Author Barbara van der Woude.
PHILIPSBURG–What do former Minister of Finance and businessman Richard Gibson Sr. and entrepreneurs William Welch (Loterie Farm), Arun Jagtiani (Island Real Estate Team) and Helma Etnel (TelEm Group) have in common? They and many more in the Dutch St. Maarten/French St. Martin business community all worked hard to reopen their enterprises very soon after Hurricane Irma. In doing so, they believed in the full comeback of the island. That is the bottom line of Resilience – SXM Open for Business, a series of interviews with entrepreneurs and Chief Executive Officers that will be published today, Thursday, exactly one year after Irma. The book is available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.
Author Barbara van der Woude recently moved to St. Maarten. ‘I will admit I was afraid of what I would find after Irma. I fell in love with St. Maarten during a visit in January 2017, and obviously, I was not looking forward to have that dreamy image in my mind shattered by devastation.”
Yet, she was pleasantly surprised when she arrived in February 2018. “Yes, I saw the destruction and of course that got to me. But what struck me even more, was the load of negative press St. Maarten received: it simply did not tell the whole story, or the true story, as far as I am concerned.I was impressed with the strength, mentality and resourcefulness of the people I met. Take for example restaurant Bacchus. The owner physically defended his property and rebranded quite successfully after the hurricane. Or [insurance company – Ed.] ENNIA, that drove a ‘claims bus’ around the island to service clients that could not reach the office. Or Loterie Farm, that used the debris Irma caused to build new structures. So many amazing stories – I could go on forever,” Van der Woude said.
Cover of “Resilience – SXM Open for Business.”
The interviewees in Resilience all either own or run a business on either side of the island. Their perspectives are unique, but their stories are alike in a number of ways.
“I think all of them have showed tremendous courage and perseverance. When they decided to stay and rebuild, there was no room for hesitation. I admire how they cared for their staff, kept a positive mindset and most of all made do with whatever they had. It is astonishing how inventive these people got through a disaster of this magnitude,” the author said.
Resilience will be published exactly a year after Irma. Van der Woude: “It seemed like a symbolic date to me, a day to reflect upon the events of the past year. We must not forget what happened, because we can learn from Irma in terms of preparation. But mostly, we must celebrate our comeback, success and strength.”
Van der Woude (1981) is a writer and a Dutch teacher. She grew up in Amsterdam, where she worked as a copywriter and later as a teacher at high schools and colleges. She was introduced to the Caribbean in 2013, when she moved to Curaçao to teach Dutch and English. In 2018, just months after hurricane Irma, she moved to St. Maarten.
Resilience is not so much about Irma as it is about the year following the major hurricane. The island was destroyed, but the business community showed immense power in fighting back.
Tourism, the backbone of the local economy, took a significant hit. This book is about the recovery from that hit. Interviews with Norman Wathey, Ton van Kooten, Gee Money, Gibson, Jagtiani, Etnel and many more offer a lesson in inventiveness, creativity and fighting spirit.
Resilience can be ordered in Kindle format via Amazon for US$ 8.99. The paperback version will be released soon.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/80342-one-year-later-irma-interviews-published-in-resilience-sxm-open-for-business
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