SAINT-MARTIN (MARIGOT) – Senior Vice President of the Collectivite Saint-Martin Valerie Damaseau on Sunday issued her statement on the occasion of the 372nd anniversary of the Treaty of Concordia which will be marked on Monday, March 23rd, 2020.
Her message is as follows:
Today, we celebrate 372 years of the Treaty of Concordia, which was a formal arrangement that was primarily a friendly one, an alliance between two communities which determined the common rules for a joint use of the goods on our island.
Thanks to the people we continue to live in harmony with OPEN free borders.
This long-standing division has never impaired the peaceful living of the French and Dutch communities. WE simply continue to be our brother’s keeper.
Our bond has been put to the test, especially these last three years where we constantly face numerous challenges that indirectly bring us to rely on our strength and moral values as a people with the application OF LAWS WHICH brings out the difficulties of this LAND THAT hampers our cross-border relationship.
We so often repeat that THE GALE and PLAGUES do not stop at the border but let us TAKE A MINUTE and realize how these challenges go unnoticed in the everyday lives of our people.
When reality changes, the ways in which we handle those issues must also change.
This uniqueness so rare can not continue to be governed, issue by issue.
RETHINKING our coexistence is a must, time is of the essence.
We need to reactivate the importance of this day and revive in every one of us a reality that holds within itself the singularity and the challenges, THAT WE AS A PEOPLE RESIDENT of Saint-Martin, are confronted with politically, administratively, economically, socially and culturally every day.
As the Late Mrs. Daniella Jeffry once said, AND I QUOTE “A unique island requires a unique governance.”
Our President Daniel Gibbs clearly agrees as this majority truly believe that “The united congress French and Dutch” is a MUST.
On this special day, I acknowledge that YES, we were able to live like this for 372years.
But I also acknowledge that it is time to put in place a wide base governance that will set a body in charge of the cooperation between Saint-Martin and Sint Maarten, that will make possible the joint management and the finding of joint solutions to common issues and seal it with a renewal of the 1648 Treaty of Concordia agreement.
Keeping in mind that we are 1 island, 1 people.
In my capacity of 1st vice president of the territorial council of Saint-Martin in charge of Culture, it is my duty to remind you that in the midst of the challenges we are facing with today, we must not forget the importance of this day of celebration which defines us as a people.
It is our job to keep this tradition alive.
Nobody understands WE but WE
Nobody feels the reality of this territory like WE do.
Ask yourself what IS a country, without its identity?
We are in charge of our destiny.
Long live to the TREATY OF CONCORDIA.
Valérie DAMASEAU
Première vice-présidente
Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com-k2&view=item&id=30472:an-alliance-long-live-the-treaty-of-concordia-–-372-years-strong&Itemid=451
Apparently, she was sleeping at school and/or her education/indoctrination was done by some old-school colonialists. And nobody commented on her statement about a so-called ‘friendly treaty’ in the last year!
Indoctrination is working too good!
It was friendly for the slavers and their bankers.
It was not friendly to the black slaves, nor to the indigenous people.
This treaty was there to let both the French and the Dutch focus on their core-business:
the exploitation of plantations with slaves, and the merchandise of sugar, tobacco, slaves, cotton.
War would cost too much money.
They needed all resources to exploit slavery.
Anyone who wants to celebrate this treaty does not know their own history.