PHILIPSBURG--"We face daunting challenges, the financial situation being one such, but the security of our citizens and residents can't be compromised. Jobs for our youth can't be postponed, education can't be adjourned. Health care can't be reduced to the contrary; all these items require urgent attention," said Prime Minster Sarah Wescot-Williams in her New Year's message.
She said 2011 was to be a year of sustainment, following 2010 that could be called a year of attainment for the island. "[This is-Ed.] sustainment of our new country St. Maarten. Clearly this sustainment has several facets, some of which have been put in place from the onset to ensure that no one thwarted the new and young democracy created on October 10."
Wescot-Williams added, "As we break with the old, let us as a government be bold and proactive. Let us use our newfound autonomy wisely, but creatively. Let's not open the year 'business as usual.' Do something to identify with country. Do something to identify with St. Maarten. Do something to identify with St. Maarten's heritage and culture. Do something to identify with St. Maarten's future."
The prime minister called on the community to "build our nation, step by step, block by block. Have you made your step and laid that block?
"I speak directly to the St. Maarten people on this New Year's Day. For the past 111 days since 10-10-10, we have all been overwhelmed with the magnitude of what it means to be a country. I am sure there are moments when the thought crossed your mind that it seems easier to continue in the old situation than face the challenges of the new situation head on.
"The fact remains that the comfort some felt as part of the Antillean constellation was a false comfort. Underneath the surface, many matters that required solutions remained exactly there, under the surface. Now, in the face of country status, these matters have been bared, only adding to the apprehension some persons in the community felt."
Wescot-Williams said that, without wanting to downplay the magnitude of what St. Maarten faced as a young nation, she remained excited about its prospects as a country.
"There are those who feel that much of what we do or did in building our nation is because of what was imposed upon us as a trade-off for country status. Let me be clear that today the government and Parliament are autonomous bodies and inclined to do what we consider important for our young democracy."
The prime minister continued, "What is my vision for St. Maarten in 2011? A St. Maarten in which we come together not just because of economics, be it enterprise or labour, but to build St. Maarten in the process; a St. Maarten where government is adamant about education and spends a great deal on such, but also where education is appreciated for the proverbial key it offers to many; a St. Maarten where we are all proud of our heritage, understanding of our present and excited about our future."
She added, "Had I given this speech a year ago, I could have cut myself short with the excuse that it was not up to us to make all of this happen. Today it is! And more than the Charter proclamation that sealed 10-10-10 is the zeal for a new St. Maarten country. Let the spirit that reigned for those brief moments on the eve of October 10, 2010, be the guiding light on our paths in 2011."
From a personal perspective, Wescot-Williams said that 2010 had been a rollercoaster year with two elections with hugely different outcomes, realisation of country status, the loss of two siblings and appointment to the highest political office. "And in between, everyday life that is a challenge of its own."
Responsibilities
She continued: "St. Maarten's realities in the first place are our responsibility. We have learned a lot, we have copied a lot and we are thankful for not having had to re-invent the wheel, however, there are always specific realities to every place and time. Let us not become frustrated by the tensions we face between, on one hand these good intentions, and on the other hand the realities that dictate our pace and our passage.
"I was reminded of this these days again, as on my way to work I observed the long lines of immigrants at the country's Office of Labour Affairs. There is a wave of new immigrants who no longer are marginalised because of their status, but are being incorporated in our society. We need to seize the opportunity to embrace these persons not only from a formal perspective, but also from a social perspective. If our nation is to be great, all who live here and call it home need to rally around a common cause, a greater good."
With the constitutional process behind us, a new nation being formed, we can now identify the salient points of nation-building. This on its own is a transition of sorts, but a necessary one. From the old to the new, from what is behind us to what lies ahead, is where we tap for the inspiration to transition with confidence."
Year of achievement
Speaking of 2010, the prime minister said many labels would be put on the outgoing year: good for some, bad for others and indifferent again for a few.
"Our nation has had its share of the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, but surely if one were to label the year 2010 in terms of a significant occurrence, it must be considered a year of achievement. Better said, a year of attainment. To have finally achieved a much-desired yearning such as country status is indeed an attainment of no small measure."
Wescot-Williams said it was clear already that the government and Parliament as well as the constitutional entities, such as the Advisory Council, were finding their way, slowly, but surely.
In further developing our new country and its institutions, the tests will be many. But in the end, it will lead to a structure in which the various authorities and responsibilities will be clearly delineated and respected, offering content to the sometimes elusive term of checks and balances."
"'What a year it has been!' sounds like a sigh of desperation. However, let me be quick to establish that, in my view, 2010 has been a year of years. Except for the emotional break on that night of the 10th of October 2010, I contend, however, that not enough visible appreciation is being given to that major accomplishment, the one of St. Maarten becoming a country within the Dutch Kingdom.
"Surely there has been some apprehension, but while some look for any reason to dampen this feat, many others have put their hands to the plough to make it our country," she said.
"The New Year provides that opportunity to end something ? something we are less proud of, something that has gotten us nowhere in the past. Imagine you need no excuse, only the fact that the last day of one particular calendar year is behind us and a new one full of hope is ahead."
She added, "A few indisputable facts can be said of 2010. It has not been an easy year for anyone, anywhere. That anywhere includes us here on St. Maarten as well. But to use the anecdote of the glass of water, I still see last year's glass as half full, not half empty.
"[The year-Ed.] 2010 will go down in history as the year St. Maarten made its first step towards an independent country, with the ratification of country status. After 10 most gruelling years of constitutional negotiations, that part is definitely behind us and the next stage before us. Have we lost some things in the process? Surely! But recovery is now also ours to make," Wescot-Williams said.
"Don't lament about 2010; it's much too significant a year to wallow in regrets. It's a year that propelled us to where we are today and paved the way to where we want to go."
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