Fellow St. Martiners,
Residents of our beloved island
HAPPY ST. MARTIN DAY!
Today is not about politics; today, we celebrate the people of this 37-square-mile island who we are—our culture, our values, our history, and our heritage.
Today is not about a saint or about Columbus; today, we celebrate what makes us who we are—our strengths, weaknesses, successes, failures, struggles, triumphs, and, yes, our goodness and our sins.
Today is not about European military victories; we celebrate our resilience as a people, why we have survived all forms of adversity, and why we continue to thrive.
Today is not about hoisting flags that don’t represent us as a free people; today is about proclaiming that we are one island, one people, with one destiny, as Lino Hughes sings in that immortal song, “St. Martin is my home.”
And indeed, St. Martin is our home, and we call it home, not just because we have no other place to go, but because we built it and made it our home through our blood, sweat, and tears. That is why today (and, of course, the other 364 days of the year), we must resist any attempt to sow division among us. Today, we should all say, with pride and dignity, that we ARE St. Martiners and St. Martin is ours.
In a world full of divisions, where hatred is being normalized, and raging with violence, the true patriots are not those who foster intolerance but those who open their hearts to diversity and inclusivity, those who genuinely embrace people for the content of their character. True patriots believe in caring and sharing. That is the only way the world can know peace.
As a proud St. Martiner, I am dedicated and committed to doing everything I can, wherever I am and whenever the opportunity arises, to enhance the well-being of our community. I believe that the vision of our ancestors, especially those who saw the need to establish this day to celebrate the oneness of our people – Dr. Hubert Petit, Dr. Claude Wathey, Felix Choisy, José Lake, Sr., and others – their vision, I repeat, calls us to demonstrate our love for our island in concrete ways. It is a responsibility we must take more seriously.
The spirit of our ancestors calls us all to be patriotic, not just by beating our chest and saying “I from here” but by working diligently and purposefully to make St. Martin – North and South – a better place for all. That, for me, is true patriotism. It is what we need in good measure, not only on a day like this but every day of the year.
HAPPY ST. MARTIN DAY, once again!
