ARE WE REALLY THE CHERRY ON THE WORLD'S CAKE?

I was struck a few days ago by a remark made by Mr. Victor Paines on the radio Program 'Talking Point'.


He said and I quote: "St. Martin is the cherry on the world's cake"!


The thought stopped me short, but I had to agree; it does seem as if everybody in the world wants a piece of us these days, whether on the French side or the Dutch side.


Why and how did we find ourselves in this situation and even more important, is this a good thing? And if not, what can we do about it?


Back in the sixties and seventies, when independence fever was running high, tourism had put out its first tender buds on St. Martin. Those were the days of Sweet Saint Martin's Land, when people came to St. Martin to see the way we lived, and started coming back to build vacation homes on the island. The tourists were almost all Americans.


Jobs were flourishing in those days and some people had as many as three jobs in one day. Money started coming in and some of those had had to leave home to find work started coming back, especially from Aruba and Curaçao.


Then the eighties rolled around and many Caribbean islands became independant, creating proud new countries with citizens proud of their new identities.


By this time St. Martin was beginning to feel the impact of the influx of outsiders, who came looking for jobs and who found jobs, since the tourist trade had expanded to a degree that St. Martiners alone could not fill all the jobs.


There were however many illegals who were allowed and even encouraged by St. Martiners to remain, based on their feeling that they were repaying a debt, since they had had to go away to find work. This though, was soon interpreted by the outsiders as weakness.


Also being the host population, nobody thought they had to defend themsevelves in their own house, nor did anybody give much thought to identity, not having gone through the independence struggle. At home nobody notices an identity which is shared by all. It is only in leaving your home that you realize that you are not all exactly alike in expression.


Now, however in the twenty first century we are being told that everybody is a St. Martiner, and that native St. Martiners have neither identity nor culture.


Why then is everybody here? And why do so many people want to be called St. Martiner and and rant and rave when they are told that they are not? At the moment those who came lately to St. Martin seem to be having a much easier time of it than those of us whose ancestors settled this island.


Are there any cherries left on the cake for us? And how do we go about getting our share?