Sint Maarten at a Crossroads: Can We Choose to be Builders, Not Takers?

Sint Maarten at a Crossroads:
Will We Be Builders or Takers?

By a Concerned Citizen & Advocate for Collective Survival

 

Let me start with something very clear:

This is not about taking away anybody’s rights or freedom.

Every human being on this island – whether born here or arrived last year – deserves:

• a fair chance to build a good life,
• equal treatment under the law,
• basic safety and dignity.

I am writing this out of love and out of fear – love for Sint Maarten, and fear that if we continue like this, we will lose the very meaning of “home”.

We complain every day:

• crime is out of control,
• the cost of living is insane,
• government doesn’t work.

But these are just symptoms.

The deeper sickness is this:

Our island is quietly breaking into separate pieces. The “One St. Maarten” we like to talk about is mostly a slogan, not a reality.

 

1. One Island, Many Worlds: How We Are Falling Apart in Silence

Let’s be honest.

On paper, Sint Maarten is:

• one people,
• one island (already divided into Dutch and French),
• “The Friendly Island”.

In reality, we often live in parallel worlds:

• Chinese communities,
• Indian communities,
• Dominican communities,
• Haitian communities,
• European and North American enclaves,
• and native Sint Maarten families trying to hold on in the middle.

Many businesses:

• hire almost only from “back home”,
• keep their money and trust inside their own circle,
• never truly mix with the wider society.

This is not (always) illegal. But it is dangerous.

It deepens the belief:

“You take care of yours, I’ll take care of mine.”
Until, one day, there is no “ours” left.

On an island already split politically into Dutch and French, this internal social splitting is a recipe for collapse.

For too many, St. Maarten has become a transaction, not a home:

• You arrive.
• You plug into the machine: work, hustle, make money.
• You take out what you can.
• You do not contribute to or help maintain the machine
• You do not fix the machine for tomorrow when it breaks down, and it will.

We share:

• no real common story,
• no honest shared pride,
• no deep feeling that “we are in this together”.

When a hurricane comes, or crime explodes, everyone runs back to their own world. And the island – the only thing that actually belongs to all of us – is left weaker.

💡 FACT: Social science research shows that communities with high ethnic and economic segregation tend to have lower trust and higher crime. Where people do not feel part of a shared “we”, they are less likely to cooperate, respect rules, or invest in common goods.

This is not an “immigrant problem”. This is all of us failing to build one society from many parts.

2. The Simple Truth: On This Island, You Are Either a Builder or a Taker

Strip away the details, the flags, the passports, the accents.

At the end of the day, in Sint Maarten, there are only **two types of people**:

The Builders

Builders can be from any background. They:

• pay their taxes instead of spending energy dodging them,
• hire and train a mix of people, not just “their own”,
• keep their surroundings clean, report crime, respect the rules,
• volunteer time or money to make neighborhoods safer and healthier,
• see their future as tied to Sint Maarten’s future.

The Takers

Takers can be from any background as well. They:

• only ask, “What can I get today?”,
• cut corners, cheat systems, and call it “hustle”,
• pollute, disrespect, and then complain about how “dirty” the island is,
• take from schools, roads, hospitals, safety – but contribute nothing,
• see Sint Maarten as a cash machine, not a home.

Right now, our balance is wrong:

Too many Takers. Not enough Builders.

If we want this island to survive – not just economically, but as a place worth living in – we must flip that balance.

 3. The Short-Term Fix: One Island, One Security Plan, One Contribution

3.1 One Island, One Security Plan

Crime does not stop at the border in Bellevue, the Low Lands, or Oyster Pond. Bullets and thieves do not care about “French side” or “Dutch side”.

We need, within one week:

• a real meeting between top Dutch and French leaders,
• not for another photo, but to create a single joint security command for the entire island.

This command must include:

• police and gendarmes,
• justice officials,
• respected leaders from every major business and community group – Chinese, Indian, Dominican, Haitian, European, North American, native Sint Maarten, everyone.

Safety is the one thing every single one of us needs. Let’s treat it as our first shared project.

3.2 “Build Your Stay” – Linking Permits to Contribution

Living and doing business here is not a right by default. It is a privilege. With privilege comes responsibility.

We should link the renewal of:

• work permits,
• residency papers,
• business licenses,

to a clear obligation to build the island, not just use it.

Call it the “Build Your Stay” Contribution.

Everyone can choose one of two ways:

Option A – Give Your Time

Volunteer for island-wide, mixed-community projects such as:

• beach and roadside clean‑ups,
• painting community centers and schools,
• helping organize neighborhood watch programs,
• mentoring youth from outside your own community.

This forces people from different “worlds” to work side‑by‑side and build real human connections.

Option B – Give Your Resources

Contribute financially to a transparent “One Island Fund” dedicated to:

• security cameras in town centers and hotspots,
• sports equipment and after‑school programs for all children,
• basic supplies for certified hurricane and disaster shelters,
• small grants to community projects that serve mixed neighborhoods.

This way, successful businesses and individuals can invest directly in the island’s health.

A special note:

Many Indian, Chinese, Haitian, Dominican, and other associations are already doing amazing work inside their own groups. The idea here is to expand that generosity:

• Keep caring for your own, and also direct part of that power toward island‑wide projects.
• Help mend the tears in our social fabric by investing not only in “my people,” but in our island.

 4. The Long-Term Change: From Many Groups to One Society

4.1 New Rules That Reward Unity

If we are serious, our laws must stop rewarding Takers and start rewarding Bridge‑Builders.

We can:

• Give faster, smoother residency or license treatment to those who prove they are Builders:
  • hire and train a mixed local workforce,
  • pay taxes on time,
  • contribute consistently to the “One Island Fund” or community projects.
• Make it harder and more expensive for chronic Takers to operate:
  • those who exploit workers,
  • trash neighborhoods,
  • consistently ignore rules and fines.

In other words, Real benefits for those who help hold the island up. Real consequences for those who only tear it down.

4.2 Teach Our Children “One Island”

We need a new compulsory subject in all schools:

“The Sint Maarten Society”

Our children must learn:

• the history of this island from all perspectives,
• the stories and culture of every major community that lives here,
• why speaking multiple languages is not confusion, but a superpower,
• that unity is not everyone being the same – it’s everyone knowing they belong to one shared home.

We must raise the first generation that truly feels:

“I am Indian‑Sint Maartener, Chinese‑Sint Maartener, Dominican‑Sint Maartener, Haitian‑Sint Maartener, Dutch‑Sint Maartener… But the ‘Sint Maarten’ part binds us all.”

4.3 Create Shared Stories and Traditions

We also need new rituals that celebrate the “we”.

• An annual “One Island Festival”:
  • jointly organized by groups from both sides of the island,
  • showcasing music, food, and art from all our communities,
  • with a clear message: “We are different, but we are one island.”
• Public awards for true Bridge‑Builders:
  • a company that sponsors a playground for all children,
  • a youth leader who brings gangs from different backgrounds to the table,
  • a community elder who settles disputes between neighbors from different cultures.

People repeat what is honored. So let’s start honoring the ones who are quietly holding this island together.

 

5. The Choice in Front of Us: Broken Island or Shared Home?

Our diversity is not our problem. It is our untouched strength.

Our two‑nation reality (Dutch and French on one rock) could be the world’s best lesson in cooperation. Right now, it is a lesson we are mostly failing.

The easy road is clear:

• Each person and group only protects “their own”.
• Businesses use the island and look away when it decays.
• Old families blame outsiders. Outsiders ignore the roots of this land.

That road leads to:

• a Sint Maarten where no one feels safe,
• a Sint Maarten where no one feels proud,
• a Sint Maarten where, in the end, no one truly wins.

The harder, better road is to decide – personally:

• that the successful shop owner will make a real effort to hire beyond his own community,
• that the longtime resident will welcome the new neighbor instead of just complaining about “foreigners”,
• that anyone who dares to call Sint Maarten “home” accepts a duty to care for this place and its people.

The question for every single one of us is simple and brutal:

On this island, are you a Builder or are you a Taker?

Not on Facebook. Not in speeches. But in how you live, spend, hire, speak, respect, and show up – every single day.

The future of Sint Maarten will not be decided in some distant parliament. It is being decided quietly, right now, in the daily choices of every resident, local and foreign, rich and poor.

The island is asking us a final, serious question:
Will we be the generation that turned Sint Maarten into a broken machine for taking?
Or the generation that chose, against all odds, to become Builders of one shared home?