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Transcript of Statia News No. 16
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8/9/2019 Statia News No. 16
1/8
INDEPENDENTNEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 13, 2009VOLUME 1, ISSUE 16
STATIA NEWS
EDITORIAL
When I watch Gerrit Krol on BVN, he
alwayssays:Lekkerweeropdeboven
windse eilanden, onbewolkt, geen kans
op regen and I always have to laugh.
GerritKrolthinkswedontlikerain.
Weloverain!
Yesterday nightand thismorningsomerain fell. Itwas about time,because all
thegrasswasbrown.Nowyouseesome
greencomingupagain.
Statia isabeautifulplace to liveand let
ushopeitwillstaythatway.
Inpolitics,somestrangethingsaregoing
on in thecabinet inCuracao.Letshope
they make a good decision about the
candidate for our new Gezaghebber.
Bijleveldsays:
Ik
zie
met
vertrouwen
de
voordracht van de regering van de Ne
derlandseAntillen tegemoet. Letsho
pe theAntillean cabinet will take their
responsibilityserious.
Its great to live on an island like this.
You worry about its future, you talk
politicsallthetime, andstill,everyday,
youenjoy
living
in
this
beautiful
unspoi
ledfertilepartoftheworld.Unspoiledif
we cleanup thedumpand fertile, that
is,ifenoughrainfalls...
EnjoyStatianews,
AnnemiekeKusters
Marihuana,
page 2
St. Eustatius Bene-
volent Foundation,
page 2
Apna, page 3
Education, page 4
First and Last stop,
page 5
Statia, we are po-
werful beyond mea-
sure, page 6
Letter to the editor,
page 7
My Best Friend
Project, page 7
Announcements,
page 8
KnipTreesaregivingfruitnow
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8/9/2019 Statia News No. 16
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MARIHUANA
PAGE 2 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS
Joshuadidnotagreewiththat:Marihuanadoesnt
makeyousteal,whenyousmokeajoint,youhavea
nicemeditation,youeatsomethingandyougoto
sleep.Thatisnotwhathappensifyoudrinkalcohol.
Hethinksthatifeveryoneisaloudtohave5marihu
anaplantsintheiryard,justlikeinHolland,there
wouldbenoreasontosteal.
Healsosaidthatacoffeeshopwouldhelpgetthe
smokingofjointsoffthestreetsandthatthesoft
drugspolicy
in
the
Netherlands
are
used
as
an
exam
pleinneighboringcountriesinEurope.
Ontodayspressconference,Mr.RoyHookerand
Mr.JoshuaSpannerhadadiscussionaboutMarihu
ana.
Joshuasaid:FromwhenIwasborn,alcoholwas
legal,nobodymadeafussaboutthat.Peopledie
fromalcohol,butalcoholislegal.Statiaagreedfor
euthanasia,whichisassistedsuicide.Theyagreed
onsamesexmarriages,noproblemwiththat.But
theydontagreeforthefreepurchaseofmarihua
na.Theeffectofmarihuanaononeshealtharefar
lessthentheeffectsofalcohol.
Mr.Hookerrepliedthatmariahuanatendtoopen
thedoortoillicietdrugs.Andthatyoungstersare
stealingtogetmoneyforit.
Oct. 13, 2009
NewYork,October10,11
Lastweekend
Lt.
Gov.
Mr.
Hyden
Gittens
was
guestinNewYorkforthe20thanniversaryofthe
St.EustatiusBenevolentFoundation.Thisfounda
tionwasfoundedtohelpStatiaafterhurricane
Hugo.Beforethattime,therewasanotherfoun
dation:TheOranjeBenevolentFoundation.Mr.
GittenssaidthatalotofStatiansliveinthatarea
andthesepeoplearelookingforwaystobemore
connectedtoStatia.Aconcernisthatthesecond
generationofStatianslivinginthatareaneedto
getinvolvedtoo.Heishopefullthough,because
someyoungpeoplearewillingtousetheirexper
tiseto
use
the
modern
technologies
like
internet
toaimtothisgoal.Statiansabroadcouldbepart
oftownhallmeetingsforexample,ifweusesky
peorsomeotherinternetconnection.
Nutriciousfood
TheSt.EustatiusBenevolentFoundationwillbe
startingayouthprogramaboutnutriciousfoodin
theschools.LenoraCannegieter,whoisactivein
thefoundationisstillinNewYorknow,wehope
togetsomemoreinformationandpictureswhen
shegets
back.
MaternityBed
TheGroup
of
Statians
in
Holland,
Friends
of
Statia
is
of
youngerage.Theysponsoredthematernitybedfor
thenewmaternityroominStatiashospital.Thisma
ternityroomistobeopenedsoon.
Jobopportunities
ThenextquestionisifStatiaisactiveintryingtoget
youngprofessionalStatianstocometoStatia.Mr.Git
tensstatesthatmoreandmoreStatiansarecoming
back.Therewillbeagrowthoflocalpeoplecoming
backtoStatia,especiallywhenhealthcareandsocial
securitiesare
upto
par
after
the
transition.
Hesaysthatallthevacanciesareonthewebsite
www.statiagovernment.com.Headdsthatmostofthe
time,youngerpersonsgothroughaninitialsacrifice
beforetheyreachtoagoodposition.Statiawillbe
creatingjobopportunities,especiallysincetheinvest
mentofficerwillbeappointedsoon.Mr.Gittensex
plainsthatitsalwaysgoodtotrainpeople,butfor
somepositions,likeheadofStenapaorSecaryoureal
lyneedpeoplewithaspecializeduniversitytraining,a
lotofexperienceandabignetwork.NotalotofYoung
peoplehave
an
interest
in
that
special
field.
Educating
Statiasyoungpeopleisveryimportant,headds.
ST . EUSTATIUS BENEVOLENT FOUNDATION
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8/9/2019 Statia News No. 16
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APNA
PAGE 3 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS
firstweeklypressconferencewehad,thatthe2,1
millionNAFStatiastillowesApnawillnotbepaidby
theDutch,buthastocomefromlocaltaxes.
Nowalotofpeoplehavebeenpayingmoneytothe
pensionfundwithoutbeingregistered.Thequestion
iswerethatmoneywent.
APNAproblemsallover
AllovertheAntilleanislandsyouhearstrange
thingsabout
debts
to
Apna.
On
the
frontpage
of
MondaysDailyHeralditsays:BijleveldSchouten,
throughherspokesmanonMonday,confirmed
statementsbyBonairesleaderofgovernmentJopie
AbrahamthatshestoppedpaymentofNAF52mil
liontopayoffdebtstogeneralpensionfund
APNA.
52million?ToAPNA?Thatcantbetrue!Andifits
true,whatdidhappenonStatia?Howbigisour
debttoAPNA?
VervangendPensioen
Mr.Hookersaidalaborerthathasworkedfor30
years,willget150NAFvervangendpensioenifhe
neverwasregisteredandneverpaidforhispen
sion.Healsosaidthatsomepeoplehavetobuy
backtheirpension,becausetheyhaventpaid
enoughovertheyears.Hereassuredthatifanyone
hasbeenpayingfortheirpension,theyhavearight
tothatmoneyafterretirement.
LastweekinSheddingLight,Mr.RoyHooker,our
commissionerofFinance,gavesomeexplanation
aboutpensions.Today,ontheweeklypressconfer
encewiththeexecutivecouncil,again,theAPNA
wasmentioned.
Anexample
Toexplainthesituation,itisgoodtovoicethecon
cernofsomepeople.Thereisforexampleone
teacherattheGwendolinevanPuttenschool,who
hasbeen
working
there
since
1995,
and
who
has
beenpayingApnamoneyforhispension.Thisman
isretiringnow,onlytofindouthewasneverregis
teredinthepensionfund.Whenaskedaboutthis
specificsituation,Mr.Hookersaidthatthismanhas
arighttohismoneyandafterhisregistration,he
willgethismoney.Healsosaidthatthisisthere
sponsibilityoftheboardofthatschool.
Teachersandpensionsisadifficultmatter.Mr.
Hookersaidthatalotofteacherstayherefortwo
orthreeyearsandtheyhavetomakesurethat
theirpension
money
will
be
paid
out
after
their
retirement.Ifyoucanproveyoupaidthemoney,
youmustbeabletoreceiveit.
ThedebttoAPNA
AboutthedebtStatiahastoApna:Itremainsa
mystery.ItsaidintheDailyHeraldthatthefederal
governmentreceived3,2millionNAFwastopayoff
StatiasdebttoApnafrom1999 2005,andinthe
13,2milliondebtrelievethatStatiagotfromHol
land,thedebttoApnafrom20062008wasin
cluded.IrememberMr.Hookersaying,inthevery
Oct. 13, 2009
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RENEE REEHUIS REACTIONTO HEMMIEVAN XANTEN
PAGE 4 EDUCATION STATIA NEWS
WritingGroup
Some years ago the Innovation Bureau formed a
writinggrouptocomposeaDutchtextbookand
otherDutchmaterials in theFBEschools.Mr.Ree
huissaysthistextbookismoreadaptedtotheCar
ibbean situation. Children do not learn about de
slotenendesneeuw,butabouthurricanesandthe
rain season. Later thiswritinggroupwas replaced
by a sole writer assisted by a Sounding Board
GroupandnowReehuisisbusytofindfundingfor
finishingthe
job
and
to
have
arefresher
course
for
theDutch teachers.StudentsDutchskillswillonly
improveiftheschoolsinvestmoretimeinDutchin
thewayhowitshouldbetaught.
NoCycle3
The intention of the FBE system, was to have a
cycle3thatwouldstartattheprimaryschooland
endatthesecondaryschool,tomakethetransition
to the secondary education easier. Finally it was
decidedthatCycle3wouldnotbeimplemented.
Hesays
that
it
is
unfortunate
that
Mr.
van
Xanten
proposedtohaveareferendumaboutthelanguage
ofinstructioninSt.Eustatius.Hesays:Thisdiscus
sion only makes the situation more complicated,
now that theDutch textbooksalreadyhavebeen
orderedforthesecondaryschool.Bydoingthisthe
schooldecidedtogoonwiththepresent language
ofinstruction. Hesaysthatintheperiodbetween
20032008English(reading)booksandlotsofother
materialsfortheFBEschoolsareorderedandthese
schoolshaveanewbudgetavailable tospend this
year.
Stickto..
In reply tomyquestionabout the languageof the
exams inthesecondaryschool,hecouldnotgivea
clearanswer.SincenewDutchtextbookswereor
dered, we will have to stick to the Dutch exams,
wasmoreorlesswhathesaid.
Mr.ReneReehuisistheheadof EducationDepart
mentandalsoprogrammanageratSt.Eustatius.He
wants to react to what Mr. Hemmie van Xanten
said in the Talkin Blues program two weeks ago
aboutthelanguageofinstructionattheschoolsand
what was summarized in the last edition of Statia
News .HemmievanXanten said that the language
policyfor theelementaryschools iswrittenonone
sheetofpaper,mentioningtheProtocol, andthatit
ismultiinterpretable.
Mr.Reehuis
says
that
by
talking
about
the
Protocol
Mr. van Xanten does not take into account what
effortwasdonetocometothatlanguagepolicy.He
told that reportsandstudiesabout that issue from
the various schools are available at the Education
Department,ifMr.vanXantenwantstoknowmore
abouttheschoollanguagepolicy.Headmitsthatfor
thesecondaryschoolalanguagepolicyhasnotbeen
drafted that time, although the school provided
Spanishspeakingchildrenassistanceinthepast.
Thelaw
Mr.Reehuiswantstoexplainthemakingofthefed
erallawforthelanguageofinstructionineducation.
In 2001, the Antillean Ministry of Education came
with the first concept law: LandsverordeningFun
derend onderwijs [FederalOrdinance for Founda
tionBasedEducation(FBE)].Inthatlawitwasstated
that all the elementary schools would have to
change its system; the new systemwould be FBE.
AccordingtoMr.Reehuis,oneofthearticlesofthat
Ordinancewasthelanguageofinstruction.Thefirst
ideathatcamefromtheAntilleanGovernmentwas
that
the
parents
were
entitled
to
choose
the
lan
guageof instructionattheirschools.LatertheFed
eral Government changed this idea and gave the
island territories the right to decide upon the lan
guage of instruction. Particularly the Catholic
schools in Curacao opposed to that; they were
afraid the island would choose Papiamentu as the
language of instruction on Curacao. So the final
draftbecameaversionthattheSchoolBoardscould
decidewhat the languageof instructionshouldbe.
TheFBEschoolsinStatiadecidedtohaveEnglishas
thelanguageofinstructionintheFBEsystem.
Oct. 13, 2009
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FIRST & LAST STOP WINGS & THINGS
PAGE 5 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS
TheFirstandLastStopisnowopenfrom10in
themorning,until2thenextmorning.Youcan
haveWingsandThings;Johnnycakes,fries,
potatosalad,riceandpeas,ribs,etc.etc.I
nafewweeks,Sergiowillbeopenforbreak
fasttoo;at6or7.
Asyoumusthavenoticed;somethingisgoingon
on the corner of Korthalsweg and Sandy Road.
SergioPhilip sells foodanddrinksagain.Hedid
that10yearsago,bythesugartown busstop
inGoldenRock.Peopleused todriveby to get
theirsnacks.Aftertwoandahalfyearsofdoing
that, Sergio left for London and then went to
Baltimore,andcamebacktoStatia lastyear.He
startedtoworkasthebreakfastcookattheold
Ginhouse,andnowSergio isbackat isoldspot.
This timenot fordriveby,he iswaiting for his
permitto
put
tables
and
chairs
there.
He
also
wants to put up a big screen and thenwewill
haveaopenairmovietheatre!
Oct. 13, 2009
Sergio10yearsagoatthe
SugartownBus
Stop.
Sergio10yearslaterinhis
newplace,
close
to
the
BusStop.
TheFirst&LastStoporWings&ThingsisatthecorneroftheKorthalswegandSandyRoad.
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8/9/2019 Statia News No. 16
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STATIA , WEARE POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE , PART 2
PAGE 6 DISCUSSION STATIA NEWS
Selfgoverningislandboundbylocalizedandking
dom/internationallaws
Soletsassumeforamomentthatyousharemy
visionforStatia.Whatconcreteplansarerequired?
Firstofallwewouldneedtodefineourfuture
structure.Forexample:Selfgoverningisland
boundbykingdom/international lawsandlocal
izedlaws. Secondly,inordertoobtainsucha
status,thestatusofSpecialMunicipalityshouldbe
graduallychangedtothatofSelfgoverningisland.
Onein
which
island
representatives
would
be
re
sponsibleforlocalaffairs,whiletheDutchwouldbe
consultedoninternationalmatters.Inotherwords
2015shouldbetheyearinwithStatiacontrolsher
ownlocalaffairstotheveryleast.
SkilledStatians
InordertoprepareusforthistaskStatiansmustbe
trainedinareascriticaltothedevelopmentofmore
autonomy.TheDutchGovernmentalongwiththe
UnitedNations
should
be
willing
to
assist
us
in
this
process.Inadditionwecouldseektheassistanceof
thealreadyautonomousandindependentCarib
beanislandsintheregion.
Turningdreamsintogoals
Tomakealongstoryshort,Ibelievethatwitha
clearvisionforthefuture,dedication,hardwork
andpersonalresponsibility, Statiacanandshould
becomeaSelfGoverningislandintheCaribbean
Sea.Letusbandtogetherasbrothersandsisters
working
towards
a
life
changing
experience.
XiomaraBalentina
Giveamanafishandyoufeedhimforaday.
Teachhimhowtofishandyoufeedhimforalife
time.
Chineseproverb
MygreatloveforStatia
Inmyopinion,thestatusofSpecialMunicipality
shouldbetemporary.BeforeIcontinueIwouldlike
tomakeitclearthatIamnotanexpertinpolitical,
socialand
economical
affairs.
However
my
enor
mousloveforStatiaandthepeopleofStatiacom
pelsmetosharemyvisionforStatiawithyou.
Cripplingandselfdefeating
Therighttoselfdeterminationistherightofthe
peopletodetermineitsowndestiny. Thisrightis
recognizedinmanyinternationallaws. Soifthisisa
basicright,Ibelievethatweneedtoexercisethis
right.TheSpecialMunicipalitystatusdoesnotallow
us
to
control
to
the
very
least
our
own
internal
af
fairs.Thisstatuscripplesindependentfunctioning
andonesabilitytothinkoutsidethebox! Many
peopleclaimthatStatia,SabaandBonairearenot
inapositiontofendforthemselvesbecauseofeco
nomicalandpoliticalconstrains.Buthaveweseri
ouslygiventhoughttootherconstitutional frame
worksthatwouldbemorebeneficialtoStatiainthe
longrun?Whatgoalshavewesetforourpolitical
future?LongtermdependencyontheMotherland,
semiautonomywithintheDutchKingdom,auton
omywithintheDutchKingdomorindependence?
Actionplan
IhaveaclearvisionforStatia. Myvisionisthat
Statiawillonedaycontrolherownaffairs. Inmy
opinionthisgoalcanbeaccomplished. How? We
needanactionplan!Someoneoncesaidthatthe
reasonmostpeopleneverreachtheirgoalsisthat
theydontdefinethem,learnaboutthem,oreven
seriouslyconsiderthemasbelievableorachievable.
Winnerscantellyouwheretheyaregoing,and
whattheyplantodoalongtheway!
Oct. 13, 2009
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7/8
LETTERTOTHE EDITOR
PAGE 7 LOCAL NEWS STATIA NEWS
IhavereadthatSt.Kittsisalreadywellontheir
waytoproducingelectricityinthisveryfashi
on.Imaginenomorepoweroutagesbecause
ofadieselgeneratorbreakingdown.
Theenvironmentalimpactofgeothermalgene
ratedelectricity isalsomuch,muchfriendlier.
Ourpowerwouldbecheaper,muchmorereli
ableandecologicallymoreresponsible.
Thanksfor
giving
this
aread,
JonK.C.Kinstley
Annamieke,
Itsaidinthefirstarticletorespondwithany
economicideasfortheisland.Hereismine!
Afterthelastgeophysicalsurveytheground
wateronSt.Eustatiuswasfoundtobewar
mingatdepth.Withtheannouncementthat
theQuillisonlyinactiveandnot dormant.
Shouldntthegovernmentberesearchingthe
ideaofdrillingtheQuillforgeothermalgenera
tionof
electricity?
Oct. 13, 2009
MY BEST FRIEND PROJECTON STATIA
Tuesday,October6,MedicalSchool,Statia
MegaDYouthFoundationandGetPsyched"Psy
chiatryClubloungedtheMyBestFriendproject.
Therearemanyanticipatingvolunteersfromthe
medicalschoolcommunitywhohavebeenrallied
togethertoparticipateinthisprogram.Thepro
gramwillbethatamentor(medicalstudent)would
bepairedwithachildfromthelocalelementary
schoolsandwouldberequiredtomeetwiththe
childatleastonceamontheverymonth.
Inthesemeetings,thementorwouldserveasa
"BestFriendorabigbrotherorsisterandpartici
patein
some
recreational
activity
not
consisting
of
funds(moviefromalaptop,sports,park,beach,
boardgames,etc.)foratleastanhourintheday.
Theseareoneononemeetingtimesthatwouldbe
coordinatedpersonallybetweenthementorand
child's
parents.
Notonlywouldthisoneononetimebebeneficial
tothekidsasasocialoutlet,butitcouldbeanother
meansofthemedicalschoolgivingbacktothe
community.Achildcanfeelspecialthattheyare
beingpaidattentiontobyhavingsomeonetheycan
openuptowithoutanyworriesorinhibitionswhile
thementorcanserveasapositiverolemodel/
influence.
Attheendofeachprogramagrand"Mentor/
MenteeTalentShow"willbeorganized inwhich
boththe
medical
school
and
community
would
be
invitedtotheevent.
MegaDandMishaSpanner,projectplannerofthe
MegaD
Youth
Foundation.
Boyswill
be
tutored
by
male
students,
girls
by
theirfemalecounterparts.
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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC DAY CELEBRATION
PAGE 8 ANNOUNCEMENT STATIA NEWS
ThursdayOctober22,taxspecialistsfromthe
NetherlandswillcometoBonairetoexplainthe
finalnewtaxlawsforStatia,SabaandBonaire.
ThesecondorthirdweekofNovember,Mrs.Bijle
veldwillcomeheretotalkwithBonaire,Statiaand
Sabaaboutthedivisionoftasks.
ThursdayOctober15therewillbeanOLYMPIC
WALK,organizedbytheSt.EustatiusSportsFedera
tionincollaborationwiththeNAOC.
Thewalkwillstartatthemonumentoppositethe
RomanCatholicChurchat5.15pm.
Theroutewillbe:fromthemonumenttothePara
mirawegrightondeGraaffweg rightonFort
Oranjestraatleft onKerkwegleftonRosemary
LaneleftonBlackHarrylaneleftonHMQueen
Beatrixwegonwardto
Mansionweg,
Biesheuvel
wegleftonSandyRoadonwardtotheCottage
Ballpark.
Allparticipantswillreceiveatshirtandwateralong
theroute;attheCottageBallparkeveryonewill
receiveasnackandadrink.
Oct. 13, 2009