SINT MAARTEN/U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – As of 4 pm last Saturday, more than 90 earthquakes were listed by Virgin Islands Alert in the Mona Passage near Puerto Rico and in the vicinity of the U.S. Virgin Islands.  These quakes had a magnitude of 2.5 or more.

Geologist from the Puerto Rico Seismic Network said that this is a normal spate of events and called it a “swarm.”

Last week Barbados experienced a number of earthquakes offshore which was felt by several neighbouring islands.

SOUALIGA NEWSDAY REPORT

SINT MAARTEN/PUERTO RICO – If you stayed at the San Juan Beach Hotel in the past while vacationing or while on a shopping spree (eg Black Friday), this will no longer be an option to stay at while in Puerto Rico as the hotel has closed down.

San Juan Resort Owners Inc., filed for bankruptcy and the debts are reported to be over US$32 million.  37 people have been left unemployed for the moment.

The hotel which is located on Ashford Avenue in Condado, featured 96 rooms, a restaurant, pools for adults and children.

Those unemployed will be receiving assistance from the Workforce Development Program, an Economic Development and Commerce Department division that offers employment services including counselling, referrals, training etc.

SOUALIGA NEWSDAY REPORT

GREAT BAY (DCOMM) – The Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) of the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held its 17th meeting recently in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.  The symposium was considered a success.  It was related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the Caribbean.

The SDG’s (the Post 2015 development agenda) are the future Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). During the CDCC 17th meeting of the monitoring Committee, the key outcomes of that symposium were endorsed by the Committee.

The CDCC was created as a permanent subsidiary body to function within the structure of the Commission and promote development cooperation among Caribbean countries.

The conference on ‘Sustainable Development’ was well attended by the ECLAC member states and observers.

Drs. L. Morales, Program Manager at the Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK) from the Sint Maarten Ministry of General Affairs participated in the meeting as the only Dutch Kingdom representative.

Sint Maarten recently became member of the ECLAC.

The main agenda points that were discussed were: a coordinated strategy to address debt reduction for sustainable development in the Caribbean; Sustainable development goals for the Caribbean within the post-2015 development agenda.

Financing for Caribbean development and progress in implementation of the 2014-2015 programme of work for the Caribbean, were also discussed.

The CDCC was set-up to promote and strengthen economic and social cooperation and integration among the countries of the Caribbean and with Latin America.

CDCC is also to promote the sharing of information and experiences among its membership; and to promote common positions and strategies among its membership.

The CDCC will promote common positions and strategies on economic and social issues among Caribbean nations and on their relations with third parties, and to present those positions to international forums and agencies.

The first important step towards ensuring that the Post 2015 development agenda will work for the Caribbean Islands is by identifying from among the 17 goals the ones that will best address the priority development needs of the Caribbean countries.

The commission agreed upon focusing on the first 12 SDG’s. Second step is by agreeing to put in place the policies, plans and mechanisms that would facilitate the integration of these goals into National Development Plans (NDP) and regional development strategies. Sint Maarten is on its way to realize the NDP and will incorporate the SDG’s in it.

PHILIPSBURG – Today's youth take signals from our generation, United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake said on Tuesday.  This is in connection with fellow MP Hon. Leona Marlin-Romeo call for the promotion of nationalism, patriotism and cultural retention.

“If it is important to us then it becomes important to them. The aspects of our culture that have transcended generation to generation include our language, food and the friendly nature of our people amongst other cultural practices.

“We need to pass on national pride into our young people.  Our forefathers had national pride but we and I am speaking of my generation, including myself, need to get back to basics and educate the young people and the next generation about our culture. 

“The best way to start is in our homes and communities then on to the elementary schools. Parents and caregivers, let’s talk to our young people about the good ole days on our island.  Let’s wear the beautiful national dress at events rather than colloquial western dresses. Let’s sing our songs and dance our dances every opportunity that we get.

“Let’s have community culture days when we meet and eat, dance and sing. Let’s make a start, the young people are looking on and if we keep this up, it will become an integral part of our cultural fabric.

“When we hear the Sint Maarten song, stop what you are doing, respect it and sing the words with pride. We love this island so let’s show this love to our national symbols.

“We must share our culture with the other nationalities, that’s the only way that they can know what is it. We tend to keep aspects of our culture to ourselves and then judge others for not knowing what our cultural practices are. We must practice it, live it and respect it then they will get it.

“Teach the dances in all schools, everyone needs to practice the culture of this sweet land of ours. Give the schools some of your time to pass on culture to the children of the land. Go in and volunteer to share what you know. The children will appreciate it. Our culture will be known and our national pride will grow.

“While some may argue that there are more important issues to be tackled in our school and communities as a whole, how can we aim to move forward when we are unaware of our past? As I always say "to know your destiny, you got to know your history. I always tell the youths of St. Peters, persons worked very hard to build up this community for you to enjoy, respect it. Togetherness, pride and respect are the key ingredients for building up and maintaining our communities.

“A people without an identity cannot be proud. I am a proud Sint Maartener! I am proud of the diversity that exists here, the fact that we can live harmoniously. I am proud of the rights that our people have like freedom of speech. I am proud of the opportunities available here to all people, the uniqueness of these two islands in one and most of all I am proud of the accomplishments of our Sint Maarten heroes as well as our present day people and leaders.  This is why our tourism industry is as successful as it is, in the Caribbean we rank high because of these accomplishments.

“Let us as government sit with the teachers and school managers and understand their challenges, their visions and work together to provide a quality learning experience for tomorrow’s children.

As a MP, I have already visited some elementary schools where we had some learning sessions about government and parliament structure as well as our local heroes.

“I found that resources on these issues are lacking and are in dire need.  To close, I suggest that we make nationalism, patriotism and culture should be introduced in the school curriculum. I know that the Cultural Artistic Formation curriculum for schools attempts to do this but we need this type of curriculum implemented island wide.

“I am tired of having conversations with our young people who respond that Sint Maarten does not have a culture when asked about it. I do blame myself and my generation for this type of response because we know the culture but are not passing it on vigorously to your young people.

“As a legislator we are there to educate the public and pass legislation that promotes our patriotism and culture as well. Our Education and Cultural department must be more involved in energizing our young people as it relates to National pride. Let’s promote our young professionals to hold key positions. This can only help to promote our way of doing things.

“Let’s look at the bigger picture, small mindedness; criticism, slander and distrust have no place in Sint Maarten's future.

While we welcome persons from many nations, we respect the diversity that this brings to our lovely island however we must ask that respect be shown to our culture as well and respect to our National Flag.  Let’s learn how to respect our flag. Fly the Sint Maarten flag near to your flag, its respectful,” UP MP Maurice Lake concluded in a press statement on Tuesday in response to the call made by fellow MP Hon. Leona Marlin-Romeo regarding cultural development.