INDEPENDENT NEWSLETTER
S TATIA N EWS V OLUME 1,
ISSUE
11 J ULY 13, 2009 Summer Special, the story of Françoise and her Roses, by Walter Hellebrand, page 2 to 4
E DITORIAL
RSC and Young Beethoven, Page 5 Civil Servants Agreement, Page 6 Koos Sneek: New Tax Laws for the Bes islands 4, Page 7 Aviation Pioneers of the Caribbean, Page 8 The Untiy Youth Concert, Page 9 Rootsriders on Statia, Page 10 Summerholidays have started. A lot of smiling faces on Statia. A lot of good looking young people walking around, home for the holidays. Congratulations to all the students that graduated. You can find the pictures that were made at the GvP graduation party here: h t t p : / / p i c a s a w e b . g o o g l e . c o m / rickenmiek/GraduationGVP2009 Congratulations to teacher Anke en teacher Bart with their baby born yes‐ terday: JULES Last Sunday motorcycle races, impor‐ tant part of Statia’s culture. Everybody take drinks and food and enjoys a day at the races. Statianews has no pictures of this event, next time: send them in!
In this issue, the final article about taxes by Koos Sneek and our summer special: Part ONE of THREE of the story of “Françoise and her Roses”, written by Walter Hellebrand. Also two valuable contributions in “Letters to the editor”. Still working on an article about the plans for health care. Please, keep on helping Statianews to grow; put everybody on Statianews’ mailing list. And write or ask Statianews to write! Enjoy, Annemieke Kusters .
Letters to the editor, page 11 Announcements, page 12/14
P AGE 2 S UMMER S PECIAL
July 13, 2009
S TATIA N EWS
F RANCOISE AND HER R OSES : A W OMAN B EATING THE O DDS IN THE 17 TH C ENTURY C ARIBBEAN - P ART 1 By Walter Hellebrand Amongst those of you who used to read my articles in the Daily Herald, some already know that differ‐ ent views of the respect a newspaper should have for its readers and contributors mean that I do not feel comfortable seeing my articles appear under the heading of The Daily Herald. And for those of you who were wondering, now you know the rea‐ son. However, there are other ways of sharing the rich and fascinating history of Statia and its neighbours. Statia News is a recent alternative that has been launched just at the right time and I hope and trust it will continue to grow. French Guyana I have just come back from a trip to French Guyana where I attempted to find the locations of the Dutch fortifications that were constructed there in the 17th century. The local archaeology department was very happy with my visit and with the help of their facili‐ ties and contacts, I succeeded. During the course of my research there, I also came across a story with a Statian connection that I thought was very interesting and perhaps a little dif‐ ferent. It is different because it is a 17th century story with a woman at the center instead of the men that normally dominate historical accounts of that era. I therefore thought I would share it with the readers of Statia News. It is the story of an energetic woman who was deter‐ mined to be a winner ‐ whatever blow history dealt her. It also illustrates how one woman’s life got caught up in the ups and downs of Dutch colonial power and in the European struggle to get as large a share as possible of the potential the America’s had to offer. Françoise Vaz The information we have about Françoise Vaz gives us a rare insight into the unpredictable turns in the life of a woman trying to get ahead in the uncertain colonial world of the 17th century. Françoise was
born in Rio Grande (now Natal) in what was then Dutch Brazil, in about 1645. The Portuguese, intent on regaining their colony, managed to chase the
Françoise was born in Rio Grande, pictured on this 17th century print (Walter Hellebrand Collection) Dutch out in 1655. An exodus followed: of Dutch settlers, those closely associated with them, and of Jews. The Dutch in Brazil had always welcomed the Jews but the Portuguese had a different policy. The refugees went to New Amsterdam (now New York), Cayenne (which became a Dutch colony that year), Curaçao and Statia. They took their knowledge of sugar cultivation and processing along with them. The Vaz family, including little Françoise, chose to go to Statia. Françoise’s childhood and teenage years on Statia were likely to have been peaceful. The island was left to prosper under the Dutch flag. However, as she entered adulthood, Statia’s first 28 years of peace came to an end and a period of repeated flag changes followed. The British (with their King Charles II first and foremost amongst them) were envious of the growth of Dutch wealth and power and tried to break the Dutch hold over international trade by force. In 1664, the British rear‐admiral Robert Holmes raided Statia (and Dutch Tobago) – in plain peace time. The aim was not to take the island (no war had been declared after all), but to ruin the island’s economy and commercial poten‐ tial. The Vaz family must have suffered the same fate as the other inhabitants: they were robbed of
July 13, 2009
P AGE 3 S UMMER S PECIAL
F RANCOISE
AND HER
S TATIA N EWS
R OSES
their merchandise and stripped of everything of value. Fort Oranje surrendered to buccaneers Still recovering from this blow and trying to rebuild the island, the next year Françoise and her fellow Statians were shocked to see another army fleet of 26 ships approaching their shores. They could breath a sigh of relief: it was the Dutch Vice‐Admiral Michiel de Ruyter who had been sent out to restore Dutch power in the region. All the excitement about enter‐ taining the crème de la crème of the Dutch navy was rudely interrupted by an enemy of a different kind: a hurricane. It may have been the first one Françoise experienced as the previous ten years seem to have been a relatively calm period in this respect. The hur‐ ricane chased away De Ruyter’s ships.
thing and in 1665 the Second Anglo‐Dutch War broke out. On 23 July of that same year, the Gover‐ nor of Jamaica sent out Edward Morgan (uncle of the infamous filibuster Henry Morgan) to Statia, together with 329 buccaneers. They forced Fort Oranje to surrender.
The infamous buccaneer Henry Morgan whose uncle Edward captured Statia in 1665
The monument commemorating the visit of Admiral De Ruyter in 1665 The next armed fleet to appear before Statia’s coast did not receive a joyous welcome. It signalled the start of a rapid succession of flag changes and diffi‐ cult times for the Vaz family and other Statia resi‐ dents. The continuous British harassment of the Dutch on all seas and shores could only lead to one
The English deport Statia population Françoise’s family must have been with the 19 Dutch nationals (men, women and children) who switched allegiance to the English or they may have claimed Portuguese nationality because all other Dutch citizens (250 in total) were robbed of their possessions, transported to St. Maarten and later ordered by King Charles II to be deported to Barba‐ dos as forced laborers for the plantations there. The fact that the loot of the British included 300 cattle, 50 horses, 500 sheep and goats, 50,000 pounds of cotton, 840 slaves plus the sugar works
July 13, 2009
P AGE 4 S UMMER S PECIAL
F RANCOISE
AND HER
S TATIA N EWS
R OSES About Walter Hellebrand
Refugees from Dutch Brazil introduced the sugar processing technology to the Caribbean islands (Walter Hellebrand Collection) (boiling vats, distillery kettles, iron crushers etc) of six sugar plantations, is an indication that the island had quickly recovered from Holmes’ raid the year before. The British left another member of the Morgan fam‐ ily, Thomas, as Commander of the island. A bizarre situation that occurred the next year, 1666, would determine the rest of Françoise’s life. How, we will find out in the next installment of “Françoise and her Roses.”
Walter Hellebrand is a historian who was born and grew up in Statia. His parents lived here and worked as teachers at the Governor de Graaffschool in the sixties and Walter was born here. When Walter was seven, the family left for Curacao. Walter always kept a special feeling for Statia and for Statia’s his‐ tory. He studies the history of Dutch overseas ex‐ pansion all over the world. A lot of Statians enjoyed his articles in the Saturday editions of the Daily Her‐ ald. These articles gave insight into aspects of Statia's heydays when the island was known as “The Golden Rock”. He also wrote letters to the editor about Statia’s history and heritage. Different views on editorial policy (especially concerning let‐ ters to the editor) led to his decision to stop writ‐ ing for the Daily Herald.
Walter Hellebrand Walter Hellebrand designed Statia’s coat of arms and recently he compiled the proposed monuments list. He will not participate in the follow‐up that will lead to the proposed objects and buildings becom‐ ing actual monuments because that would be a conflict of interest as he made the proposed list. It is unclear what the continuation of the “monuments traject” is going to be. Walter Helle‐ brand explained to Statianews that the descriptions of the monuments by the monuments council have to comply with the Dutch regulations about describ‐ ing monuments. Different specialists must be part of that council.
P AGE 5 L OCAL N EWS
July 13, 2009
S TATIA N EWS
RSC R EGIONAL S ERVICE C ENTRE One of the directorates of the Ministry of Internal and Kingdom Affairs is “Government and Kingdom relations” (bestuur‐ en koninkrijksrelaties) . It’s task is the coordination and development of policy for the cooperation with the “Kingdom partners”. The main focus for the reforms that are going on now is the improvement of the well being of the people in the Dutch Antilles. For Statia, Saba and Bonaire, the Regional Service Centers are handing over tasks to the different Dutch Ministries. The Regional Service Centre is re‐ sponsible for all the “rijksambtenaren BES”, civil servants that work in assignment of the different Dutch Ministries, or that are detached to work for independent civil services on the BES islands. There will be approximately 150 of these civil servants. The RSC is a front office for tasks that will be done by Dutch organizations or by organizations on other islands outside of the BES. The RSC is a back office for tasks executed by different Dutch Ministries.
Education The kwartiermakers work in the RSC. Hemmie van Xanten is one of them and he started to coordinate education for teachers. Five professionals in the field of education have shown interest to finish their education. The Hogeschool Windesheim in Zwolle will provide the curriculum for secondary school teachers and the Pedagogische Academie of Emmen will do so for elementary school teachers. Exams will be done in the Regional Service Centre. Henk Kamp On August the 6th, from 2 ‐ 4.30 pm, you can con‐ sult Mr. Henk Kamp, the Bes commissioner, who is here to facilitate the transition. If you have any questions concerning “What will happen when the Dutch come”, you can make an appointment at the Regional Service Centre. Each consult will take ten minutes, there is room for 12 people. On Saba this same sessions will take place on August the 4th. The contact numbers of the Regional Service Cen‐ tres are: Statia: 3183370, Saba: 4163934
Y OUNG B EETHOVEN Great performances at this musical event. All stu‐ dents that play music were participating in the annu‐ al musical event to end the schoolyear. This year the concert was called: Statia’s Young Beethoven. Highlights of the show: The anthem played by the little Packard girl, who came to live on Statia with her musical family. She studied the anthem in 3 weeks and the performance was flawless. The Oranje Steelband: Dennis Amajan arranged mu‐ sic to fit the steelband. A Beatles song, an Elvis song and more. The Steelband is getting better all the ti‐ me. The trombone played by one of the Packard family. The recorder group, in Dutch that is “blokfluit”, un‐ der direction of Teacher Brenda of the Methodist School. Heart warming.
The trumpet played by Shevon Timber. He started playing three months ago and clearly has a musical talent.
If you want more pictures, send statianews an email: mailto:
[email protected]
P AGE 6 I SSUE
July 13, 2009
S TATIA N EWS
C IVIL S ERVANTS A GREEMENT On June 24th, Mr. Julian Woodley, commissioner for constitutional Affairs, signed an agreement about the transition of civil servants. In Statianews, a summary of this agreement. If you want to read the entire document in Dutch, mailto:
[email protected] All the people that work for the island territory of St. Eustatius and for the country “Nederlandse Antillen” on Statia, will be transferred to the public entity. Agreements have been made under what conditions the Netherlands will take over the workers. Local government will make a list of all the civil ser‐ vants and send it to the Regional Service Centre. Personal data, as well as data about the job and about the salary will be on that list. One month after the making of this list, all the em‐ ployees will receive a confirmation. This is called a “uitgangspositie”. Three months before the transition, the Netherlands will confirm the intention to take the workers into civil service. Someone who works for the island terri‐ tory and does not fulfill his or her task to the fullest, can be offered a new job. The Netherlands and the island territory of St. Eusta‐ tius will make the judgments about the fulfillment of tasks in government jobs. The Netherlands will de‐ cide if people that started working as a civil servant after December 8, 2007, will be transferred into Dutch service too. What jobs are in local service or in Dutch service will be decided upon by the executive council and the Netherlands. Once the Netherlands has given this intention, a dos‐ sier of all employees will be worked out in more de‐ tail. In this dossier, not only the personal data, but also financial data and data concerning the job: job description, assessments, approval for extra activi‐ ties, sick leave, etc. will be described. The opportunity will be given for workers to look into that dossier.
Educational Personnel At the moment, the Netherlands is not appointing people to work in the educational field, but will be responsible for the money spend on education. The personnel expenses make up most of the costs, therefore it’s necessary for St. Eustatius and the Netherlands to make further agreements about the personnel ‐ and organizational policy until the date of transition. For educational personnel, the above mentioned first list will be made and send to the Regional Ser‐ vice Centre. All new personnel for the schools must be approved by the Kwartiermaker or the director of the RSC. St. Eustatius will not make any changes in the legal status of the educational personnel without the approval of the kwartiermaker of director of the RSC.
P AGE 7 D ISCUSSION
N EW T AXES
FOR THE
July 13, 2009
BES I SLANDS ,
By Koos Sneek In the previous editions of Statia News I have discussed the immovable property tax and the ABB as worked out in the 3rd concept tax laws for the BES islands. In this issue I will discuss the income tax. The income tax (and also wage tax) will be 10% over the board. This means that everyone will pay the same percentage. This is an improvement since presently we have a progressive tax regime. The higher your income the higher percentage (up to 33%) of that income you pay in taxes. It is clear that a flat tax tariff of 10% will first of all benefit the persons with higher incomes, since they are now paying the highest percentage. However, also the threshold will be increased to US $ 10,000. This is Nafl 12,660 presently. As long as your salary is no higher then approximately US $ 916 (Nafl 1,500) per month no tax need to be paid. It is the intention that the wage tax as much as possible will be an end tax. Together with introducing a 10% tax for all incomes above the threshold also most deduction and the need to declare additional income (like rental income) will disappear. Deductions that will remain are paid interest on home loans up to US $ 15,363. and study cost for children up to 27 years. Property insurance premiums will be deductable up to US $ 559. This amount is rather low taking into consideration the high insurance rates charged for hurricane insurance, presently up to 1.2 %. Rental income from homes and apartments will be tax free. This is also an improvement. Under the present tax regime 65% of this income need to be added to the taxable income. Making it tax free is basically legalizing the present custom of many if not all private owners of homes and apartments, who do not declare any rental income. A director/owner of a company (N.V., B.V. etc.) is obliged to have a taxable income for the income tax of at least US $ 30,000. This is not a requirement under the present system. First of all I wonder what this amount is based upon. I believe that in reality there are very few company director/owners in Statia who are making this amount. In my opinion before establishing a minimum taxable income research need to be carried out to establish a realistic taxable income.
PART
S TATIA N EWS
4
There are business owners who are director/owner of more than one company. Is this minimum taxable income applicable for all companies? If your company is a sole proprietorship you will fall under the income tax. Under this tax, deductibles as depreciation and investment deduction will remain. In the present system “investerings aftrek” (investment deduction) is 12% on buildings and 8% on equipment etc. in the first two years. In the new system it is 8% over the board. Here the incentive for investment is clearly lowered. I wonder why. If you use the deduction you cannot sell a building within 15 years. Presently this is 10 years. 15 years is a very long time. When you use a company car, 15% of the value, when the car was new, needs to be added to the income. This is 20% now so this is an improvement. It is not clear to me if there are special tariffs for instance for overtime and vacation pay and if there are any, how high are these. High tariffs generally do not stimulate extra output. As I have stated in my first article in general the lay out of the proposed tax laws looks like an improvement and beneficial to the public and business sector on the islands. There are however a number of articles in each of the drafts that are of serious concern and may negatively influence the cost of living as well as the investment climate and doing business on the islands. I sincerely hope that these issues will be addressed.
July 13, 2009
P AGE 8 L OCAL N EWS
A VIATION P IONEERS
OF THE
S TATIA N EWS
C ARIBBEAN
Oranjestad, St. Eustatius – On Saturday, July 11th 2009, the Aviation Pioneers of the Caribbean Founda‐ tion elected a new Board. Terrance Rey was elected as the new president, taking over from Elizabeth (Elly) Delien, founder of the Foundation and partner of Winair’s legendary pilot, the late José Dormoy, affectionately known as “Pipe.” Rey is managing di‐ rector of AirStMaarten, a company specializing in private charters throughout the Caribbean. Walter Hellebrand, historian and communications professional, was newly elected to the board and will take on the role of secretary. Elly Delien stays on as member of the board in the capacity of treasurer and the Board’s former secretary Nyna Burright, a ship‐ ping coordinator working for St. Eustatius Port Ser‐ vices, was also reelected. She will act as substitute secretary. The Foundation was established on February, 12th 2008 by Elly Delien to preserve and promote the his‐ tory of aviation in the Caribbean ‐ in particular in the Windward Islands – and to pay tribute to the pio‐ neers who opened up the islands to the outside world and thereby played an important role in their development. Some of the ways by which the Foun‐ dation tries to achieve its purpose include research and exposure of the history of aviation as well as projects to create more interest in the aviation his‐ tory of each individual island. When José Dormoy passed away in 2007, Elly Delien was left with a virtual treasure chest of documents, information and images relating to the early days of aviation in the Windward Islands, an eventful past in which her partner of many years played a very active role. She thought “Pipe’s” personal archive would make a valuable beginning of a collection of informa‐ tion about the history of aviation in the islands that was worth sharing with everybody. She therefore decided to start the Aviation Pioneers of the Carib‐ bean Foundation. Projects In its first year, the Foundation’s sizable archive was inventoried and organized. Also, displays commemo‐ rating the aviation pioneers were arranged for Saba’s airport and Winair’s sales office in St. Maarten.
The Foundation has a number of projects underway set to launch in August and November of this year and, with the new team on the Board, expects to initiate several more to highlight the pilots who opened up the sky for the northeastern Caribbean islands. Founder of the Aviation Pioneers of the Caribbean Foundation, Elizabeth Delien, handing over the ‘chairman’s propeller’ to Terrance Rey of AirStMaarten.
Acknowledgments Elly Delien expressed her thanks to all the former board members for their assistance with the estab‐ lishment of the Aviation Pioneers of the Caribbean Foundation and especially acknowledged the sup‐ port of Claudie Banare; film maker Pierre Brouwers, Jerry Casius; Leontien Durby; Michael Ferrier; Faustin, Denise and Robert Ledée; Michel Martinon; AirStMaarten, Mazinga Giftshop and Xerox. The Board would like to encourage everyone with stories, material or images relating to the history of aviation in the northeastern Caribbean to contact the Foundation so that scans or copies can be made in order to increase the knowledge of its fascinating development. For further information:In St. Maarten: Terrance Rey – 581 9740 /
[email protected] In St. Eustatius: Elizabeth Delien – 523‐4485 / apot‐
[email protected]
P AGE 9 M USIC
July 13, 2009
S TATIA N EWS
U NITY Y OUTH C ONCERT Saturday July 11, Fort Oranje A musical evening presented by the Mega D Youth Foundation. A nice atmosphere, a lot of music and dance and a lot of laughter, especially when Fernando Clark made jokes. Fernando Clark was the surprise guest presentator, a well known comedian from St. Maarten.
More people become involved in the activities of the Mega D. Youth Foundation. The Simon Doncker club, Stenapa, Statia Youth Soccer, the Aloei Dancers and the Innovation Bureau had presentations. MYF has a lot of plans, you can read all about it on their website: http://mega-dyouthfoundation.org
It was the grand premier of the videoclip “A Helping Hand” that was made in cooperation with over 20 local artists.
The heavenly voice was heard of Naldo Courtar, lccal police officer.
A lot of these artists were performing. Amongst them Lenaldo Courtar, Alicia Redan, Camberley Berkel, Joey & Friends, the Bethel Methodist School Choir, the Simon Doncker Club, Michael Daniel and the Aoei Dancers. This evening was also the introduction of the Mega D. Youth Foundation. This foundation is structured to focus on the youth, its main goal is to educate, motivate and encourage the youth of St. Eustatius.
Mega D. is aksing all of us to be part of the movement: be “A Helping Hand”
July 13, 2009
P AGE 10 M USIC
R OOTSRIDERS
ON
S TATIA N EWS
S TATIA , A UGUST 5, L IONS ’ D EN
The Roots Foundation present Rootsriders on Statia. The band, with singer Shirma Rouse from Statia, will be playing at the Lions’ Den August 5. The proceeds for the tickets will go to the auxillary home and chapel piece recreational center. About the Rootsriders If you're a lover of the music of Mr Robert Nesta Marley, then you will be invigorated and energized by the classy and skanky sound of Dutch/Caribbean collective Rootsriders. Their homage to Bob Mar‐ ley celebrates the life and times of the finest and most influential reggae artist of all time in a spec‐ tacular fashion. Born‐to‐perform front man Philip 'Junior' Tecla is backed by a band of top‐notch musi‐ cians, all well‐known on the Dutch music scene. In the Netherlands Rootsriders released an album‐ mixtape on which they collaborated with many popu‐ lar Dutch rappers to show that Marley's music isn't a phenomenon from the past only, but that his music and words are still valid for even the youngest of mu‐ sic generations of today. They’ve just finished work‐ ing on their new album ‘So Much More’, recorded on
various tours in Africa over the past 2 years. The 12 brand new songs feature the best of African talent Rootsriders teamed‐up with. The band performed in over 15 countries outside their home territory of the Netherlands. On stage the band combines the classic Marley tunes together with their own repertoire in a unique blend of fresh reggae‐flavored music: It's this combination of Marley's popular & recogniz‐ able songs and their own vibrant & catchy tracks that make their fun‐filled performances such a must ‐see experience. Tribute2BobMarley live at Melkweg Amsterdam December 9, 2008: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=TzSvEoSLNHs Tribute2BobMarley ‐ Jamming (ft Leona, Irepeat and others): http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=IooiY0434LI Rootsriders in Africa: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=eKg‐I4C4scc
Tribute 2 Bob Marley, photo by Ilja Meefout
P AGE 11 L ETTERS TO THE EDITOR
July 13, 2009
Statia spread your wings and fly. Dear editor, I applaud the efforts of the Dutch as it pertains to my island, Statia. However, I feel that the affairs of Statia are the responsibility of the people of Statia. It is by no means a bad thing to have the Dutch take over the responsibilities from the Netherlands Antilles as it pertains to the BES islands. However, I firmly believe that this should be a temporary situation. There should be a transition period during which careful thought should be given to those tasks that can be transferred to the local government of Statia. However our representatives should be equipped for such a responsibility. In life there is no greater bond than that between a mother and her child. The mother nurtures her child while the child learns about that thing called life and the ways in which she can survive on her own once she reaches adulthood. As the child grows older she internalizes all that she has learnt and she of course forms opinions of her own. She realizes that she must learn to spread her own wings. This is a scary process but it’s a thing she must do in order to become the woman she was destined to become. So Statia when will we muster up the courage to spread our own wings and fly? A critical Statian, living in the Netherlands.
The educational system on Statia Dear editor, On Thursday, July 2nd the results of the Gwendoline van Putten exams for the year 2009 were made public. The results were not good. All sections of the GvP school scored around 30%. Only the havo scored about 60%. At the graduation ceremony, Commissioner Hooker laid the blame for the poor results flatly at the feet of the teachers of the GvP school. He also said that clever teachers should be able to achieve better results even without books. He then went on to mention that he had spent millions on education and that these millions had been taxpayers money. Well let’s try to analyze the whether what Mr. Hooker said has any merit. First of all the commissioner is responsible for making educational policy on the island. We’ll examine that first. The choice was made to have English as the instruction language at primary schools while making the students do Dutch exams at the secondary level. That in itself is a recipe for failure. Students
S TATIA N EWS
start 6 years later (actually 12 years later!) in Dutch than their Dutch counterparts, but they have to take exactly the same Dutch exams. So that way students that barely master the language enter the gates of the GvP school and then have to learn the language in half the time that they would in Holland. Clearly one cannot blame the teachers for the results that are obviously going to be worse than in Holland. It’s policy that is flawed. In the second place: books are the instrument of learning for schools. Maybe the commissioner has made use of them himself when he was enjoying his education and maybe he realizes that they do help in educating students. To mention to Statia society that you’ve spent millions of their taxmoney without succeeding in obtaining books, is, to say the least, embarrassing. Where is the money spent on if not on books? The Innovation Centre spends lots of money on all kinds of educational courses. That is not wise educational policy. Government needs to get the educational priorities right. Hardware and software should come first. And by that I mean books, well equipped classrooms and computers. They constitute the learning environment for the students. Expensive courses can come after that. So, all in all, it might not be a bad idea for commissioner Hooker to do a little soul searching, before, unjustly, putting the blame on the GvP teachers. In fact he should praise the teachers and the students that passed their exams for achieving what they did in these unfavorable circumstances. What can be done to remedy the situation? Two things basically. First a choice must be made for Dutch exams or English exams. This purely a political choice. If government feels students have a better chance with English exams than they should copy Saba’s system. Saba made the choice for English exams and they are pleased with their choice and things are going comparatively well. If on the other hand government chooses Dutch exams (maybe because students can then study with the financial help of Dutch government in Holland), then they’ll have to stick with that. But choices bear consequences. If Dutch exams is the choice, then the language of instruction in the primary schools also will have to be Dutch. Otherwise it’s not fair to the children. You can’t have it both ways. Failing to choose and then blaming teachers or asking Holland for help is not fair nor is it serving any purpose. In the second place, money spent on education needs to be prioritized correctly. It makes no sense to send management or teachers to expensive courses if children have no books and computers. It is also essential to involve teachers in the process of determining where money needs to be spent to enhance the quality of education. The way it is done now, teachers are not involved. Often they hear one day before start that they have some kind of motivational program. Balloons are thrown in the air and everybody is supposed to feel good. But the problems are not solved and teachers do not feel committed if management/board/government do not listen. In this way it works just like a company. The workers need the right tools. If management gives them the wrong tools you’ll get the wrong product.
Rick Kusters, teacher at the GvP school.
July 13, 2009
P AGE 12 A NNOUNCEMENT
S TATIA N EWS
SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC INFORMATION W HY YOU SHOULD SPAY OR NEUTER R EASONS TO S PAY AND N EUTER S TATIA ’ S A NIMALS Spaying or neutering your animal helps to decrease Statia’s pet overpopulation
⇒
In a female dog’s lifetime, she can have up to 450 puppies!!!! By spaying her, she will have none! ⇒
Female dogs who have excessive amount of puppies are at increased risk of breast cancer...yes dogs can get breast cancer ⇒
Male dogs who are neutered are calmer, more obedient, less irritable and urinate less. ⇒
No unwanted mess associated with female reproductive cycle and unwanted male suitors ⇒
Saving Statia’s animals from a life on the streets ⇒
DO N’T LITTER! SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR CRITTER!
P AGE 13 A NNOUNCEMENT
July 13, 2009
S TATIA N EWS
P AGE 14 A NNOUNCEMENT
July 13, 2009
S TATIA N EWS