The Brooks Tower Accord fiasco has brought up some questions
in regards to St. Maarten gaining country status. What will happen once St.
Maarten is its own country? How will immigration be handled? Will there be an
immigration check point at the French border? Why not? How will the influx of
foreigners be handled? French St. Martin is France, right? France is EU, which
is a different country, correct? Then won’t the borders have to be patrolled? Not just the borders. What about all the
trails crisscrossing the island from one side to the other? What about the
border in the lagoon? Who will be responsible for patrolling these areas? Where
will the money come from to fund the necessary manpower? What about the cruise
ship passengers? Will they have to clear a customs check point to go to the French
side beaches? Will the same apply for any and all visitors to the island? Will
passports be mandatory to cross to and from French St. Martin and back again?
If a visitor wants to go shopping on the French side, will they need proof of a
return ticket back to Sint Maarten and vice versa? Sounds rather ridiculous,
doesn’t? But rest assured, some one is thinking about all this. Don’t be
surprised to wake up one day and there is a concrete wall around Sint Maarten. And
who is to say the French side will follow suit, not even allowing any resident
of Sint Maarten across their borders? Repercussions are something to take
seriously. What about the French taxi drivers and bus drivers? Will they need
visas to come into St. Maarten? If St. Maarten decides to patrol borders, stop
people from coming and going at their leisure, do you thing people from Sint Maarten
will be permitted into the French side? Tit-for-tat people. You reap what you
sow. If you hassle people, they will return the favor. If Sint Maarten doesn’t
want to play nicely with people and maintain basic human rights, people will
not want to play with Sint Maarten. Keep in mind what’s happening in the world,
dear Sint Maarten. In the United States, President Obama is looking to lift
embargos to Cuba. This won’t happen over night, but it WILL happen. Sint Maarten
has only recently enjoyed its glory days. Cuba was not always closed to
Americans. It’s only been in the last 30 years or so. And Sint Maarten is not
the only destination for people such as Jamaicans, Haitians, Dominicans, etc.
etc. They’ll go somewhere else, work somewhere else, and put their money into
another economy. Where will that leave the people of Sint Maarten? I say the
people because the government officials won’t give a damn. They’re currently
padding their pockets off the backs of others, so regardless the outcome,
they’ll be just fine. What happens in March? Does Sint Maarten honestly expect
to deport several THOUSAND illegal immigrants in a matter of days or weeks? Is
Sint Maarten so desperate to rid itself of foreign people and influences? When
the foreigners are leaving, should they take all their foreign stuff with them?
What stuff? Well, how about foreign cars for starters? Or how about cell
phones, TV, home appliances, building supplies, satellite dishes, cable TV,
fuel, and an endless list of other foreign items. Last time I check Sint
Maarten doesn’t produce anything for itself, except a bad reputation from the treatment
of foreigners. Beware, Sint Maarten, you are falling out of favor with tourism
and people are always looking for a new playground.
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