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INDEPENDENT NEWSLETTER

JUNE 27, 2010 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 5

STATIA NEWS

I am sorry it took me so long to make a new edition for Statianews. I know you are used to getting it every other week. I must say I never took a pause since I started Statia‐news and I now understand that this is disas trous. The news about Statia is slipping through the fingers of Statianews!!!! I now decided just to send out all the valua‐ble things that were sent to me and then maybe you hear from Statianews later when I am in Holland or when I am back. (if I come back.... )

Secretary General for Education visits Sta-tia, Page 2 Lt. Governor visits Statians in Holland, Page 3 Chamber of Commer-ce, Page 4 Denisio Brison on Talkin’ Blues, Page 4 Planningbureau goes back to the Stakehol-ders, Page 5 Opinion Spatial Plan-ning, Page 6 Opening CYF, Page 7 The Magic Chair, Page 8 Pics Queens’ Day, Page 8 Carly, Bumpy and Culture Lady in Hol-land, Page 9 Sports: Paul Pierce, Page 10 Caribbean Gospel Festival, Page 11 Leatherbacks Swim Team, Page 12 Letters to the Editor, Page 13—16 Announcement, Page 17

I want to thank a lot of readers for their sup‐port, it has been fun to make this newsletter and since it was also appreciated, everybody was quite happy! Whatever happens, you can always email me with a request to publish something or to help in writing anything. I will keep my mailinglist and my website. That’s info@statianews.com and http:\\www.statianews.com Facebook is also a good way to keep in touch with Statia. Enjoy the news,

Annemiek

Problem child performed at the opening of the Centre for Youth and Education. With his Calypso hit in 2005 / 2006 “The Magic Chair”. He was jr. Calypso King in these years. His performance was impressive because he stopped the cd and performed the song just like that, with the crowd singing and clapping with him. This part of the opening was the fun part.

PAGE 2 LOCAL NEWS/OPINION STATIA NEWS

I am of the opinion there is a conflict between civil rights and educational freedom. As a Dutch citizen, the Dutch government must provide the opportunity NOT to go to a “bijzondere school”, but to make the choice for public education. I hope uncertainty about the existence of a public school will be taken away in this Masterplan in the making. (A.) (from the RSC PRESS RELEASE): “In 2009 a report was prepared identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the housing infrastructure of educa‐tion organizations on Bonaire St. Eustatius and Saba. Fol‐lowing the instruction of the Ministry for Education, Cul‐ture and Science, VROM inspection supported by Nether‐lands Antilles architects bureau Plan D2, prepared a re‐port in 2008 entitled Education Facilities BES islands. The realization of non existing infrastructural facilities and helping with maintenance in arrears is budgeted in this report at 28.9 million guilders, excluding inventories and new construction of schools. Dialogue Dialogue with concerned school boards en Commission‐ers of Education on all three islands began at the end of 2009 continuing at the start of 2010. As a result of these meetings a plan was made and priorities were established with regards to the spending of scares means. Early May this year the Ministry of Education Culture and Science gave a definitive approval of the budget reserved for housing totaling almost 4 million Euros. These invest‐ments in education facilities on the three islands are scheduled to start this year. “ In my opinion, there should be a broader discussion about the school buildings. If ,for example, the entire building of the public school will be used for the GVP school, the pub‐lic school needs a new building. We can not afford NOT to have a public school on Statia!!

(A.)

June 27 2010

SECRETARY GENERAL FOR EDUCATION VISITS BES Oranjestad‐ Dutch Secretary General for Education Culture, and Science (OCW), Koos van der Steenhoven, visited Bon‐aire, St. Eustatius and Saba during the third week of June, on behalf of the Minister and State Secretary for Education, Culture & Science. The OCW top official was accompanied by Project Director of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, Mr. Gerard Maas, Education Quartermasters Fleur Lagcher and Hemmie van Xanten and Physical Planning, Housing and Environment (VROM) building inspector Erik Kool.

On Statia this delegation had a meeting with the executive council. They put their signature under a document promis‐ing that a master plan would be made soon to hurry up the fixing up of the school buildings. These renovations were planned to take ten years and all of them agreed that it should happen faster. The delegation also met with some members of different schoolboards and explained to them what their new re‐sponsibility’s, rights and duty’s will be. They also went to all the different schools to talk with man‐agement and teachers. Public School Statianews had a small conversation with Mr. van der Steenhoven and he explained that the issue of the public school is not an issue that Holland decides. The public school and how the money for the public school is being spent, will remain the responsibility of the local govern‐ment. In Holland there is freedom of education, everybody can start a school when they apply to the rules and a public school is not obligatory in a municipality.

Mr. Koos van der Steenhoven agreed upon a tighter time schedule to renovate the schoolbuildings.

PAGE 3 DUTCH STATIA NEWS STATIA NEWS

question was asked about possible agreements made with the Dutch concerning the level of autonomy for the island in the future. Mr. Berkel admitted that it is some‐times difficult to make hardcore agreements. However he stated that the evaluation period would be critical for the discussion of such issues as autonomy. The strategic development plan Berkel views the strategic development plans as a posi‐tive development for Statia. He stated that the develop‐ment plan should be viewed as a long term vision. This process requires active involvement of citizens on Statia and abroad. Those present stressed the importance of accessibility to the local beaches, the development of educational facilities as a source of income and the stimu‐lation of local entrepreneurship.

The role of Statians abroad “There is an obligation from both sides of the water to maximize the role of Statians abroad” Mr. Berkel said. He stressed the right of Statians abroad to pose their ques‐tions concerning the abovementioned topics. However this process needs to be structured in the right way. One possibility could be the establishment of a collaboration between the Friends of Statia Foundation in the Nether‐lands (the organizer of the meeting with the Lt. Governor) and the island government. In spite of the many uncertainties surrounding the new status and the future of Statia, there is one thing that remains evident: the love of Statians, far or near, for tran‐quil and organic Statia!

June 27 2010

THE LT. GOVERNOR’S PASSIONATE ADDRESS TO THE STATIA COMMUNITY IN THE NETHERLANDS By Xiomara Balentina On May 30th 2010, the newly appointed Lt. Governor of St. Eustatius, Mr. G. Berkel addressed a crowd of approxi‐mately 50 Statians at the Mazinga Eethuis in Schiedam, the Netherlands. The friendly laughter and the warm em‐braces created an atmosphere of togetherness.

The discussion focused on three main topics namely: the future constitutional status of Statia, the strategic develop‐ment plan and the role of Statians living in the Netherlands within the new status. The constitutional status The first topic discussed was the soon to be constitutional status of the island. After a brief outline given by Mr. Berkel, he was then bombarded with many questions. Questions focused on the conveying of information to the local community, the preservation of the Statian identity, the organization of a referendum and Dutch legislature. Mr. Berkel admitted that the conveying of information to the general public should improve. However he pointed out that locals and Statian living abroad also have an obli‐gation to seek information for themselves. In spite of the integration of the island into the Netherlands, Mr. Berkel believes that it is the responsibility of Statians to preserve their own cultural identity. Mr. Berkel is of the opinion that a vote by the general pub‐lic on the contents of the new status would be unneces‐sary. He stated that the outcome of the local election held earlier this year should be indirectly viewed as a mandate from the people to continue with the current constitutional discussion. Mr. Berkel believes that Statia should focus its energy on the adaptation and the realization of the new status. This could be accomplished by the expansion and development of human resources, Mr. Berkel stated. A

An atmosphere of togetherness at the Mazinga Eethuis in Schiedam

About 50 people attended this meeting with Statia’s Lt. Governor Mr. Gerald Berkel

PAGE 4 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS

“Do all entrepreneurs have to register at the Cham‐ber of Commerce?” Yes. The law on the Chamber of Commerce and Commercial Registration BES says registration is obligatory after 10 – 10 – 10. Until then the Antil‐lean Law is in place that says you have to register in the Chamber of Commerce on St. Maarten. The Chamber of Commerce St. Eustatius and Saba will be the place where local entrepreneurs can get advice, coaching, admittance to subsidies that de‐velop enterprise on the islands and so the Chamber of Commerce will play an important role in the eco‐nomic development on the islands. The Chamber of Commerce St. Eustatius and Saba will have a board that consists of people from the business sector. The first board will be appointed by the mutual executive councils, and within a year elections will take place.

June 27 2010

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE June 10, I read in the Amigoe that the Chamber of Commerce of Bonaire will be responsible for Statia and Saba as well. To clarify this matter, I sent an email to Mr. Hans Obdeijn, the “kwartiermaker” for economic affairs. He wrote: “The article in the Amigoe and also an arti‐cle in the Antilliaans Dagblad unfortunately give wrong information about the relation between the Chamber of Commerce in Bonaire and the to be formed Chamber of Commerce Saba – St. Eustatius. In the Daily Herald, the information was right. Both Chambers of Commerce work independently, but will use the same electronic back office for the commer‐cial register. “If I want to start a business here on Statia, do I have to contact the Chamber of Commerce on Bonaire?” No, registration is done on the Statia – Saba office.

DENISIO BRISON ON TALKIN’ BLUES June 24, Denisio Brison, attorney at law from St. Maarten was the guestspeaker on Talkin’ Blues. He explained the laws of succession of property. On Statia, there is a lot of undivided property. If for example generations ago, one of the local forefa‐thers bought land, all of his ancestors are entitled of a piece of that land. So, if this land was 5 acres and the man had five children, each of these children has the right for 1 acre. If you are the child of one of these children, and you have 5 sisters and brothers, you are the owner of one fifth of this 1 acre. Mr. Brison adviced the people of Statia to continue to do what they are doing. This remark he made in the context of undivided property. If you are a user of land that is un‐divided property, and you can proof you have been using this land continuously for ten years or more, you can claim the land to become your property. A user doesn’t have to be someone that lives there, someone that takes care of animals on a piece of land is also a user. You do have to have money, because you will be obliged to finance infra‐

structure. In this light, other possibilities are also possible for lease, rent, funding from a foundation or whatever. Government can do the same thing: If government can prove it will use the land to the benefit of the people on the island, they can claim undivided property as govern‐ment land. All of these land issues are to be handled in court. A court case for claiming land can take a long time and can be disappointing. This is why Mr. Brison advises just to conti‐nue what you are doing when you use land and await developments. The law for the succession of property is an Antillean law that exists since 2007. Mr. Brison thinks this law will still be in place after 10‐10‐10. In the Netherlands undivided property is not an issue, so the Dutch laws can not help the people on the islands.

PAGE 5 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS

rejected by the Executive Council and recent for corrections and the time given to the community to be inclusive and informed, was lengthened. The “Adhoc Committee” voiced it’s grievances and ideas to those in charge, they in turn reitterated that it was not written in stone and was open to change. At the end the Planning Bureau promised to go back to the stakeholders the two most prominent being the Medical school and Nustar Terminal to discuss the future of these important institutions. But most important they also promised to go back to the public and have discussions in the various neighborhoods about Statia’s social economic possi‐bilities and how they want Statia to be in the future. The ball is back in their court and we must await development. But as a people and a country we must remain vigilant to ensure our voices are heard and that our representatives are diligent in our inte‐rest. We await Governments next move in this area with hope for a better future for all and not the few.

June 27 2010

PLANNINGBUREAU GOES BACK TO THE STAKEHOLDERS By Jackie Berkel

April 15, there was a meeting with Maldwyn Timber and Siem Dijkshoorn of the planning bureau and with members of a private initiative, Koos Sneek, Jackie Berkel and Debbie Clarke. You can read about that private initiative in the informer that was sent to you Thursday and in earlier editions of Statianews. Mr. Ewan Boonstra also joined this meeting. He is senior policy worker environmental planning and environ‐ment Windward Islands. In this capacity he has to see to it that the process to come to a spatial planning for our island is going well.

A better social economic development plan has to be made, before Statia can begin with the next step: making a spatial plan for the island.

All present at the meeting agreed upon that, but dis‐agreed on how the plan was presented, what infor‐mation was used to develop it and the time being taken and given to realize it. At the very beginning of the meeting Mr. Boonstra was kind enough to inform that the plan as is was

Beautiful Zeelandia Beach with a view on St. Kitts’ volcano’s. Will it remain as pretty as it is now?

PAGE 6 OPINION STATIA NEWS

Social Housing and Farming I have a very strong feeling that social housing which includes small scale farming is the perfect option to get people to enjoy farming again. All of us say we need fresh local products. All of us agree that farmers on Statia don’t like to cooperate. Why don’t we give farming to the people? I heard that the Concordia area was planned accor‐ding to this very idea. Give people some land to farm on and they can have a house on that land. The harbor The SEI money’s and how it is spent, is still puzzling me. The harbor development idea is not changing anything. What Statia needs is a harbor for freight at the bottom of Signal Hill.

The Terminal I don’t know what is happening in the negotiations about the expansion of the Terminal. I guess Statia can negotiate for help with a new harbor for freight. Annemiek

June 27 2010

OPINION SPATIAL PLANNING In the April Informer that was sent to you, you can read about the decisions made on the map that came with the social economic development plan. There was commotion on the island about this map. The map was called a strate jacket because it limits the space where building is permitted. The informer had an interview with the planningbu‐reau and this is what they said: “The foreseen development for the coming 15‐ 20 years are on the draft vision map and concentra‐ted in one area for two reasons: 1) efficiency of infrastructural works. It is obvious that the cost for infrastructure will be lower if the build up area is more concentra‐ted instead of spread all over the island. 2)The goal is to maintain areas that future generat‐ions are able to develop based on the needs at that time.” I do not think these two reasons are good enough. 1) There is infrastructure all the way to the Botanical Garden, so on the Atlantic coast behind the mountain not a lot of costs on infrastructure have to be made if you want to build there. This is also the case on the other side of the island, by the Road to Whitewall. When you look at the map, you can see that the area “coffeegut”, by Zeelandia, will be a residential area. This will cost a lot more for a lot less houses, so this argument does not make a lot of sense. 2) This economic development plan is made for futu‐re generations. So the spatial plan we have to make must reflect the needs in the future. It is just exactly why we need it. We can all think of how Statia can be when 10.000 people live here. Surely Whitewall and Behind the Mountain will be residential areas. We must protect ourselves against long term specu‐lation. So it’s better to force people to build not long after they have bought land then to sell cheap land.

As you can see in this picture, the little round a bout was broken down to let big trucks pass. We can’t afford to break down this pittoresk round a bout every time trucks have to pass. Lower Town is supposed to be a touristic area.

PAGE 7 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS june 27 2010

NICE PICS: OPENING CENTRE FOR YOUTH AND FAMILY

A large crowd showed up to share the event. Child Psychiatrist Carmencita Chermont helping kids by the bouncing castle. She will work on St. Maar‐ten, Statia and Saba.

Marga Drewes and Minuschka Woodley with prices for the winner of the coloring contest.

Mr. Hooker says Statia has a lot of talent an potenti‐al but lacks discipline.

Mr. Louis Brown, acting Lt. Governor officialy opens the gate of the Statia Centre for Youth and Family.

Aloe Dancers performing.

PAGE 8 OPINION/PICS STATIA NEWS

To develop children is to develop their play, their sports, their music, their ability to cooperate, their interest in academic fields, their ability to speak in front of other people, their confi‐dence, their self knowledge... Moral education, an important part of schooling, should be taught in the daily practice. You should not be rude to other children, you should not curse, not fight, not steal, talk clearly, be polite to the teachers and the headmaster and be honest and hard working. When parents are involved and are obliged to help in school, more activity for the children must come out of that. School should be from 7.30 to 12 and then from 1.30 to 4. Music, Arts, Sports and Remedial teachers must work with groups of kids everyday. I don’t want my children to sit in a Magic Chair all of their schoolcarreer. They will get so used to being bored that they will not develop the skills they need to have a fullfilling life!

june 27 2010

THE MAGIC CHAIR IN SCHOOL By Annemieke Kusters I totally am against the Magic Chair. Statia has to start to use some scientific insights in her education. One of the things that are scientifically proved is that all people, big and small, have an attention span of 20 minutes. 20 minutes of intense listening is possible and not more than that. So no more than 20 minutes of Magic Chair and then the kids have to move. When you DO something: perform a skill, play a game, you can be concentrated for a longer time period. This is where the elementary schools must be aware of. Learning to read and write and do sums are the instruments that can help a child to express itself better and to move around more confident when it matures. To teach them these skills, takes more than the Magic Chair..

“KONINGINNEDAG” ON STATIA

PAGE 9 DUTCH STATIA NEWS STATIA NEWS

latest songs first. If the JB’s played the latest tunes from the radio, everybody would go to them, when the Crazy Cats had something new, they would come to us. The place to be every Sunday afternoon back then was at the Shing Ding, the Crazy Cats played at Spanner, the JB’s at Charley’s place.” West African Drumming Sams left the island to live in the Netherlands more than 35 years ago. After studying and performing West African drumming for many years he came to realize the value of Statia’s cultural mu‐sic. Victor Sams has dedicated himself to cultural music. Espe‐cially the West African music which is the roots of Statia cultural music. He has been organizing Back to the Roots for more than 14 years one of the biggest African‐Caribbean weekend work‐shop festival in the Netherlands. A weekend for African and Caribbean drumming, dancing and singing. Sams has also organ‐ized several trips to West‐Africa over the years to study African drumming, dancing and singing. In December he’ll be organizing another Study vacation to Africa. In the Netherlands, Victor works a lot giving African drumming/singing workshops in schools and companies to let them get acquainted with the Afri‐can drum and let them experience a cooperation without words in music. With children, this rhythmical cooperation comes more natural than with grown ups, is Victors’ experience…

Rhythm is a spirit Sams: “Rhythm is a spirit, the happiest of them all that we are born with. It is an universal language that is spoken globally. To understand it and speak it, lots of training and practicing is nec‐essary!”

june 27 2010

CARLY, BUMPY AND CULTURE LADY IN HOLLAND By Annemieke Kusters In May, Marcella Gibbs, Culture Lady from Statia, traveled to the Netherlands together with Carl Duinkerk and Victor Arnaud to perform at the Antillean Festival. A Success The Antillean Festival was a success, Statia performed in Amster‐dam (May 12) and in Rotterdam (May 15). The musicians from Statia: Carly (Carl Duinkerk), Bumpy (Victor Arnaud) and Marcel (Marcella Gibbs) brought the atmosphere of Statia’s culture to the Netherlands. There was not much time to rehearse, since the Statia group arrived late Sunday night and the performance was Wednesday. The Statia show consisted of three parts: A Statia part, a Victor Sams part and a Shirma Rouse part.

An integrated show We talked with Victor Sams (Archie) who was the organizer and coordinator of the show. “Next time if we have more time to rehearse, I would like to make one integrated show with Statia and African cultural elements all together.”

The Crazy Cats In the 1970’s, growing up in Statia, Sams’ generation didn’t occupy themselves with cultural music. They were more interested in the modern flow of music coming out of Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, along with American soul music. “In the band we would just play everything the radio played.” Victor Sams (Archie) sang together with Galloway and Mello in the Crazy Cats. “When you wanted to dance, you had to come to us.” Victor says. “The JB’s was the competitor, it was all about who got to rehearse the

Shirma Rouse Carly Masquerade Carly

Archie Bumpy and John

Victor Sams (Archie) loves to play music with children

For more information: Victor Sams, Gan productions Griftstraat 5 1079 XT Amsterdam

www.ganproductions.nl ganproduction@xs4all.nl Office: 0031 (0) 20 8208326 Mobile: 0031 (0) 641183021

PAGE 10 SPORTS STATIA NEWS

tant offensive asset of the Boston Celtics. But during the playoffs, when it counted, the man also proved to have game determining defensive capabilities. Shutting down Dwayne Wade of the Mi‐ami Heats, LeBron James of Cleveland Cavaliers and Vince Carter of the Orlando Magics, in that order, is no small feat.

In the end, Lakers proved to be just a little bit too much. Too big and too strong. But just a little. It went down to a stunning seven game finals. Celtics‐Lakers. 7 games. That’s the stuff NBA finals should be made of. Pierce and his men fought like lions. Bench players like Big Baby Davis and little Nate Robinson became stars overnight. The Celtics won 2 of their home games and one game in L.A to take a 3‐2 lead. Lakers then tied the game up and in game 7 Boston actually kept the lead for most of the game in L.A.. But Lakers had been outrebounding them in the game. Sharp observers could not have missed that. And in the end, the Boston Celtics ran out of gas. Outrebounded on the offensive side of the court. It hurt. I had been admiring this team for their fighting spirit and sheer effort. But Lakers were good too. Real good. Not only Koby Bryant, but the whole team. If they were the better team this year, than not by much. And that’s what makes a game a classic. That’s what true finals are all about. I felt drained and gutted and I think I must have slept for 12 hours straight. I woke up with the hope that Boston can keep this team together for next season. I have my doubts. Hard for me to say what is more exciting to watch: the NBA finals or the World Championship Soccer in South Africa.

June 27 2010

PAUL PIERCE By Rick Kusters I got into watching NBA Basketball because my students were al‐ways talking about it. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are the most famous ball clubs. And Lakers were the team to beat this year. The NBA champions, with the most celebrated coach, Phil Jackson, and the best player in the world, Koby Bryant: they were definitely the team to beat. Last year Lakers didn’t seem to have too much trouble in handling finalist Orlando Magics. It didn’t look like it would be the task for the Celtics to take on the Lakers in the finals. This year Celtics were an old team. Plagued by injuries and poor performance, they ended up as fourth franchise in the Eastern Conference. The Orlando Magics and the Cleveland Cavaliers looked younger and stronger. More dynamic. And they ended up higher in the Eastern Conference series than the Celtics. Especially the Cavaliers with ‘’king’’ LeBron James as the new shoot‐ing guard superstar and old time NBA champion S. O’Neil, made Boston look faded and irrelevant in comparison to the powerful Cavaliers. But the Celtics proved a resilient team and doc Rivers a true mastermind coach in resting his team and getting then ready for playoff time. Play Offs Basketball is all about the playoffs. The regular series is just the warming up phase for the decisive phase of the competition. In the playoff games Boston surprised by knocking out the Miami Heats, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magics. During these weeks of playoff competition I watched just about every game. And listened to all the game analyzing before and after the games. Every other day I’d sit in front of the television and ponder how the Bos‐ton Celtics were getting the job done. Teamwork. Hard work. Re‐spect for teammates. Sure. All of that. But they didn’t really have a single superstar like most other teams did. Shutting Down Superstars But it struck me that Paul Pierce is a very special player on the Celtics team. He might not be a shooter like Koby Bryant and he might not be a rebounder like Pau Gasol, but he can shoot and he can rebound. And he proved more versatile than that. Paul also proved to be instrumental in shutting down superstars. First on the list: Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heats. An explosive player. A true ball artist. Pierce read him like an open chart. Talking to Wade, defending him in his face. Drawing offensive fouls on him. Shutting the man down and getting the job done. Even when the man was hot, Pierce found a way of isolating him from the rest of his team. Then it was the time for LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had won most games of all teams during the series. James performance had, at times, been super human. James, a powerful willful player. A great shooter too. Outside and inside the paint. But Pierce didn’t seem impressed and never left the man out of his sight. He blocked him. Chased him down. Irritated him and tangled with him. On occasion he shot over LeBron. Also persistently setting up plays for his teammates. The Truth When Shaquil O’ Neal saw the young Paul Pierce about nine years ago, playing for the Celtics in a game lost against the Lakers, he mumbled to a Boston journalist: “Take this down: Paul Pierce is the truth!”. And that shows in his game till date. Versatility. The ability to change rolls in different games. Basketball intelligence on the move. This year’s Three‐Point Shootout winner is the most impor‐

PAGE 11 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS

arranged that both her and her son could join the group and fly to St. Eustatius to celebrate their winnings together. A big big thank you goes out first to God again for his great kind‐ness, blessings and mercy towards us. To the Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds on Curacao for making it financially possible for us to fly to Curacao and participate. We thank the entire community of St. Eustatius for their support in any which way they supported us: Concerts, donations and words of encouragement. Thanks to the Statians on Curacao that came out and supported us. Thanks to friends, families and well wishers from the Cher‐a‐sile church for their support. Also to the passengers of flight 435 and pilots for their patience and understanding. The group Eternal Flame thanks also persons and companies who helped them financially with their other expenses. Miss Leonora Sneek‐Gibbs, Mr Alvin Courtar, Mr Al Brown, Rivers Enterprise & Duggins Shopping Center. And those we did not receive a donation from, we thank you still for reviewing our requests and hope that we can work together in the future. This entire trip was hard work and fun, we got some hard knocks but God was our guide through it all. Remember Proper Prepara‐tion Prevents Poor Performance, both performances were great!!! CONGRATULATIONS ST. EUSTATIUS.

june 27 2010

STATIA SHINES AT THE CARIBBEAN GOSPEL FESTIVAL By Cecilia Gittens‐Roosberg On Wednesday June 2nd a assemblage of 8 persons from St. Eusta‐tius travelled to Curacao to represent St. Eustatius in the Carib‐bean Gospel Song Festival. The young talented soloist K’Lah Courtar The Quintet Eternal Flame: Consisting of Miranda Obispa‐Roosberg, Shaminda Horsford‐Gibbs, Delicia Godett, Vashti Hooker & Rijziena Hooker. Technical Advisor: Mr Andre Gittens Vocal Coach and Chaperon: Mrs Cecilia Gittens‐Roosberg Both the soloist and the group represented the island of St. Eusta‐tius well. The group Eternal Flame brought home the winning trophy for the group Division. The soloist did not place in the winnings, but we know she should have. The head judge started off by saying, “we had long deliberations and anyhow this is the results of the judges and there will be sur‐prises”. The person who should have been the winner, got last place, so then anything was expected after that. We encourage our soloist to continue in her dedicated commitment to enhancing and devel‐oping her voice for God.

Upon arrival on St. Eustatius the entire group was welcomed with shouts hugs, balloons and drinks, and a motorcade around the island. The group sang just the chorus of their song before taking off. Initially Miss Delicia Godett & son could not travel back with the group to St. Eustatius. However due to profound efforts of our lobbyist Mrs Miranda Obispa‐Roobserg, the captain of Winair flight 435 Mr Michael Jeffries and first officer showed empathy and

K’Lah Courtar, soloist

Number one prize winner Eternal Flame: Miranda Obispa‐Roosberg, Shaminda Horsford‐Gibbs, Delicia Godett, Vashti Hoo‐ker and Rijziena Hooker.

Statia and St. Maarten winners together. In the back, Shawn Wilkinson from St. Maarten, first prize winner soloists.

PAGE 12 SPORTS STATIA NEWS

St. Croix May 22—23 the Leatherbacks joined the St. Croix swim‐ming competition. The swimmers did a great job and won the overall 3rd place trophy. Each swimmer swam each stroke in their age category both 50 & 100 meter races. The swimmers are now training hard 5 days/week even though the swim season has ended for this season. The new season begins in September and we’ve already re‐ceived invitations for upcoming competitions.

We are looking for new members who want to join our winning team. If any readers out there want to join (chidren or adults) we have open practice Monday—Friday from 5—7 pm at the public pool, stop by and try out for the Statia Leaterhbacks swim team! Lots of hard work but lots of fun! Contact us at statialeatherbacks@gmail.com or call 318 1820 to talk to the coach.

June 27 2010

STATIA’S LEATHERBACKS IN CURACAO & ST. CROIX By Tina Smith Curacao We returned May 3 after a fantastic swim meet in Cura‐cao. All the swimmers did a great job and brought home either a medal or a ribbon for their performance. A total of 9 teams competed in the Dutch Caribbean Invitational, 5 from Curacao, 1 from Bonaire, 1 from Barbados, 1 from Aruba and 1 from St Eustatius .

S'Ade Williams: 7th place 50m Breaststroke, 8th place in 100m Freestyle Fernando Hassell: 8th place in 50m Butterfly Naomi Smith: 1st place in 50m Breaststroke, 2nd place in 100m Breaststroke We did fantastic and I'm proud of the whole team. Thanks to the board, I couldn't have done it without your help and support.

The pool in Curacao during the early warm up sessions.

Left to right: Fernando’s mother, Fernando, Tina Smith, Naomi Smith, S’Ade and her mother.

Matthijs de Bruin, S’Ade Williams, Fernando Hassell and Francis Avery with their medals and ribbons from St. Croix.

PAGE 13 LETTER TO THE EDITOR NEWS

STATIA NEWS

GEBE conveniently does not publicize this. Are our little islands any priority for this company when they have their hands more than full in St. Maarten? I have serious doubts. In closing I question the role of GEBE as a good corporate citizen. The last two or three years the government works on a project to improve the road network on Statia. Be‐sides only a new surface a number of narrow roads are also widened allowing for two lanes. Due to this develop‐ment in many cases GEBE poles end up in the middle of the road. This does not only give a very unprofessional and backward impression of our island, including the electricity company. It also poses a serious traffic hazard as traffic needs to swirl around all these poles in the road. Of course GEBE will put the blame squarely on govern‐ment. But as a professional company, that has the com‐munity of Statia at heart, I wonder why no effort has been made as yet to move these poles. I want to advise our governments to seriously consider any alternative for supplying our islands, Statia and Saba, with electricity. And with the oil terminal here as a potential partner we do have viable alternatives. We should not continue with GEBE simply because we always did and that GEBE belongs to us. The expiration of the GEBE concession is the perfect occasion to make a deci‐sion on how the island should go forward with the supply of electricity. Any decision should be based upon what is best for the island and its people and not on sentiments towards the electricity company GEBE, which by the way will be in another country after 10‐10‐10. If we still choose for GEBE to play a role in the supply of electricity on our island the decision should be based upon the crite‐ria that they offer the best service against the most com‐petitive price. We should never except paying more for electricity than the consumers in St. Maarten.”

june 27 2010

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY ON STATIA

The last part of the Koos Sneeks’ letter that was published in the Daily Herald recently: (Koos Sneek is the director of STEBA, the St. Eustatius Business Association.)

…”This may be the right time to consider other alternatives for our electricity supply than GEBE, since January 2011 the concession of GEBE is about to expire. The question is : “Do we have alternatives?” My opinion is: “Yes we do!”, but we need to have the courage to make the right deci‐sions. In this respect cooperation with our sister island Saba should be seriously considered. First of all the diesel fuel GEBE is purchasing from SOL in St.

Maarten and then shipping to Statia is more expensive

than what is available on our island through NuStar. Statia

is therefore not benefiting from this contract with SOL.

Secondly NuStar already generates its own electricity,

which by the way is about twice the demand of electricity

for the rest of the island. Adding up those two (and maybe

include the demand of Saba) might allow generation of

electricity with the use of heavy fuel. This will bring the

cost for fuel on the same level of St. Maarten. Cooperation

with NuStar Terminals, as consumer and supplier of elec‐

tricity, and Saba, deserves therefore serious consideration.

Seeing the fact that GEBE intents to charge a higher price for electricity to their customers on Saba and Statia after 10‐10‐10, I wonder what their further commitment will be towards our islands after this date. This company over a long period of time has shown that it is not capable to guarantee adequate electricity for St. Maarten, resulting in numerous power outages and load shedding. This by the way would also be the case on Statia. We don’t notice this since for a long time already NuStar is taking up the slack.

Nu Star Terminals, second biggest supplier of jobs for the island, (the first supplier of jobs is government). Will Nu Star play a role in our future supply of electricity? (A.)

PAGE 14 LETTER TO THE EDITOR NEWS

STATIA NEWS

A choice for a language spoken by relatively only a few people, means you separate yourself from the majority; a choice for a language spoken by the majority will cut you off from a small, but maybe very important, group of people (e.g. relatives.) Not because communication will be impossible, but because you have separated yourself socially. By opting for Dutch as the language of instruction in the educational system it is made clear that Statians see themselves as part of the Kingdom; by opting for English this is less clear, but the fact remains that they are part of the kingdom. As long as the exams are Dutch and in Dutch it would be both sensible and practical to opt for Dutch as the language of instruction in the educational system. The observations that there are people on Statia who

cannot read or write and who do not master standard spoken English says something about the history of their

learning and education, but precious little about the lan‐guage of instruction. Koert A. Kerkhoff, MA

june 27 2010

LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

In a previous copy of Statia News I read an article about the language of instruction. Some of the things mentioned in the article prompt me to react. The basic acquisition of language takes place between the ages of 0 and 6 years old. Between 4 and 10 most children will learn to technically read and write, or they should. Beyond that people expand their vocabulary and sentence structures, one person more rapidly and further than the other based on aptitude and attitude. There is no convincing evidence that a child must learn one language first (its mother tongue) before it can start learn‐ing another language. Evidence points in the other direc‐tion: children who learn more languages at an early age (0‐6) consistently perform better at (even non‐verbal) intelli‐gence tests. This holds true even for young adults who learn another language. So, the answer to the question 'what should be the lan‐guage of instruction?' is not depending on the language learning skills. What really determines the answer to the question are the views held with regard to the status of the different languages, and those views are socially, psycho‐logically, and politically determined as language is the tool par excellence to show who you are, and to which group you belong.

PAGE 15 LETTER TO THE EDITOR NEWS

STATIA NEWS

bean. They were certain they would always, always have access to them. They no longer do. Ask them. Even where they can still access them, they often feel uncomfortable. The hotels do their best to make their guests more comfortable and the Anguil‐lians less comfortable. If you think tourism development will help most Statians pros‐per, look at St. Maarten. Only 15 percent of the people of the island were born there. Have many of them prospered with the growth of tourism on that island? Have the original people of St.Thomas prospered? How much of a share of the billions of tourism dollars has gone to improve living for the original peo‐ple? Tourists stimulate a drug trade. They dare not carry drugs in and out of countries. So they look to buy them locally. This is why the drug trade has developed in every country that has increased its flow of tourists. That drug trade encourages local youth to get into drugs. It brings more and more crime. Why do you think crime has gone wild in St. Maarten and Anguilla and other tourism islands. Do you think this is an accident? Think. ZEELANDIA. Think about Zeelandia. This is one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the world. Do you really think hotels perched on the cliffs above Zeelandia will improve its beauty? Or will they detract from it? Big hotels there will come only if they are allowed to mess with mother nature and build artificial reefs to make the beach easier to swim in. Think. Who benefits from a big flow of tourists? If Statia was desper‐ately short of jobs, tourism might make sense. But Statia is not short of jobs. So why resort to it? What is the point? Some islands need jobs. They do not have a terminal providing work. Think. If the island must have development, are there types of develop‐ment that would benefit more Statians? Yes, there are. Think about homes. Homes for Statians. Homes for retirees from Holland, from Caribbean islands, from France. A limited number of new homes. Think about 500 new homes. Imagine advertising that says the government will allow 500 new homes to be built in the next five years. And no more. Once these are built, no more new homes – except for Statians – for at least 10 years. These homes would add about 1000 people to the island. Think what they would bring to the people of Statia. They will need dentists and doctors and healthcare. They will need a lawyer or two, an accountant or two. Being older, they will not be into drugs. Being older, they will not put a strain on

June 27 2010

THINK STATIA 1 OF 2 Your island is one of the few places on this earth where colonial‐ism is advancing. That is, a European power is determining how people thousands of miles away will live. Dutch bureaucrats are planning what will be developed on your island and what will not. Dutch bureaucrats are planning where you may build your homes, what will be on your waterfront, what will happen to your beaches. It would be nice to believe Statians contributed a great deal to the master plan which has been proposed. To believe that would be to believe in fairy tales. The master plan is, to be truthful, a Dutch creation. It can hardly be said to represent the thinking of Statians. Here are a few matters to think about. Think about. Think. TOURISM The master plan calls for considerable investment to attract a strong flow of tourists. The plan envisions hotels, restau‐rants, gift shops and various other businesses in Lower Town. It envisions small cruise ships docking there. It envisions hotels in Venus Bay and Zeelandia Beach areas. Think. Will a flow of tourists benefit most Statians? Tourists care nothing about your island, your way of life. They arrive, snap pictures, buy trinkets, leave litter and leave. Yes, they occupy some hotel rooms. People will have jobs cleaning those rooms. People will have jobs waiting on them in restau‐rants. A few taxi operators will do all right. But…will tourists add any professional jobs for Statians? Unlikely. Will tourist restaurants and hotels be owned and operated by Statians? Unlikely. Will tourists make it more likely you will have better schools? Or better healthcare? Or better roads? Or better anything? Unlikely. Will the flow of tourists improve the standard of living for most or many Statians? Unlikely. A few business people will profit from the tourists. There is noth‐ing wrong with that. But they could profit much more from an‐other type of development. More about that later. Will development for tourists harm Statia? Yes. In several signifi‐cant ways. You have one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the world in Lower Town. There is no more wonderful sight than Statians using it over the Easter weekend. Statians love to use the beach there. The area is quiet, safe, picturesque. When you develop Lower Town for tourists – with hotels and restaurants and marina, etc – you will lose the beauty of Lower Town. Think about this. You will lose it. To cars and traffic and tourists and buildings. It will no longer be yours. The hotels will want parts of the beach to be for their guests. Other businesses will want the same. If you say this will never happen, look at other islands. Anguillians have some of the finest beaches in the Carib‐

PAGE 16 LETTER TO THE EDITOR STATIA NEWS

Why give up those assets if all you will get in return is a flow of tourists and the headaches they bring? With sensible invest‐ments you may have the best of both worlds: infrastructure improvements, improved services, many jobs for Statians, more tax revenue to pay for government services. With thoughtless development you will likely end up with the sorts of problems other tourist islands suffer from. Think.

What would make sense? 1. Do everything possible to reject the master plan the Dutch want to impose. It truly is a form of colonialism. It was com‐posed without sound thinking about the welfare of Statians. (For instance, it simply assumes tourism will benefit the island.) 2. Insist that a new plan be drafted. And that Statians be con‐sulted at all stages of drafting that new plan. 3. Think. And urge friends to think about these issues. The number one thought should be: Why is Statia going to make a big effort to increase the flow of tourists? Who benefits from this? Who gets harmed by it? And ask the question: Are there not better ways to develop our economy? Ways that will benefit more Statians? Think. Think Statia. A very concerned Statia investor

June 27 2010

THINK STATIA 2 OF 2 the school system. Older people like to dine out. They will create conditions for more restaurants. And not the high‐priced tourism‐hotel restaurants. More likely the kinds of restaurants Statians will be able to afford. Think. All those homes must be built. They must be maintained. Over the years they will need painters, plumbers, electricians, roofers, carpenters, people to tend to the grounds. If only 50 of them had swimming pools, think how many people would find work tending to the pools. Think. People from overseas are accustomed to paying land taxes. Statia can tax their property here and gather funds to help maintain roads, etc. Retirees are not likely to pressure politicians for dramatic changes in the island. Whereas people who own hotels and restaurants and marinas are. People from overseas will be prepared to buy more fish caught by Statians, more vegetables grown on the island. They will support more modern food markets and a wider variety of products. Think. An extra 1000 people will give airlines more reason to expand the number of flights to and from the island. An extra 1000 people who have steady retirement income will give stores of all types more reason to expand and to offer more selection. The point is a simple one. A flow of tourists will provide little that will benefit most Statians. You only have to look at other islands to know and see this. Whereas 1000 new residents (many of them for part of the year, probably) would need services and products that would benefit most people on the island. They would cause the island to develop in ways that would help the most people. And – unlike tourists – they would have a vested interest in Statia. Unlike tourists, they would want it to look attractive. They would want to preserve its beauty. Do you think one tourist in a million cares one dot about St. Maarten? Think. You have a delightful island. Funds from the Netherlands for wa‐ter, schools, healthcare, roads, etc will gradually improve condi‐tions for most Statians. The gradual addition of 500 homes would likely do the same. But the addition of hotels and tourists will add little in the way of improvements and likely add serious problems in the area of crime and drugs. And that tourism development would harm two of the most valu‐able and beautiful possessions of the Statian people: Zeelandia and Lower Town. (Not to mention Venus Bay.) Think.

PAGE 17 ANNOUNCEMENT STATIA NEWS

the Centre for Family and Family it is important that we keep it at a manageable level. When the sum‐mer camp is over we will evaluate and decide on how to continue in the future”, according to coordi‐nators.

For registration and more information con‐tact: Centre For Youth & Family

Minushka Woodley: 3184986

Ester Siegers: 318‐4996

June 27 2010

CYF HOSTS FIRST SUMMER CAMP JULY 12—16

Oranjestad‐ “Teens on the Move” is the theme of the fist summer camp being hosted by the recently inau‐gurated Center for Youth and Family on St. Eustatius. The youth camp prepared for youngsters between 12 – 18 years will be held at the Christine & William Flanders Community Centre July 12 – 16. Youth work‐ers Ester Siegers and Minushka Woodley say “Teens on the Move” will highlight educational, recreational and cultural aspects.

Limited space Teenagers interested in attending the camp are re‐quired to make a contribution of NAF 50, ‐ each for which they will receive two T‐shirts, food and drinks. “The number of participants is limited in order to allow youth workers the opportunity to give each participant personal attention. Because this will be the very first “Teens on the Move” activity hosted by

Statia’s youth workers Ester Siegers and Minuschka Woodley will host the Summer Camp