Statia News No. 16

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


2/8

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


3/8

APNA


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


4/8

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


5/8

FIRST & LAST STOP WINGS & THINGS


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.


6/8

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


7/8

LETTERTOTHE EDITOR


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.


8/8

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

Statia News No. 16

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Transcript of Statia News No. 16