UP Faction Leader Silvia Meyers Speech on the occasion of Constitution Day.

Building this country from the bottom up, building Parliament from scratch, putting a foundation in place so that the now coalition could have some smooth sailing is a fact, as they move forward with UPs vision.
The United People's Party is a party of progress and change. Change that is not easy but change that will bring hope to the people. A change that requires sacrifice. A change that is people focused and people centered which we have not seen as yet in the current government. When we allow government subsidized organization to tell Ministers that they should not meddle in their business, that people should be allowed to die because of their incompetence and lack of leadership, we worry about the fact that how this could be possible for one man to do so much damage and behave as if nothing is wrong. What is it going to take to help families deal with their losses because of incompetence, carelessness; care freeness and I can go on. Suffice it to say that Health Care is a priority for all our families and we shall not stop questioning, demanding investigations until we know that our hospital and health care system can be trusted again.
The United people's party is concerned about good governance being executed by its Parliament and that individual needs and desires do not become priority as Good governance is being carried out. In building a nation there is a time for politics and there is a time for governance. It seems to us that politics has taken precedence over governance and so I am appealing to the Parliament to help build this nation; to review our constitution; to ensure that our Sint Maarten people are well protected in our constitution. Mistakes can be corrected but they should not be neglected.
These last two years have been a very quick university course in legislation, policymaking, fast reading, decision-making, and I can go on but we must not lose sight why we wanted 10.10.10 in the first place. We wanted to build a new country, a new nation, where our people could feel that they belong to this country and that they are priority. A constitution that protects the fundamental rights and freedom, equality and solidarity, citizenship, justice, and governance. Having a constitution is one thing...living what is in it is another.
We the people of the country Sint Maarten are very concerned about the direction of crime and the various forms of violence being committed by our youth and the reckless upbringing of our young people whose tongues are plastered with obscenity. Where have we gone wrong as a people and are we going to continue to accept this immorality and this degeneration of all the values we stand for as a nation. Obscenity has become insane in the very corridors of power and as leaders, we should lead by example.
Our Elderly who have contributed their life to this nation are sent home with petty cash...We must honor our pensioners and allow them a good send off so that they can take care of themselves rather than becoming beggars in their own country... This is not about determination... Our people can't send home money that multiplies into hundreds of foreign dollars. Our people must be able to live a normal and courageous life and have some funds to travel and take care of their health. These are our elders who have built this nation and who must be honored and respected.
As we build this nation and consider all the corners of this country let us envision better health care for all our people with a group of leaders in the medical field who care. Let us envision an education system that will cater to the needs of all our children, ensuring that our teachers are fully qualified to meet the challenges of providing quality education to our children. Let us envision a new kind of leader for our schools to be properly managed where managers are not only good teachers, but well equipped with leadership skills for the job. As we build a nation of courageous people and determined people let us not forget who we are and where we came from but enrich ourselves with the abundance of our history and culture so that when we stand, we stand tall because we know who we are and from whence we came. As we build this country, let us include our St. Martiners at every level of development so that we will never feel left out and never sell ourselves for ten pieces of silver. As we build this nation and a determined people, we cannot be constantly looking over each other shoulders because we do not trust each other even when we are on the same party. There comes a time when there is a sense of maturity that must grow among us as a people and we have to stand up for the very thing we once rejected because it is good for our people. As we build this country my honorable colleagues, courage is demanded of you to stop playing monkey games with the people of Sint Maarten...all the ribbon cutting and appearances will serve no purpose if legislation is not challenged, not developed, not proposed and voted. Our movement forward for country St. Maarten begins with a reflection on our constitution and ensuring that what we wrote more than two-years ago should be reviewed and now that we are at the execution phase, is this really what we bargained for. We need an evaluation!
Mr.President reflecting on our heritage we have a beautiful monument at the roundabout next to the Sundial School, depicting a slave who has loose chains shouting Freedom. Do we know the name of this slave?
Yes it is a Symbol. Are our Tourbusses, Taxis etc. Giving our tourists a history of this symbol. Does our schools instill and teach our children about liberation and emancipation?

And therefore Mr. President we are accountable and therefore we must not leave any stones unturned to ensure that we are indeed building a nation of courageous and determined people.
Happy Constitution Day to the people of this great nation!
May God Bless us All
I thank you!