Philipsburg:--- President of the St. Maarten Nation Building Foundation Leopold James, with members and supporters, Jeffrey Richardson, Daniella Jeffry and Miguel Arrindell called on politicians to take some affirmative action when it comes to native St. Maarteners, if not they are willing to take those actions by themselves.A press conference was called after two weeks of discussion in the media about the statement Member of Parliament William Marlin made during his visit to the Netherlands. The SNBF members said that they feel offended when an MP of St. Maarten would go as far as the Netherlands to ask that the laws be amended both there and in St. Maarten to accommodate immigrant students who are not able to obtain a scholarship, while denying the natives the right to be part of their own constitution. Marlin said in his presentation during the inter-parliamentary meetings in the Netherlands that St. Maarten should be allowed to amend its scholarship policy to grant students attending school without a Dutch passport a scholarship since IBG said they are granting scholarship to EU students.
James said it appears as though the politicians on St. Maarten have forgotten St. Maarteners and their existence as a people while the politicians (leaders) are bent on rewarding illegal immigrants who broke the immigration laws with the same rights as natives. James further said he is of the opinion that politicians have placed politics over the rights if the natives of St. Maarten making them extinct in their own country.
James said he neither his supporters have no problems with the politicians who believe they have to bend over backwards when they are rewarding those persons who broke the immigration laws. The SNBF President said their contention with elected officials is the fact they have neglected natives and have found excuses for not being able to assist their own. He said several developments over recent months have caused them to believe that the politicians (elected officials) are willing to throw locals under the proverbial bus and as such they have decided to draw the line since they will not allow themselves to be slaughtered as a people. James said they will not be accepting any more excuses from the elected officials but they are demanding that St. Maarteners be recognized in the constitution of St. Maarten.
James highlighted the 10 years tax holiday that is granted to the foreign investors. He said at the time government found a way in the law to make sure foreign investors were rewarded. He said when that was done when St. Maarten was not known but today the situation has changed and yet politicians have the same law for the foreign investors on the books. He said politicians must now use the law to involve the natives where they will be given preferential treatment as natives of their country.
Jeffrey Richardson, a former member of the SNBF said he has issues with the fact that foreigners are being placed in top positions, such as the Head of Domain Affairs, the USM President, and the Chief of Police, while he believes that there are locals here who can occupy those positions. Richardson said the people of St. Maarten have to wake up to a harsh reality since they are being marginalized in a very subtle way. He said St. Maarteners are not using their rights to speak out and that led to the current epidemic where they are now considered as underclass citizens which he said causes them to become hopeless and helpless, a situation which is causing them to react irrationally by committing crimes. Jeffry Richardson said he is of the opinion that this trend must stop now because the island's economy "tourism" will not be destroyed by natural disasters but by man-made disasters. He called on Parliamentarians to put the necessary laws in place that would empower and protect the natives of St. Maarten. He warned politicians: the unrest they saw happening in Tunisia, Lybia and Egypt can also take place here. Richardson said many people on the island goes to sleep hungry, they have no medical insurance, while not having any economic opportunities and are still unemployed and the politicians he said are living well, they are travelling and living up their lives while St. Maarteners are not able to even buy a home or purchase a piece of land due to the high prices.
Miguel Arrindell, a well known writer of several letters to editors made a very emotional plea during his presentation. Arrindell said he has nothing against immigrants but he does have a problem with the leaders of country St. Maarten. Arrindell said politicians are talking about nation building but they first have to ask themselves how they will build a country and who are the people to build that country. He said no country can be built if the leaders don't know what they are building and their own identity. Arrindell used President Obama's challenge when he was confronted with dealing with his aunt who was residing in America illegally. Arrindell said the US President could have broken the rule of law and legalize his blood relative but he made the wisest choice by having her deported back to Africa since he swore to uphold the law. Arrindell said they do not hate anyone but it is about being real to the deal. He said the leaders and politicians are involved in hypocrisy when they are looking out for foreign children and not that of their own. Arrindell condemned Dr. Lloyd Richardson whom he said is the most educated person in Parliament but according to Arrindell, Dr. Richardson is sitting while allowing the leader of the National Alliance to belittle St. Maarten people. He said this is not the kind of leader St. Maarten needs since no one can build a nation while destroying natives. Arrindell said he has no problem with the immigrants instead he has a problem with the island leaders and thus making it hard for him to respect them. Arrindell went as far as saying that he is willing to teach the Parliamentarians how to make legislations that would protect the rights of St. Maarteners.
Historian Daniella Jeffry who was also part of the panel said the people of St. Maarten/St. Martin have lived over the years by the treaty of Concordia of 1648. Jeffry wrote St. Martin's history based on the facts of life in her book 1963 a Landmark Year in St. Martin. Daniella Jeffry said politicians should know that the group of persons at the press conference are the spokespersons for those that are frustrated. She said the social problems facing the Dutch side of the island were created over 50 years while the French side about 30 years during the period the island was developing. Jeffry said over the years St. Maarteners from both sides felt they were a nation with many ancestry. St. Maarten/St. Martin she said is a nation that also had to immigrate in order for them to survive and this she said weakened the local population. Jeffry said while the politicians know they were a nation, they knew nothing about being a country since the island had no parliament, therefore politicians she said had no ideas on how to develop a country legally. Jeffry said there is a basic sense of protecting the island but leaders and politicians have chosen not to maintain the policy. The local historian said in the past when a foreign woman got pregnant in St. Maarten/St. Martin they had to leave the island to have their baby in their own country. Jeffry said St. Martin/St. Maarten did not have lawmakers locally so this she said affected the island. Jeffry made clear that no one can build a country with people from another country. This she said does not mean that they are not accepted. Jeffry said the foreigners have not integrated in St. Maarten's culture thus creating more problems and Parliament has to take these matters up now.
Another aspect she said contributed to the situation today is because St. Maarten/St. Martin expresses solidarity with its Caribbean brothers and sisters. Jeffry also highlighted the effects of the Social Aid on the French side of the island. She said the Social Aid given out on the French side has taken away the rights of the people.
