Dear fellow St. Martiners,
It is again with great pleasure and honor that I take this opportunity to commemorate the day in which we celebrate Our Nation, Our home "Sweet St. Martin Land". Although this year's main activities will occur on St. Martin, or as the older heads used to call it, "The North", we are collectively celebrating one of the most unique and diverse islands in the Caribbean, as we have done officially since 1968.
It is in this spirit, exemplified by the unity between those who are born here and those who belong here, that today we celebrate our lovely home in the Caribbean Sea.
This year's events are centered on the theme of "One People Respecting the Past, Investing in the Future". Indeed this is a theme that is and should be at the center of what drives the development of our island. In my role as Prime Minister of St. Maarten, I can affirm that we are taking significant steps in making this theme a reality. We are Respecting the Past by researching and teaching about our history, by investing in our culture and through the protection of our heritage. As we do this we are simultaneously Investing in our Future by educating our children, protecting our resources and developing our infrastructure to ensure that the St. Maarten of the future is one in which all of the needs of our people are met. And we do this increasingly in cooperation and consultation with our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandchildren living in the North. St. Martin embodies the idea of unity; two halves that make a whole. Two parts that together define the island we lovingly call home.
Since last year we have a formal relationship in place between Country St. Maarten and the Representative of the French State the Prefet. This was lacking in the past as the French State is responsible for several areas, areas that since our constitutional change are autonomous responsibilities of St. Martin (South). During the months of November and December, follow ups will be given and the Ministerial Committees in charge of continuing and structuring this formal relationship will have to report on
their progress.
Notwithstanding these formalities, the relationship between the two sides of our one island continues to be strong. They continue to be strong in the area of culture, in the cooperation between NGOs, and in celebrating our common history and ancestry. Any challenges are discussed frankly between the two sides as it is a shared belief that there is one "St. Martin people". Both governments are committed to do all in their power to maintain the togetherness of the St. Martin people, as we are committed to
seeking solutions that take into account the differences that exist due to two diverse political systems.
So on behalf of the People and Government of St. Maarten, I wish you a very Happy St. Martin's Day, a day in which we should all feel blessed, privileged and fortunate to call an island as beautiful, as unique and as magical as St. Martin, our home.
The Prime Minister of St. Maarten, Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams
