Truth, Tested by Opinion

Last week, the SXM Boogy Foundation unveiled its very first operational buggy vehicle...

Across the Caribbean, government-owned companies too often fall victim to politics masquerading as leadership, and St. Maarten is no exception.

The world is moving at a supersonic speed towards a cash less society. In many places, using raw cash to pay for anything is fast becoming a rarity.

Well, it seems like sports is getting its sexy back on St. Maarten once again. People are paying attention. Government officials are showing up. So the question is: why now? (Not that anyone should complain of course)

Another school year is upon us and as such many aspiring high school graduates have started their journey to pursue tertiary education. However not much is ever mentioned about the students who return to Sint Maarten.

There is a certain art to governance: the careful balance between what is said and what is left unsaid, between action and inaction, between authority exercised and authority deferred. In the ongoing discussion about energy relief, the most revealing details often lie not in what is being done, but in what isn't.

In the decision by the Government of St. Maarten to request the immediate resignation of the Supervisory Board of NV GEBE lies not just conflict, but potential, the kind of potential that rarely announces itself amid institutional shakeups.

It is nearly August, and only yesterday, July 28, we received the Quarter 1 arrival figures for 2025. That’s three full months into the next quarter before the public was given access to information about the first.

Speed has become the defining factor of the world we live in today. Speed in communication. Speed in transportation. Speed in the preparation of what we eat. Speed in reaping the rewards of our efforts or lack thereof.

As a lifelong educator, former school manager, and the past president of the Windward Islands Teachers Union, I have spent decades observing the rhythm of the academic year, the intense pace, the emotional highs and lows, and the sheer dedication it demands.

Speed has become the defining factor of the world we live in today. Speed in communication. Speed in transportation. Speed in the preparation of what we eat. Speed in reaping the rewards of our efforts or lack thereof.

The title of this panel implies that our memory has been shackled. I beg to differ from this characterization. Our memory was not shackled but systematically erased, cancelled, buried, destroyed and forcefully replaced with an alien narrative to the point that we have forgotten who we were and who we were destined to be.

Emancipation Day has come and gone, but the Flamboyant tree, the Freedom Tree, continues to bloom majestically, as if to remind us that Emancipation is not a one-day event. Perhaps, like the Flamboyant tree, which reaches the zenith of its flowering in July, we should celebrate Emancipation throughout the month, unapologetically, fearlessly, just as our ancestors did in the weeks after the Emancipation Proclamation by Governor Krol in Curaçao could no longer be hidden from them.

When the proposition landed, a vacation destination, zero work, pure exploration, it was more than an invitation; it was a challenge that hit the very core of my professional being. As a consultant immersed in the dynamic worlds of tourism and aviation, "no work" is a phrase as elusive as a perfectly calm departure gate during peak season.

From the moment I stepped outside, Bali began speaking to both the traveler and the consultant in me. What was meant to be a break quickly became a mirror. The sights, sounds, and service all pointed to a destination confident in its identity—and quietly raised the question I couldn’t ignore: Is St. Maarten in denial about where it truly stands?