be corrected with the use of breathing equipment. This treatment usually results in behavioral and cognitive improvements. Using blood thinners also contributes to manage the process. In Breathless, the author describes what happened at the time of his scary diagnosis and what his experiences are with the use of blood thinners and breathing equipment.

The objective of this diary is to draw attention to the sleep apnea phenomenon. The sooner patients begin with a treatment, the better their perspectives are.

Breathless - Diary of a Patient with Sleep Apnea

Published as ebook by smashwords.com and amazon.com

ISBN: 979 821 550 6066

Size: 8,330 words

Price: $9.99

There is also a version available in the Dutch language.

Title: Ademloos - Dagboek van een patiënt met slaap apnea.

Slightly insane

By Hilbert Haar

I have more than once expressed my amazement about the huge number of tax warrants our tax inspectorate issues on a regular basis. Hundreds of them and they all have one characteristic in common: current residence unknown. So the tax inspectorate knows that it does not know where a certain tax payer is hanging out, but it still insists on issuing tax warrants that contain the order to comply with its contents within two days.

Maybe you wonder how often the people and busi-

nesses that are on the receiving end of these warrants step up to the plate to pay their dues. I wonder about that too and the short answer is: I don’t know either, but I doubt very much that they contribute to our country’s tax revenue. The tax inspectorate hit a new low when it issues a tax warrant in January 13 for the Antilliaanse Luchtvaart Maatschappij (Antillean Airways). This shows that our tax collectors are not very good at doing their due diligence, because the ALM went bankrupt more than twenty years ago, in 2002.

Even a simple internetsearch would have told our tax inspectors all they needed to know. The Dutch airline KLM established the ALM on August 1, 1964, as the successor of WestIndisch Bedrijf that closed down in the same year.

Five years later the Netherlands Antilles nationalized the airline and ousted the KLM as its owner.

From January 1, 1969, the airline was renamed ALMAntillean Airlines, but it did not fare well under its new ownership. Corruption within the company and within the Antillean government led the airline to the inevitable abyss.

It still soldiered on for quite some years though and it even acquired St. Maarten’s airline Winair in 1977.

In 1986 neighboring Aruba obtained status aparte within the kingdom and it established its own airline: Air Aruba. It competed on routes the ALM also serviced.

By that time the ALM was already a loss-making company. Eight years before it took over Winair, the KLM had already canceled its cooperation with ALM on the Amsterdam-Curacao route.

After the turn of the century, things went from bad to worse and in September 2001, the ALM entered bankruptcy protection. To no avail: the next year the airline went bankrupt. All this easily obtainable information has apparently escaped the attention of St. Maarten’s tax inspectorate - and that is beyond worrisome. It is, in my opinion at least, slightly insane.

The ALM tax warrant is obviously pointless. The airline has been beyond repair for more than twenty years but unfortunately our local tax inspectorate is not doing much better.

Accountant Natasha Manuela on paying taxes

PHILIPSBURG -- On Wednesday January 25th, Natasha Manuela, Managing Director of Prudential Tax Services, was interviewed on the Wendell Moore’s radio show about taxes — encouraging the public to file their taxes and educating on the importance of doing so.

“It is compulsory by law that you have to file your income taxes,” says Natasha Manuela. “Because of you’re expenditures you are eligible to get refunds, but if you don’t file, you lose that obligation. And there’s a fine of NAF 5000 if you do not file.” Not only is there a fine to pay, but not having your taxes in order can also hamper your child if they’re thinking of studying abroad. “The child will not get the documents necessary for them to travel. Only when all the taxes have been filed, the child will be able to pursue their scholarship”.

“It’s very important, not only for your child that is studying, it’s also very important for you when you become a pensioner, because you’re paying into the pension system and every year that you file, that gives you a certain amount for you to be able to get the maximum, you would have to be filing consecu-

tively and if you’re not, that minimizes the amount that you receive.”

Furthermore, if parents don’t make sure their taxes are in order before passing, the responsibility falls on the child, due to the law of “inheritance tax”.

CRIB Numbers

As soon as a person is out of school, and either stepping out into the work force or going away to study, it is obligated for them to get a CRIB number.

Who Qualifies to Pay Income Tax

Persons who receive an income of NAF 24,000+ yearly are qualified to pay income tax. Those who have a yearly income of NAF 18,000 and lower do not pay income tax, but do pay for taxes such as AOV.

Persons who aren’t employed still have to file their taxes by including a letter that explains how they are surviving, and if they were under the care of someone else. If the person was a student before becoming employed, that needs to be stated in the letter.

Small Businesses & Side Hustles

Whether you are selling cakes or doing makeup, all

extra income you make needs to be declared. “Officially, by law, all income has to be declared no matter what it may be,” says Natasha, “We live in a technological world now, what we could’ve kept under the rug can’t happen anymore, because everyone is advertising on Facebook and the tax man sees it, and remembers when you go to file.”

Seniors & Income Tax

Seniors don’t necessarily have to pay income tax be-

cause they’ve already paid into the system. Seniors who have worked for the government and received a SZV and APNA pension often pay when they paid into the pension fund but there were no taxes deducted out of it at the time.

When the both pensions are added, although it’s not an income, it’s still considered as one because it’s what was received. When added, a person falls into a bracket

where taxes need to be paid. And when the senior also receives a rental amount for their apartment, it counts as three incomes, since the amount received for the apartment is 65% taxable.

Located on Backstreet 166, Prudential Tax Services can be contacted for more information and assistance on WhatsApp at 1-721-5874258, 1-721-550-8546 or email info.prudentialsbs@ gmail.com.

The future of banking

By Hilbert Haar

Digital banking is the future. No question about it, but where will this leave banking clients in St. Maarten? And where will it leave the traditional banks that are currently serving them?

Complaints about the way local banks are treating their clients are nothing new. They make it unnecessary difficult, if not impossible for some potential clients to open an account, their customer service to existing clients leaves at times a lot to be desired and transferring money abroad is usually a major headache. And I am not even beginning about the money the banks are charging for these inconveniences.

The Central Bank has now indicated that it welcomes the digital transformation of the banking industry. That’s nice, of course, but digital banking requires serious investments in technology and it is unclear to me which banks have pockets deep enough to finance such ventures.

This way traditional banks are caught between a rock and a hard place, if you’ll forgive me for using this cliché. If they are unable to invest in digital services to a level that satisfies their clients, they will go out of business. Sooner rather than later.

Why? Because the overhead is going to kill them. Traditional banks have buildings, they have utilities to pay for,

security, tellers serving clients who have to wait forever in line for their own money - and so on. And if the overhead is not going to do it, the clients will, because they will no doubt move in growing numbers to banks that do offer digital services.

And mind you, there is still a difference between a traditional bank offering digital services and a virtual bank doing the same thing. Because virtual banks do not have to pay for expensive buildings and their associated costs, and they do not have as much personnel as traditional banks do. Traditional banks will never be

able to beat the cost of doing business virtual banks incur. The future for traditional banks in St. Maarten is therefore not looking good, whether they deliver outstanding customer service or not. This has to do with the scale of our community. Our banks will never be able to invest enough in digital technology. They will always be beaten by larger competitors that are not even on the island - like Revolut in the United Kingdom, or N26 in Germany. Opening an account with these banks is easy, as long as you are able to provide an address that meets their requirements.

The Central Bank has been receiving requests for the establishment of digital banks, but so far the market entry of these companies is in its early stages. I think this is going to be an uphill battle, while traditional banks just cannot ignore the rapidly growing interest of consumers in digital and virtual banking.

These developments have a downside because not every Dick, Tom and Harry is interested in digital banking. Some people will always need the services of a traditional bank. They want to go to a building, see a familiar face and do their business that

way. This way, the digital revolution could trigger a trend towards unbanking and that will in itself create a whole lot of associated issues. How do you pay your bills when all traditional banks have disappeared and you are left without a bank account?

The Central Bank seems to think that banking is becoming “future ready” - whatever the hell that means. A banking system ought to be available to all citizens who need such services. If it becomes the playground of a techsavvy generation that leaves others behind in the dust that future seems rather bleak to me.

Caribavia-founder Slabbaert envisions

huge expansion

PHILIPSBURG -- Cdr.

Bud

Slabbaert founder of the annual aviation conference Caribavia envisions a huge expansion of this event into a multifunctional organization that covers everything from the establishment of an institute of higher learning and an airlift council to a video on demand platform (Caribavia TV) and a research and development center.

“Just organizing an annual conference is like operating a circus,” he writes in a visiondocument that details Caribavia’s expansion-potential. ”There must be something more meaningful and it must lead to a long-term objective.” The ultimate goal of what is now an annual meeting of aviation experts goes beyond the establishment of that institute of higher learning and an airlift council. Next to the video on demand platform, Slabbaert also envisions educational and training events, a learning resource center, a tele-presence and tele-immersion facility and a research and development center - all under the brand name Caribavia. Slabbaert intends to rename Cariba-

via in Caribavia Summit and Retreat, an event to be held in a tropical Caribbean environment. This year, the event will already take place under its new name from June 13 to 15 in St. Maarten.

It is unclear where Slabbaert intends to make his vision a reality. In his vision document he notes that the organization should have shelter and domicile. “It needs office space, classroom facilities, and a studio for video production.” He does not exclude that these activities would be established in different locations.

Part of the vision is furthermore the establishment of a speakers bureau under the management of a learning and resource center. This is where professional speakers are available to a range of community groups, such as service clubs and schools.

Slabbaert introduces the terms tele-presence and tele-immersion in his vision document. Tele-presence is “a technology that will enable users in different locations to come together in a simulated environment to interact. Participants will feel like they are actually looking, talking and meeting with each other in the same room.”

Tele-immersion creates “a three-dimensional realistic holographic environment.” This will enable participants to collaborate in real time from remote locations “in a shared, simulated, hybrid environment.”

The Caribavia research and development center is “a crucial element to contribute to the development and dissemination of new rigorous evidence and innovative products, methods or technologies.”

This center is something to pay attention to, according to Slabbaert: “It may be wise for interested stakeholders to invest in the Caribavia research and development center as it becomes a test lab where new materials and innovative techniques will be experienced.” The center will have an aircraft simulator and an air traffic control simulator.

The airlift council Slabbaert envisions is “an independent and impartial entity with neither political ambitions, nor geographical limitations.” He points out that all aviation and travel segments in the Caribbean region have similar interests and similar hurdles to deal with.

Slabbaert states that the Caribavia projects will have a positive economic impact on the location where they will be established. The projects could trigger science tourism and they will need a number of local employees. Lastly, Slabbaert touches on potential media exposure.

“The uniqueness of these projects will find media exposure worldwide. Their loca-

tion will benefit with an image of being progressive and an attractive tourism and potential foreign investment destination.”

Readers can download the Caribavia Vision document via the following link: https://stmaartennews. com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CARIBAVIA-Vision.pdf

Lottery booths target low-income areas

PHILIPSBURG -- There are 360 lottery venues in St. Maarten per February 2021, according to a study by the Social Economic Council (SER). That is, assuming population of 40,000, one booth for every 111 inhabitants. Most lottery booths are concentrated in low-income areas - because that is where the clients are.

The SER-study focuses on the impact of these lottery booths on low-income areas. St. Maarten has three times as many lottery booths as Curacao and they outpace casinos by 8 to 1.8.

The study recommends that lottery booths should not be outside a radius of one hundred meters from schools, hospitals, clinics, churches, banks and rehab centers. With some bravado, the report announces that is a proponent of a ban on selling lottery tickets to vulnerable people and gambling addicts.

Party for Progress leader Melissa Gumbs was the first to sound the alarm about the lot-

tery booths. In October 2020 she asked for a study into this issue. It took Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs almost twenty months before she finally sent a request for the study to the SER.

The report makes in one sentence clear what the attitude of the government is towards gambling - because that’s what buying lottery tickets is. Since 1995, the report states, there are no viable data about gambling addiction in St. Maarten. So the government does not know just how bad things are, or it chooses to ignore the issue.

The Belgian website Health and Science estimates that 1 percent of the population has a gambling addiction and that another 3 percent has a problem with gambling. American data suggest a lower prevalence of gambling addiction: between 0.2 and 0.3 percent. Projected on St. Maarten’s population this suggests that there are between 80 and 400 gambling addicts on the island and that up to 1,200 citizens have a problem with gambling.

The Dutch Agog Foundation provides help to problemgamblers and to people who have problems with the gambling behavior of someone they love. It identified the factors that motivate people to gamble. The top two are relaxation (64%) and a desire to become rich fast (60%). At the bottom of the list are relationship-related problems with 40 percent.

The Jellinek clinic, an institution that treats addiction, says on its website that there are 8 million recreational players of games of chance in the Netherlands; 95,700 players are labeled as ‘at risk’ and 79,000 as ‘problem players’. Both groups are most likely addicted to gambling, the clinic observes. Of the 79,000 players it considers addicts just 2,186 (2.7 percent) are undergoing treatment. Lotteries have been around like forever and the Dutch were ahead of the curve with the first draw for its national lottery in 1726. In 2016 the Dutch Lottery was born: a merger of the state lottery and

the Lotto. This organization also offers games of chance under seven other names. The organization encourages people to play: “All of the Netherlands wins” it declares on its website. To emphasize its social responsibility it furthermore states: “We execute the Dutch policy on games of chance. That is our societal task - always based on consumer protection, the prevention of addiction and combating fraud and criminality.”

The numbers tell a different story. In 2021 the lotteryorganization paid out €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) in prize money; it furthermore donated €50.4 million ($54.4 million) to sports association, €19.2 million ($20.7 million) to 18 different charitable organizations and €118.4 million ($127.9 million) to the state. There is no doubt that lotteries are big business. The scale on St Maarten may be smaller, but the impact on individual players can still be devastating. That is because the lottery mechanism is simple: somebody has to lose,

for somebody else to win. And winning a lottery is not easy, or maybe it is more correct to say: virtually impossible. In a numbers game where you have to guess 6 out of 49 numbers correct, chances that you achieve this are around 1 in 13.9 million. In the American Mega Million multi-state lottery the odds are astronomical: 1 in almost 176 million. According to the National Weather Service your are about 20,000 times more likely to get hit by lightning over the course of your life than you are to win the Mega Millions jackpot.

The odds of winning big with scratch lottery tickets in St. Maarten are unknown because the number of tickets is not mentioned and it is also unknown whether the biggest prizes are still in the mix. As an alternative, wonderopolis.org has some sound advice: if you spend $150 a year on lottery tickets now, consider investing it against an 8 percent return. Over forty years that will generate a capital of $38,000 - a sure winner.

March is GAMBLING Awareness Month

March is Gambling Awareness month in the U.S. but gambling isn’t only prevalent in the states. As noted, in the news headlines this month, “St. Maarten counts 6.9 lottery booths per square mile” and that does not include the number of casinos on the island.

Turning Point Foundation provides holistic addiction treatment in general, which can encompass a wide range of addiction issues include gambling. These services are provided on an outpatient basis, at a cost to the client.

If you are struggling with addition issues or know someone who is, contact Turning Point at: info@tpfsxm.com or (721) 550-3405.

Why you should avoid

lotteries

By Hilbert Haar

Let me begin with a confession. I have been a poker player for close to twenty years. But I am not a gambler. You see, there is a difference between playing games of chance - where the outcome depends on dumb luck - and games of skill (like poker) where the outcome depends for a large part on how you hold up against other players. Slot machines and lotteries fall in the games of chance category and on St. Maarten you almost literally break your neck over the lottery booths. I have nothing against lotteries as such, or against

people who believe that buying a ticket is the smartest way towards financial independence. But I would like to warn these people: it isn’t. If lottery-organizers were honest people, they would tell you how many tickets they sell for a particular draw. If there are just a hundred tickets, chances that your ticket will win are one in a hundred. If there are a thousand tickets …… I guess you can do the math. Your odds are terrible.

Slot machines are not much better. For casinos these machines are business. They are moneymakers. In Las Vegas,

Advertise With Us! Contact us today to discuss advertising with us.

the Gaming Control Board publishes the payout percentages of each individual machine. Some machines have a payout of as high as 97 percent. What does that mean? Of every hundred dollars you put in, the machine keeps three dollars. Then you put in your remaining 97 dollar and again you get only 97 percent back. If you play long enough, the casino will have all your money. One evening I came out of the Princess Casino where I had played a poker tournament. It was maybe one o’clock at night. At the exit I saw a middle-aged woman standing. I offered her a ride and we started talking. She told me that she had just lost all her money playing slot machines, saying that every now and then she would win as well. But now all the household money was gone. I said that is is okay to play slot machines if you like doing that. But don’t play with money you cannot afford to lose. She sighed and nodded.

She understood, but this time around my well-intended advice came of course too late. What is true for playing slot machines, also applies to buying lottery tickets. You have to know that the odds are not in your favor and you have to act on that knowledge. Of course, not buying lottery tickets is better than playing the lottery at all. But I understand that for many people the attraction is just too strong. I’d say that it is okay to spend part of you money on lottery tickets. But not all of your money. That is crazy. Some people spend a lot of money on cars, expensive clothing or (even more expensive) women. And sure, everybody is allowed to have fun but don’t take your bank card to a casino. I like playing poker but I have mostly stayed away from cash games because that is where you can literally lose your shirt. I have played many tournaments. They are a lot of fun and you know beforehand how much they are going to cost you. Some day, I went

home a little lighter, financially speaking. And on other days, I had a couple of thousand dollars in my pocket. I have lost some and I have won some, but I never went broke.

I understand very well that this strategy does not work for very one. The temptation can be very strong to buy another lottery ticket, or to throw another bucket of quarters into a slot machine. As long as it is not your household money, that’s okay. But in the long run you would be better off by leaving gambling to people who can afford to lose a fortune and still sleep well at night.

Oh, and don’t forget this. Lottery-companies are very profitable. As a rule of thumb, they put not more than 50 to 60 percent of ticket-sales into the prize pool. When a client wins big they are happy, because it is no skin off their nose and the picture in the paper encourages even more people to flock to their lotterybooths. Don’t fall for it.