statia news no. 12

INDEPENDENT NEWSLETTER

AUGUST 17, 2009 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 12

STATIA NEWS EDITORIAL

Summer is at its’ end. Schools started today. Not in St. Maar‐ten and Saba, they start tomorrow, they were afraid “Ana”, the first tropical storm would be too fierce. Statia’s schools started as scheduled and they did without a sigh of wind. Statianews is getting a grip on what is about to happen for our youth. This, because of the talks with Hemmie van Xanten and Marga Drewes, kwartierma‐kers for Education and Youth and Family Care. See page 6,7 and 9. As promised, Clyde van Putten explains his remarks about Henk Kamp (page 4,5) If you want to know how close the other two storms that are coming our way are, check www.stormcarib.com

When Statianews had the interview with Clyde van Putten he said he did not pre‐pare for the storm. “ God has no reason to punish us…..” I asked him if he believed God had any‐thing to do with the storms. He said God’s spririt will be in them... God or no God in the storms, until now, we are pretty save here on our little island. I hope you enoy Statianews, see you in two weeks, Annemieke Kusters O Yes, I decided never to use the word BES again. (see 0,11)

Summer Special, the story of Françoise and her Roses, by Walter Hellebrand, page 2,3 Clyde van Putten explains, Page 4,5 Renovating the Methodist School, Page 5 Introducing Marga Drewes, Page 6 Plan Prevention and Youthcare plan, Page 7 Koninkrijkscompi-ment for SECAR, Page 8 New Fact s About Education, Page 9 Opinion: One, Twi-ce, Three Times an Island, Page 10,11 The Way I See It, by Alida Franicis, Pa-ge 12 Football on Statia, Page 13 Carnival on Statia, Page 14, 15, 16 Announcements, Page 17

The Carnival Survivors were leading the Carnival Parade, more Carnival pictures on page 13—15

FRANCOISE AND HER ROSES: A WOMAN BEATING THE ODDS IN THE 17TH CENTURY CARIBBEAN - PART 2

PAGE 2 SUMMER SPECIAL STATIA NEWS

diers had to hold on to each other to climb up a high mountain (at Jenkins Bay?). After some intense fighting, they managed to hole up the English inside Fort Oranje and drive them to the point of surren‐der. And then ... the French appeared. Where did they come from?

“Gotcha!” When the Lieutenant‐General of French Guyana, Antoine Le Febvre de la Barre, arrived in St. Kitts with his fleet a few days after the Dutch departed for Statia, he was told about the expedition. He decided to send ‘assistance.’ His son in law, D’Or‐villiers was dispatched to Statia with about 100 men. They could easily land as all the British were locked up in Fort Oranje and all the Dutch were busy holding them there. The French marched up to the Fort – only to find the Dutch just finalising their negotiations with the British. The latter were ready to surrender, only waiting for the conditions to be put to paper and then sign them. But now the British had a choice to whom to sur‐render – and they preferred the French to the Dutch. At least that is the French version of the story. According to the Dutch, they were tricked out of the final victory by the French. D’Orvilliers had requested if he could have the privilege to be the first to march his troops into the fort. It was granted to him. And … “gotcha”! Once inside, he closed the gate and forced the English to surrender to the

By Walter Hellebrand In Part 1 of ´Françoise and her Roses´ (www. Etc) we saw how the little girl Francisca Vaz left North‐East Brazil around 1655 when this Dutch colony became Portuguese again. The Dutch – as well as the Jews living under their protection ‐ were expelled. Whereas one of her fellow refugees, Roche ‘Brasiliano’ (originally from Groningen), resorted to an adventurous life as an (in)famous pirate, the Vaz’s came to settle in Statia. Here, the ‘Brasiliana’ blossomed into the young lady Françoise. In 1666, when she was about 21 years old, with her family trying to cope with the ravages caused by two Eng‐lish attacks in two consecutive years, a bizarre situa‐tion was to change her life. Dutch refugees in St. Kitts It was refugees from Brazil like the Vaz’s who introduced the knowledge of cul‐tivating and refin‐ing sugar – along with the need for slave labour from Africa. However, the development of the sugar busi‐ness in Statia had been dealt a se‐vere blow by the English raid of 1664 and the Eng‐lish occupation of 1665 when most of the sugar in‐stallations were taken away as booty. Twice in two years, the inhabitants had to start from scratch. And then in November 1666, the French and the Dutch stood in front of the gate of Fort Oranje at the same time, both demanding the surrender of the British garrison. On their way to Statia, the Dutch had stopped over in French St. Kitts and had told the Gov‐ernor of their plan to retake Statia. He promised his support. With the help of Dutch refugees from Statia in St. Kitts who knew the less obvious landing places, the Dutch managed to put troops ashore. The sol‐

August 17, 2009

Roche Brasiliano, like Francoise a refugee from Dutch Brazil, became a feared pirate after the Portuguese murdered his family.

The Dutch landing of 1666 may well have been at Jenk‐ins Bay where the soldiers had to “hold on to each other to climb up a high mountain.”

SUMMER SPECIAL STATIA NEWS

Who was this Gabriel Folio, “Lord of the Roses”? He was born in France, about twenty years before Françoise. He made his debut in history in 1664 as captain of a company of soldiers in Guadeloupe. The French West India Company had just been cre‐ated in imitation of the Dutch one and was taking over the French islands from their previous private owners. The representative of the Company in the Caribbean wrote to Louis XIV’s minister Colbert that he wanted to keep Des Roses in his position as cap‐tain as he was “a soldier whom you could post in a place where no one else would want to stay and he knew how to defend himself well.” The same year, he was sent out to defend Marie‐Galante against the English and was left in com‐mand of this island.

In September 1665, Des Roses, “a consci‐entious man,’ was made Commander of French St. Martin. The following year, he was ordered by the governor of the French West Indies to transport all the inhabitants of St. Martin and St. Barth’s to French St. Kitts. Des Roses (“one of the bravest of our Americans” according to the French historian Dutertre) took ad‐vantage of the boats that were sent to him for this purpose and used them to launch an expedition

against the English in Anguilla. He took three can‐ons and two prisoners from the island. On the horizon, visible from the island where Des Roses was now stationed, lay Statia, home to Fran‐çoise Vaz whose life he was about to change. How, we will find out in the next installment of “Françoise and her Roses.”

French. He then claimed the island for France. The Dutch were only allowed to stay if they pledged alle‐giance to the French King. There was very little en‐thusiasm to do this. Love… or a French meal ticket? The French proceeded to ransack the island. What‐ever was redeveloped during the previous year, was taken away: the processing facilities for sugar and cotton, the slaves, the horses and the oxen for the sugar mills. Le Febvre de la Barre sent a certain Major Gabriel Folio, Sieur des Roses to the island as com‐mander. Statia was left with nothing, everything of value had been carried away. But for Françoise, now a young lady in her early twenties, there was the French ‘Major Rose.’ He was to change her life. Was it love? Was it his “right of conquest” as the new master? Or was it her survival instinct that drove her into the arms of the new man in power? It is not an easy thing to find out after more than three centuries. However, it is not too difficult to imagine that with things being as they were, Françoise may have thought that this Frenchman came in handy and could be her ticket to a more comfortable life. Physical While Françoise was busy in Statia tightening the bond with her Sieur des Roses, Dutch diplomats in Europe occupied themselves with getting Statia back – after all: it was their troops that conquered the island before the French cheated them out of final victory. The English were obstructing the return of Statia to the Netherlands – until the Dutch showed them who was boss on the seas by sailing up the Thames and burning the core of the English fleet. The glow of the flames was visible in London, sending off a clear message. One of the results was that at the Peace of Breda that followed in 1667, Statia was returned to the Dutch. However, it took until the next year for the Dutch to physically take possession again – long enough for Françoise to get physical in a different way and strengthen her ties with Des Roses. “Where no one else would want to stay”

August 17, 2009

FRANCOISE AND HER ROSES

Gabriel Folio, Sieur des Roses was placed in command of Marie Galante in 1664 (Walter hellebrand Collection)

In 1666, Des Roses, then com‐mander of St. Martin, attacked Anguilla (Walter Hellebrand Collection)

CLYDE VAN PUTTEN EXPLAINS

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to implement Dutch policies. This remark struck Mr. van Putten as an arrogant remark. A broader picture Why does Mr. van Putten talk about “slave driver” and “colonialist”? He first wants to make clear that he is favor of the constitutional changes. It is not his intention to be contra productive. “But as a local politician, I am responsible to the people of Statia, not to Dutch politicians.” He met with Bijleveld in June in Curacao when there was “bestuurlijk overleg”. He asked her to urge Mr. Kamp to meet with the island council. Bijleveld promised Kamp would come. Van Putten thinks it is disrespectful that Kamp did‐not see the need to talk to the island council until Wednesday, August 5. He calls the meeting a disas‐ter, because Mr. Kamp was not prepared and be‐cause Mr. Kamp was arrogant. “He treated us like a headteacher treats children in class” says van Put‐ten. We agreed upon this: “We gaan het samen doen.”, and according to van Putten, if the Netherlands imposes their policies upon us, without involve‐ment, there will be resistance. He thinks Mr. Kamp has to step down, because ac‐cording to Mr. van Putten, Mr. Kamp is a polarizing figure.

Mr. Clyde van Putten, leader of the opposition in Statia’s island council is known for his voice that never remains unheard. In the past weeks, he had a lot of media attention because of his fierce words against Mr. Henk Kamp, commissioner for Bonaire, Statia and Saba. In the Daily Herald of August 14, Mr. Kamp gives a reply. “Kamp does not understand Clyde van Putten’s criticism”. You can read this article on www.statianews.com Mr. Van Putten has three major points of criticism against Mr. Henk Kamp. His appointment Van Putten: “We agreed upon this: after the approval of the Second Chamber of the Wolbes legislation, the appointment would be made to have a Commis‐sioner for the three islands, this job would be compa‐rable to “commissaris van de koningin” in the Neth‐erlands. This appointment must be done in consulta‐tion with the three islands. Mr. Kamp was appointed for the transition period as a commissioner for the three islands, but now he tells us he will continue his job after the transition. This is not the right way.” The RSC Mr. van Putten is saying this: “Are we so stupid on Statia, that we cannot find a Statian to be office man‐ager for our RSC?” Mr. van Putten was told that one of the people that work on the RSC and is from Statia, with a Masters Degree has to leave the job. He is surprised that we have an office manager who is not from Statia and whose qualifications are not known. He wonders why the Dutch didn’t try to get a local person in this position. The kwartiermakers Mr. van Putten says that a lot of people from the Dutch Caribbean in Holland and on Antillean islands are highly educated and qualified and a lot of them also work for Dutch municipalities or central govern‐ment, in the Dutch health care sector and so forth. He wonders why Mr. Kamp didn’t look for more Dutch Caribbean people to work as Kwartiermakers. According to van Putten, these are the people that know where the “painpoints” and the “leaks” are. In the meeting with Mr. Kamp, he asked about that. Kamp replied that de kwartiermakers are acting on behalf of the Dutch Government and that they have

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CLYDE VAN PUTTEN EXPLAINS (FOLLOW UP)

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Mr. van Putten is very proud he is in politics for 25 years already and that, as a “statenlid”, a member of Parliament in Curacao, he achieved some things for Statia. “As local politicians we never had the luxury of technical advisors, like the politicians in the Netherlands have.” he says. Only since 1968, Statia has had a voice in this Parliament. Statia is an island territory since 1983. Mr. Kamp has to bear these things in mind according to Mr. van Putten. Self Determination The islands agreed upon an evaluation five years after the transition. Mr. van Putten is of the opinion that after these five years we must have the possi‐bility to decide on our future. It cannot be “BES or independence”. Within 5 years, the people must decide what they want and we must have another referendum. Mr. van Putten says he is willing to go

“Mr. Kamp was not prepared to answer some of the questions,” van Putten claims. When Mr. van Putten asked him to explain when the Netherlands will be financially responsible for healthcare and education, Kamp said he did not know that. Statia’s background Van Putten says that the Netherlands should put its’ hand in its’ own bosom. He says that over the years, the Netherlands played a passive role. The Statutes gave this distance. “We had more auton‐omy than we will have now and I agree that we have to give up some of our autonomy.” But for Mr. Kamp to start about all the money the Nether‐lands is giving us now, is not fair, according to van Putten. “The smaller islands in the former Dutch Antilles remained underdeveloped because Cura‐cao terrorized and abused us, and the Dutch al‐lowed this to happen.”

August 17, 2009

RENOVATING THE BETHEL METHODIST SCHOOL

Three extra classrooms, painting the inside and outside of the school, fixing part of the road and the parking space: a big renovation and clean up for the Bethel Methodist School was necessary. Beside volunteers, DROB (public works) lended out some workers to help out. The school will open on Wednesday.

MARGA DREWES, KWARTIERMAKER JEUGD EN GEZIN

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worked with an “active parenting method” that is similar to the program the islands have chosen. The innovation Bureau, of which the We Care team is a part, gave Mrs. Drewes a list of 70 people that will join the Triple P trainings. “Triple P”, means “Positive Parenting Program” and gives the basic starting points for everybody that works with youth and families.

Plan Prevention and Youthcare “Plan Prevention and Youthcare St. Eustatius”, pre‐sented in June, is much like the plans for Bonaire and Saba. In this plan, you can see that three HBO professionals in youthcare (ambulante hulpverlen‐ers) will be appointed on Statia. (5 on Bonaire and 2 on Saba). A child psychologist and an educationist will be appointed too, they will most probably be shared with Saba. A child psychiatrist has already been hired and will start working October 1. Her name is Cheryl Ferrero, she was born on Curacao, her mother is from Bonaire and she lives in St. Maarten. She will be working on all three islands. Not only as a psychiatrist, because that will not be a fulltime job, but to help set up the implementation of the “Plan Prevention and Youthcare”. One of the important places for information and help she will set up will be the Youth and Family Centre, it will be something like a “Consultatiebureau” in the Nether‐lands.

Mrs. Marga Drewes is the “kwartiermaker” for Youth and Family care, she lives in Bonaire, with her hus‐band Bert van Dijck. She started to work May 1, she will work on Bonaire and will visit Statia and Saba once a month. Professional Career In her professional career, Mrs. Drewes has always worked for the youth. Before she started as a kwar‐tiermaker , she was the “directeur Jeugd en Gezin” of the Ministry of Youth and Family Care (ministerie Jeugd en Gezin). This ministry was created after the last elections in the Netherlands. It is a “programma ministerie” with the intent of strengthening the ties between the ministries that have youth as their “costumers”. Not only Education, but also Jus‐tice, Health, Social Care and Sports work together towards a broader ap‐proach pertaining to the problems of youth. Jeugd en Gezin plan Mrs. Marga Drewes was the one that wrote the “Jeugd en Gezin”‐ plan for the Netherlands. She was part of the delegation when Rouvoet, the Minister of Youth and Family care visited Bonaire, Statia and Saba last February. When she was here, she realized that what the Ministry promotes in the Netherlands is what is needed here too. “Mijn handen jeukten”, she says. They were looking for a kwartiermaker. When Mrs. Drewes realized the kwartiermaker had to be someone that works for the Ministry, she ap‐plied for the job. She will stay one and a half years to set up the program for the youth. This period can be prolonged with another year and a half. The program for Youth and Family Care will not focus on the problem kids alone, but is meant for all the children. “A great advantage is the small scale, you can work without the bureaucracy we have in the Netherlands.”, Mrs. Drewes explains. Another advan‐tage is that the “We Care Team” on Statia has

August 17, 2009

PLAN PREVENTION AND YOUTH CARE ST. EUSTATIUS


St. Eustatius will work with a positive education program, that has proven its merits. There will be a professional that is qualified as be‐havioral specialist (child psychologist or education‐ist) and a psychiatrist that will be structurally avail‐able for consultation and treatment. Seek possibilities to increase the number of foster‐homes and the number of children in the foster‐homes that are there. There will be a “familyhome” with room for four and with two “crisis” rooms. There will be a new youthcentre on the sportfield.

Mission An island were children grow up healthy and save, can develop their talents and have fun, where they learn to contribute to society and are prepared for the future: a place where all the children get all the opportunities. To achieve this, one has to keep in mind that: All that work with the youth share the same vision, the basic reference is the UN Treaty for the Rights of Children, prevention is the first priority, no projects, but structural policy en structural financing and coop‐eration between different stakeholders. The parents are primarily responsible, children grow up within the family as much as possible, children and families will be helped or treated on the island, the youth will also be involved (participation) The Challenges: The Challenges: Based on three reports that have been written and based on different discussions, the challenges for Youth and Family Care are: socially deprived families, not enough possibilities for a positive recreation, a lot of drop – outs, youth that are depressed (a.o. because of little perspective for the future), incest, teen age pregnancies, unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. What has to happen? Campagnes for awareness about a positive upbring‐ing for parents and educators. Center for Youth and Family with educating programs and support. Professionals have to be brought in to set up the sys‐tem and the programs. Professionals like a social worker, psychologist, school counselor, educationist, family counselor, family therapist must be installed. What will be done? There will be more help for parents and children with the upbringing of the children. Three extra people will be hired for that and the custodial care will be strengthened.

August 17, 2009

The colors in this circle represent the different as‐pects of the mission for youth and familycare: Grow up save Grow up healthy Contribute to society Develop skills and have fun Prepared for the future

KONINKRIJKSCOMPLIMENT FOR SECAR


To compliment him on his work in Leiden, Mr. Van Vollenhoven presented SECAR this price.

Saba and Statia both received a Koninkrijks compli‐ment. The price is 20.000 NAF and a work of art by Hortence Brown from Curacao.

This price is linked to an important part of Mr. Van Vollenhovens’ activities. Mr. Van Vollenhoven pro‐motes cooperation between non‐commercial organi‐zations in the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands. In Saba, the comprehensive school won this price for its cooperation with the Fioretti College in Lisse and on Statia, it was Secar (St. Eustatius Centre for Ar‐chaeological Research) for its cooperation with the Rijksuniversiteit of Leiden. Since the beginning of archaeology on Statia, in the 1920’s, there has been a cooperation between uni‐versities. The connection with Leiden goes back a long time, just like the cooperation with the college of William and Mary in Virginia, USA. Presently, Mr. Grant Gilmore, our archaeologist, is a `gastmedewerker` in Leiden. He gives lectures in Leiden every year and he helps students with their thesis and of course students from Leiden also come to Statia.

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NEW FACTS ABOUT EDUCATION

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Teacher Salaries Mr. Hooker, commissioner of Education, expressed his concern in the Island Council meeting last Thurs‐day about the schoolboards being responsible for the money spent on the schools. One of his con‐cerns is the teachers’ salaries. He implied that the boards can decide how much money the teachers will get. Statianews asked the kwartiermaker, Mr. Hemmie van Xanten, if this will be the case. Mr. van Xantens’ reply is “No.” Teachers’ salaries are based on Collective Labour Agreements. The salaries will not be as high as in the Netherlands, though. He also said that the boards will be professionalized: They will have to learn how to make a budget for a school, and they will have job descriptions. The language issue Mr. Hooker was explaining in the Island Council meeting that we will have a English‐Dutch system in the primary schools and a Dutch‐English system at the secondary school. To explain this concept, Statianews takes Saba as an example. On Saba the language of instruction is English in the primary school and in the secondary school. On Saba they made the decision to work towards a level of 2B Dutch. This is the level of Dutch as a second language. 2B is what the Dutch inspection of education recommends. Saba’s secon‐dary school will hold on to the CXC exams (Caribbean Exams in English) and the Dutch lan‐guage will be strengthened within the schools. One of the ways to strengthen the Dutch language is Physical Education. They hired a gym teacher that will speak only Dutch. This way, the children will have a “TPR”, a Total Physical Response. In elemen‐tary school, they will have a teacher especially for Dutch language. They will have a classroom that will be used for the Dutch lessons. On the secondary school, a program for Dutch must still be chosen. They will have Physical Education in Dutch like on the elementary school. Four elementary schools The difference between Saba and Statia is that Saba has one elementary school and Statia has four. The money provided per student will be distributed among four schools on Statia. This means that the schools will not have as many possibilities. Profes‐sionals will be shared amongst the schools for ex‐ample.

Leerling volg systeem By the end of August, Mr. Frans Janssen, head of the Dutch inspection of Education will be back on the island. He will help set up a “leerlingvolgsysteem” (system to follow the progress of the students). From this “leerlingvolgsysteem” a “leerlingzorgsysteem” (system to monitor students that need social or educational care) will be devel‐oped. Audit for Secondary schools In September, all the secondary schools on Statia, Saba and Bonaire will be audited. Last year we had the inspection of education that examined the qual‐ity of the education, now we will have a group that will look at the structural aspects of the secondary schools. This means they will investigate the organi‐zation of the schools, the finances, the lines of com‐munication and coordination and also figures like the examresults throughout the years. Just like with the inspection report, the results of this audit will serve as a “zero measurement” (nulmeting). Where did the money go? Until now, the extra money that was provided by the Netherlands to upgrade the quality of the education on Statia, has been spent on books for the secondary schools, SVP (Sociale Vormingsplicht) and will be spent on the training of teachers and boards. Meanwhile in The Hague In The Hague, they are making a priority list for edu‐cation at the moment. One of the priorities is Care (leerlingenzorg). The money spent on education on the three islands Bonaire, Statia and Saba will not be discussed in the budgetmeetings in the Second Chamber following “Prinsjesdag”, but will be dis‐cussed in December. The laws have to go through the Second Chamber first. Part of the preparations for these budget meetings is this priority list for educa‐tion. No more innovation bureau In the future, the Innovation bureau will cease to exist. The “onderwijsbureau” will be responsible for technical aspects of education, like “leerplicht”, and transportation to the schools.

August 17, 2009

”YOU’RE ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES AN ISLAND…”

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from Statia or St. Eustatius, not from Eustatius. The very fact that Statia is not even correctly included in the name that The Hague uses, is not a good sign. I – for one – will never use the word BES. And I hope all proud Statians will not either! Which brings us to the question: what would be a good name for those three islands which will have a direct relationship with the Netherlands? Amputated Several suggestions have already been made. Like ‘Dutch West Indies.’ Personally, I do not think that is a good name. It is partly because I am a historian. ‘Dutch West Indies’ is an existing designation and has always been used for all the Caribbean islands that are part of the Dutch Kingdom. That still in‐cludes Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten. So that name is not limited to the three ‘Dutch municipali‐ties in the Caribbean.’ More problematic is that it will not work for Bonaire. ‘West Indies’ is a term used by the Dutch, English and French but not really by the Spanish or Portuguese, which are the lan‐guages and cultures that Papiamento is based on. So for Bonaire, that name will not work. This – by the way – is already an indication why treating the three islands as a kind of ‘amputated Netherlands Antilles’ (with Bonaire as the new ‘mini‐Curaçao’?) will not work. St. Eustatius (Statia) and Saba are very, very different from Bonaire. Henk Kamp The Dutch Commissioner for Statia, Saba and Bon‐aire, Henk Kamp, has suggested “Nederlands Caribische Eilanden” (Dutch Caribbean Islands). At least, unlike “Dutch West Indies,” that would be a new name (in Dutch, because in English the words “Dutch Caribbean” are frequently used already). But formally it still includes Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten (as it does now when the term is being used in English). So again, I do not find it an appro‐priate name. Because of the different languages used in Statia/Saba and in Bonaire, Dutch – as the official language of all three and therefore neutral – suggests itself as the best for a new ‘bureaucratic’ name. So how about the NOG: Nederlandse Overzeese Gemeen‐ten (= Dutch overseas municipalities). ‘Nog’ in Dutch means ‘still’ – as in: they are still part of the Dutch Kingdom, or: there are still more municipali‐

By Walter Hellebrand Ban the ‘BES’ word Whenever people talk to me about the “BES islands,” I give them the same reply. I mean it as a kind of joke, but not everyone understands that. Perhaps some think I am just being stupid. And that is fine. Life is much easier when people think you are stupid (yes, just think about that for a moment …). So what is my reply? I always say that I do not under‐stand the word BES. What does it stand for? As far as I know it means nothing in English. But wait, Bonaire is also part of those three islands. So does it mean something in Papiamento? Well, it means ‘time’ as in one time, two times, three times (or “once”, “twice” and “thrice” as they say in Great Britain.). How does that relate to Bonaire, Statia and Saba…? It does not. Unless it is a variation on a famous Lionel Ritchie song: “You’re once, twice, three times an island …” ? Somehow, I do not think creativity is part of the stan‐dard repertoire of Dutch bureaucrats. So that rules out that explanation. Old women Ok then, does it mean anything in Dutch? They are Dutch islands after all. The answer is: yes, it does mean something in Dutch. So, perhaps everyone on the three islands speaks in B‐flat all the time ‐ or bes as it is called in Dutch? Or are the three islands mainly populated by old women – another meaning of the word ‘bes’ in Dutch? Or is the characteristic of all three islands that they are overgrown with berries (= bes in Dutch)? The answers are: No, No and No. So what on earth does BES mean? Then people ex‐plain to me that it is an acronym consisting of the first letters of the three islands. My answer: “I still don’t comprehend. I understand the ‘B’: that is for Bonaire. The ‘S’ is easy too, that is for Statia. But why do they spell Saba with an ‘E’ …?” Then people look at me, puzzled. Eventually, some get it. Some don’t. Eustatius? ‘Eustatius’ is not the name that the people of Statia use to refer to their own island. It is a word ignorant (or lazy?) bureaucrats in Holland use (although there seems to be someone in Statia who is proud of the fact that she – apparently – came up with the acro‐nym BES: thereby disavowing her own island?). We call ourselves Statians, not Eustatians – and we are

August 17, 2009

”YOU’RE ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES AN ISLAND…”

PAGE 11 OPINION STATIA NEWS

However, there may be people who begrudge Bon‐aire getting more letters in than Statia and Saba (as if to confirm that it is the “new main island”)? On the other hand, if the Bonaireans complain that an English sounding word is chosen whereas they speak Papiamento in Bonaire? Well, I will have them know that the American word ‘boss’ is directly derived from the Dutch ‘baas.’ PR In my opinion, it seems best to stick with a more or less provisional and bureaucratic sounding acronym like BOSS (but never the incorrect BES!) rather than give the islands an official designation such as “Nederlands Caribische Eilanden” (Dutch Caribbean Islands) because the latter suggests that there is a new entity within the Kingdom – and that was never the idea or plan. What we should have in the end is three islands ‐ each with their own direct relationship with The Netherlands ‐ called St. Eusta‐tius, Saba and Bonaire. I would be all too happy to take advantage of the “BES name issue” to generate some PR for Statia in the Dutch media: a kind of “The Mouse that Roared” story. I believe it could do Statia, or anyone really, no harm and benefit everyone, including the Dutch bureaucrats ‐ who could be shown to join the search for a better name. Ok, now I’ll try to get that Lionel Ritchie song out of my head ….

ties (than the ones in The Netherlands). Or will NOG remind the people in Statia and Saba of a Christmas treat too much? So perhaps the NEO – Nederlandse Eilanden Overzee (Dutch overseas islands)? It has the association with a new situation, but then again: would it make it too easy for the critics of the Netherlands’ attitude: “Ah, you mean NEO as in neo‐colonialism ….”? BES positive? However, the question should be asked: Why do we need a name for the three islands in the first place? The whole idea of the new status was that each is‐land would have its own direct relationship with The Netherlands. So we should not be talking about the BES Islands or “Whatever Islands” but about St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire (and please allow me, as a born Statian, to put Statia in front – at least for the purpose of this article). After all, they do not use the term CAS Islands for Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten either … I understand that bureaucrats and politicians (and the media) need something short for everyday talk and writing when the subject is Statia, Saba and Bon‐aire. And that is the only positive thing about the word BES: it is obviously a term that more or less just “happened” as a provisional solution while working on the whole constitutional, legal and organizational process that will ultimately lead to three individual islands rather than a group of three. And it is that very provisional nature that in itself says: “we are only using a silly sounding word to denote the three islands as a group for now because they are all going through the same process, but eventually we will stop using one word for the three.” BOSS However, it seems that gradually the focus has shifted and now we are in danger of the word BES getting stuck. Before you know it, we’ll have a BES police corps, a BES agricultural delegation, a BES soc‐certeam, etc. So if we need a word for bureaucratic purposes, I have already suggested the BOSS Islands (BOnaire, Statia, Saba). It does not require much get‐ting used to as it is very similar to BES, but it is cor‐rect and sounds much more positive than BES. Also, it is not a name that groups the three together under one banner, but an acronym of their individual names (as was the – therefore noble – intention of BES).

August 17, 2009

THE WAY I SEE IT BY ALIDA FRANCIS

PAGE 12 COLUMN STATIA NEWS

reach the goal to successfully prepare all students for their future. Fulfilling our individual responsibilities requires a change in the way we do business. It requires a new approach to how we look at education. The Way I See It:

∙ Without change, learning is impeded,

∙ Every student has a right to develop indi‐vidual abilities,

∙ Students should share in the responsibil‐ity of their own learning and personal growth

∙ Students, teachers, parents deserve to be treated with respect and dignity

∙ Students should be provided with an envi‐ronment that promotes learning

∙ Parents need to get involved. Time in‐vested with your child at home and at school pays off in huge dividends. The more you participate the more you and your child will benefit from school. Volun‐teer as a class room tutor, library or com‐puter lab aide or chaperone field trip

∙ Adequate funding must be made available to support education at all levels

The Way I See It, everyone needs to be continually learning, working and growing together to enrich the learning environment and develop social skills. Learning together and from each other is one of the most powerful ways to learn, because it builds relationships and community.

Summer is almost over and it is back to school time. Students, teachers, school management and parents have gotten a well deserved break from the every‐day. Fewer students have left to further their educa‐tion in Aruba, St. Maarten, Curacao and The Nether‐lands. Unfortunately some students will call it quits. In St. Eustatius , tropical storms Anna and Bill did not stop students and teachers from reporting back to school today Monday August 17th, to what will hopefully be a more exciting and productive school year. The break was long. Hopefully some time was spent reviewing and reflecting on how to improve educa‐tion in Statia. To be more specific, how we can pro‐duce better results than the previous year. For the past several years there has been extensive bickering in education circles. This was particularly evident between management and teachers at the secondary school level. An Education Summit was hosted on April 1st, 2009. A lot has happened since April 1st. The secondary school board was disman‐tled and a new school board was established. The Way I See It, combined this new Board is con‐sidered one of the most qualified and experienced in the history of secondary education on Statia. There is a wealth of knowledge, expertise and ex‐perience in the areas of policy development, fi‐nances, business, school and personnel manage‐ment, planning, community work etc. The chal‐lenges and expectations are great. The challenge is to ensure stakeholders start looking in the same direction. The expectations are that stakeholders will be treated with respect and dig‐nity. What is the vision? What is the mission? How will the mission and vision be communicated to stakeholders? How do they intend to iron out the creases? This school board certainly has its work cut out for it. The Way I See It, communication, integrity, trans‐parency and objectivity will be ingredients for suc‐cess. The Way I See It, education is a partnership be‐tween the school, students, parents, teachers, com‐munity and industry. Without all members of this team carrying out their responsibilities, we will not

August 17, 2009

FOOTBALL ON STATIA

PAGE 13 SPORTS STATIA NEWS

soccer club is a foundation with Mr. Cleford Wil‐liams as the head of the board. Mr. Paul Fletcher is the coach of the team. He trains the schoolteam, he trains the IBOS team and he helps out with the younger kids too. Wilma van Zoest hopes that in the future, the younger kids can automatically be trained for the IBOS team, or for another team. IBOS and the Youth Soccer Foundation have to co‐operate in a structural manner. Statia needs more soccerteams to practice amongst each other. She also thinks the schools can play a role in that. The greatest challenge is to find volunteers that can act as coaches. Both Wilma van Zoest and Paul Fletcher agree that Statia needs a big football field to play eleven against eleven. The football you learn on a Cruyff court cannot be compared to the football you learn on a big field. Our youngsters can’t train in shooting a ball very hard for example and that’s a great dis‐advantage when they play against another team on a big field. Besides that, it is impossible to invite teams from other islands to play a game of soccer if you don’t have a big footballfield.

On Monday September 14, Marije van Montfoort and another person from VWS (ministry of Health, Wel‐fare and Sports) will visit Statia to talk about a sports plan. “Sport en Bewegen”, of VWS visited the differ‐ent islands already and now plans are becoming more concrete. Marije van Montfoort is assigned to set up sports plans for Bonaire, Statia and Saba in half a year. She will start working in January. How is football organized on Statia? The two soccer foundations, Statia Youth Soccer and IBOS work independently of the Sports Federation. Wilma van Zoest of the Youth Soccer Foundation explains: The Youth Soccer Foundation has four teams, two for the smaller kids, two for the older kids. The teams play a small competition amongst each other and from time to time we organize a friendly games with other islands. There is also a girls team led by teacher Anke. Then there are the boys from the GVP school that act as a schoolteam when there are schoolcompetitions and most of them also play in the IBOS team. The IBOS

August 17, 2009

IBOS play every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday

IBOS IN ST. MAARTEN COMPETITION

IBOS, the International Brothers of Statia, is going to participate in the St. Maarten competition. IBOS is a seniorteam, most of the players are under 20. IBOS has joined the St. Maarten Football Association and will go to Sint Maarten every two weeks from Octo‐ber until March. Winair gave a generous discount on the tickets and now IBOS is looking for more spon‐sors. Mr. Paul Fletcher, trainer/coach of the IBOS team, wants to give his players as much exposure as possi‐ble. This competition give them the opportunity to play against other teams. On Statia, the possibilities to play against a good team are limited. There are not so much football players. This is why IBOS is look‐ing for opportunities off‐island. The Kingdom Games that will be hosted in 2011 will be interesting. In the past, players from the Dutch Antilles and Aruba would play against the Netherlands. In 2011, St. Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Statia, Saba and

the Netherlands will have their own teams. Bonaire, Statia and Saba have met and are planning to have a joined team. Statia News will keep you updated on the perform‐ances of our talented players.

CARNIVAL PICTURES BY MARIA BOBROVA

PAGE 14 CULTURE STATIA NEWS

August 17, 2009

Global Girls, first pricewinner Car-nival Troupes 2009



August 17, 2009

Statia Treasurers

Statia Warriors



Maria Bobrova from Russia, photographer, lives on Statia, with her husband George from Suisse, who is buil‐ding the Police Station and their son Steven, who is 14 months old. She sells her pictures via the internet. You can see her portfolio at www.mariabobrova.com. If you want your family pictures or individual pictures ta‐ken for free, you can call Maria at 5544787.

August 17, 2009

Rebels Band

Jammboyz

ANNOUNCEMENTS STATIA NEWS

Move your Act Every Wednesday 6.00-7.00 p.m. or 7.00-8.00 p.m.

How to enjoy

Exercises with mu-

sic, dumbbells and

therabands!! In the recreational room of the Auxiliary Home (new wing) Starting 12th of August 2009 Please be on time to join the warming-up part. For everybody Participation Naf 10,- each time (information; call 318 4304, physical therapist Joyce Wijshake)

TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC The Information Center of Taxes on St. Eustatius will be holding a town hall meeting at the Ernest van Putten Youth Center (Lion’s Den) on Tuesday, August 18, from 7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. We are inviting the entire public to come out and meet the staff of our Tax Office and be informed of the procedures that have been taking place so far and our future plans for better service to our community. You will also have the opportunity to dialogue with the staff. Your presence will be highly appreciated.

August 17, 2009

statia news no. 12

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