Here is the remedy for the national problem. Most people claim to be nationals of the country they are born in. Others through marriage with one that is born there, others through being there very long. The ones that believe to be born there do so because their birth certificate says so, or  their parents say so. But nobody can be sure. For, let me tell you: nobody, not one living human being remembers consciously where, when and from whom s-/he was born. Nobody remembers the day, the week, the month, not even the year s-/he was born. Neither can the place of birth be remembered. So this outcry: I am right, because I'm born here, is based upon second hand information, documents and family.

Strangely enough, nobody knows this from the heart for sure. The only thing that one can know for sure, is not when and where one is born exactly, but in general, that one is born on planet Earth, one can be sure. We human animals are all born on this here ball of dirt that hurls through space with an incredible speed around the star we call the Sun once a year, and which turns with a speed of  40.000 km per 24 hours around its own axis. There can be no mistake, we are all global citizens, and we better live up to it. It's high time we realize that. Internet calls the world the global village. That now is too much, The world is big. Almost big enough to hold us all. If we continue to multiply as in the last 50 years soon there will be not enough place for us all. With rigorous birth control, intelligent family planning, we may save some degree of comfort for our children, because we are all together on this planet. We must realize that we here, use 12 times more waste than people in Africa, and that their suffering is the indirect result of our wasting. So Let me hear you scream:I am  right, I am born here. When "here" means the Earth. We should scream that all together, no matter where we are born.

Imagine the Netherlands Antilles highly developed and prosperous. All systems under control, taxes pay for roads, education, and all the rest, sewage, bridges, airports, harbors, everything.  All people are working and rich. There comes a bunch of Dutch poor slum dwellers, unschooled youngsters, jobless boys and men. Not just a few, but hundreds. At first the island government finds lodgings, shelters, housing, and helps them to get free money to buy food, clothes, shoes... These guys do not know how to play domino, they do not find the way to Campo Allegro, they have no money for the dozens of casinos, they do not know how to grill a chicken leg... with other words: they are lost. Then they get some crack forwarded from a dealer to sell, to make a dollar, because there is nothing else they can do. After a while these Dutch young get power on the islands, they get weapons, they get dominance over certain areas and they wage little wars. Blood flows, arrests are made, many end up in Point Blanche prison and in Koraal Specht. The jails are full, and every day more young jobless Dutch arrive by the planeload. Imagine, our prosperous islands under attack from Holland, and nothing can be done: when the politicians impose - a study course to to teach them domino and steel pan and salsa and rib grilling, the Dutch protest: Discrimination.’ When the familiarization course shows the young how to play Black Jack and pull the One Armed bandit, when they get to learn how to sex a young woman from Santo Domingo in max 20 minutes, the Dutch scream: Racism! And when the Dutch girls learn how to walk the catwalk for the next Miss Contest, the Dutch call the islanders traitors! How good is it to have prevented this scenario from playing itself out Dutch were, thank God, never allowed on the islands, only last year, or this year recently do the Dutch get a little easier entry, if they ask; but without getting permits to work...Happy New Year Dutch passport holders, welcome home.

The following story relates to the final solution for our problem with aliens, undesirables, unwanted foreigners and illegal’s: for 2001, follow the advice of an old gardener:

A certain person decided to start a flower garden. He prepared the soil and planted the seeds of many beautiful flowers. But when they came up his garden was not filled just with his chosen flowers, but also overrun with dandelions. He sought out advice from gardeners all over and tried every method known to get rid of them, but to no avail. Finally he walked all the way to the capital of the country to speak to the royal gardener of the King's palace. This wise old man had counseled many gardeners before and suggested a variety of remedies to expel the dandelions, but our person had tried them all. They sat together in silence for some time and finally the gardener looked at our person and said: "Well, then I suggest you learn to love them."

No flags fly halfmast, no mourning at island level. Oh no. That’s for when the far away Queen dies, or her first minister maybe, or some soldiers that died fifty years ago, far away. But when about 30 persons die right here, close by, on the doorstep so to say, not a word. 'Sorry' says the island boss, 'It can not be helped.'

However, the tightening of the immigration laws not only here, but in every wealthy country, is the reason for more poor people trying to get out of poverty.

Respect is what people crave, respect and dignity, for death comes to all , it should not be wiped under the carpet as if it is not important. One day of mourning should be observed, or at least one minute silence for every person that died in the battle to try to survive. The war here is not with guns and bombs, but with hourly wages and visa. Respect for the poor who make the walls of the houses that the rich live in. Those workers that make this world so full of goods, luxuries and commodities themselves live in shacks, with unpaved roads and no sewage. Also here on prosperous Sint Maarten. Go see Cay Hill ghetto, Middle region and Dutch Quarter ghettos, no roads, no sewage. There live the people that seek education, relief of centuries of suppression of the rich and powerful. It is them that died on their search for a better life. Remember them, when you hear of brotherly love from the pulpit, remember them.

Only eight percent of people working in Front and Back Streets are of Antillean origin, research conducted into the labour situation in St. Maarten has uncovered. An eight-page report on the research and its findings, a copy of which The Daily Herald has been able to obtain, pointed to what was referred to as an anti-local employment tendency, with a 17.3 per cent unemployment rate and most of the employed being foreigners. The Island Government's Welfare, and Labour Department described the situation as “unacceptable. The current immigration policy is being exploited to import cheap labour. A popular supermarket, for instance, has 24 employees, 12 of whom are managers. That is one manager per employee. That is possible, due to the immigration policies the department wrote. It explained that, as companies claim they can't find local people to employ, they request work permits for managers. (It is common knowledge that requests for work permits for lower-level employees are not likely to be approved). That is why today there is eight per cent local employment in Front and Back Street and why 45 per cent of the remaining 92 percent foreign employees are managers. That is unacceptable, it stated. It also mentioned situations where jewelers have six employees, four of whom are gemologists and none of whom is an Antillean; of a security company with 62 employees, three of whom are Antilleans and 54 of whom are foreigners without work and residence permits. These companies still received permits to employ foreign workers. Why? Because there were no locals available. Companies send for cheap employees and train them to do jobs for which locals could also be trained. Local workers are just too expensive, the report stated. The report contended that St. Maarten has developed in "anti-local" employment tendency which only dupes locals. "Employers (foreign and local) claim that local workers are inexperienced, lazy, untrustworthy and aggressive," the report stated. This, it added, has created a tendency which keeps local people from finding jobs. It has also resulted in an increase in requests for financial support and an increase in job offers to foreigners. It continued: "Noticeable is the increase in requests for permits for Jamaicans and Guyanese. They replace the locals in the security retail business." The report contends further that, because of these tendencies, government's tax income is under pressure, there is chronic unemployment among locals, foreign earnings do not stay here, more shacks are built, crime increases and more and more youngsters go astray.

The department suggested giving unemployed locals the chance to re-school themselves, a re-examination of the policies on scholarships and the establishment of businesses, and an urgent readjustment of immigration policies. Furthermore, it suggested a stricter control of employers to ensure they adhere to labour laws and that violation of these laws is punished.