Snieders

In the office that I work for in St Maarten, we have a delivery-man, De'ron. De'ron originates from St Catherine, Jamaica and is basically driving up and down the island roads six days a week. I call him Mr Bolt because he runs fast every day. Whenever a document or package needs delivery or pick-up, De'ron hits the road in his little urban van. A hell of a task I must say, because traffic is dense these days and parking space is scarce. In town, it's even more difficult.

Over the years, Government has put up No Parking signs all over, at random and with different lay-outs so you can never be sure what the signs mean. The scary part of the parking policy is that government and police have towing companies with potent names like Hungry and Black Dog working with them. One telephone call from a police officer and one or two grip-armed trucks come racing down the hill.

Things getting tougher

De'ron is one of the estimated 8,000 Jamaicans in St Maarten; working in all sectors of the economy. Things have become tough over the last two years with declining numbers of (American) tourists and with that, a standstill of construction activity. It's basically the same story all over the Caribbean. There is no money, no profits and no investments. Nobody knows if and when the upward trend will begin. To only monitor the economy of the United States and hope for its recovery would be narrow-minded. The dollar is weakening while leading economists (Roubini, Soros, Bremmer) predict a long-lasting crisis and certainly no recovery on short notice.

The United States is no longer the super-power that we wish to believe. My brother lives in China/Singapore and according to what he experiences, Shanghai (and not New York!) is the centre of the world. Everything is possible; no limits - the Chinese dream. With all their cash and interests the Chinese could break the United States dollar and economy, if they wanted.

Where does all this leave us - the beautiful, heart-ripping Caribbean; the most sweet and romantic place in the world? In not such an advantageous position, I am afraid. We depend no longer on a thoroughbred but a cripple horse. There is an urgent need to explore geographically, different tourist markets: Europe, Asia and South America. This will take time, effort and appropriate government action.

In the meantime, we will have to pray to God, play domino and prepare for the future. We've been running too fast; we have been too greedy. There will be better, prosperous times again but according to what De'ron has taught me, good things and luck don't come overnight. It takes determination, virtue and genuine sacrifice. God's arms are long but we still have to reach out.

Okke W. Snieders is a St Maarten-based freelance writer. He may be contacted at owsnieders@hotmail.com or feedback sent to columns@gleanerjm.com