Kamau Brathwaite in Liviticus – like the Psalmist in Babylon; like the weeping prophet, a book review by John Robert Lee MARTIN, Caribbean (November 2017)—Liviticus, published in 2017 by House of Nehesi Publishers, is a new collection that is at once a moving confessional poem, in which Kamau Brathwaite writes honestly, frankly, disturbingly on what he calls his “cultural lynching.” He holds nothing back as he cries, like the prophet Jeremiah, about his suffering: “The caul of fat around my liver and the shining budget of my kidneys / are laid out upon the altar of the Lord / surrounded…
Author: The Publisher
Maybe there is some silent diplomacy going on behind the scenes; we don’t know that. But to the public eye it seems right now that St. Maarteners who fled to the Netherlands after Hurricane Irma and who are encountering difficulties registering in municipalities like Haarlem are left out in the cold by the government of St. Maarten. It is bad enough that Haarlem stubbornly denies Irma-refugees their most basic rights as Dutch citizens. The national ombudsman, Reinier van Zutphen, has in the meantime intervened with questions to Home Affairs Minister Kasja Ollongren. But the refugees have so far, and as…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Port St. Maarten Management is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that the first cruise passenger experience on December 4th when the first commercial cruise ship returns to the destination, will be one of discovery for the guests to return on another cruise to the destination in the future. “We want the world to know that we are open for business and the first ambassadors to greet our guests will be our various cruise stakeholders. I want to commend Port St. Maarten management for initiating these sessions to ensure that everyone is on the same page…
GREAT BAY — HNLMS Pelikaan (A804), the logistic support vessel of the Royal Dutch Navy docked at the port in St. Maarten on Monday afternoon. The spokeswoman for the navy in the Caribbean, Canan Babayigit, told stmaartennews.com that the rotating element of marines in St. Maarten is currently on a scouting exercise in Saba and Statia. During this training the marines get to know the environment of the islands. The Pelikaan is currently sailing between the three islands of St. Maarten, Saba and Statia to transport the marines. On Tuesday the Pelikaan placed parts of buoys near Statia. Photo Hilbert…
Grand Case—Each year, the Les Fruits de Mer association hosts the Migratory Bird Festival on St. Martin. The stars of this festival are the birds that travel so far to come here each year, and the wild places and creatures they depend on. This lively cast of characters—birds, crabs, mangroves and the ponds themselves—is featured in the new ebook Pond Life: Reflections. The book is available for free download at lesfruitsdemer.com. “Migratory pond birds—like wading birds and ducks—are common and easy to see on St. Martin,” explained author Mark Yokoyama. “Ponds are also some of the most important places on…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals. The new WHO recommendations aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their unnecessary use in animals. In some countries, approximately 80% of total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector, largely for growth promotion in healthy animals. The WHO message is related to United Nations WHO, World Antibiotic Awareness Week (13-19 November) that kicked off on…
Philipsburg — The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports issued the following photo release with the caption “AUC donates school office supplies”. Photo: (L-R Hazarie Ramoutar, Minister Silveria Jacobs, Ruth Linger, Juliette Green-Blijden). Note: Click on photo to enlarge image. UPDATED PHOTO RELEASE CAPTION: PHILIPSBURG — The American University of the Caribbean (AUC) donated stationary supplies to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS). Through the Ministry ECYS, the supplies will be divvied up and given to the Public Schools, which falls within the direct purview of the Ministry ECYS. The donation was made by Mr. Hazarie…
HILVERSUM – National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen wants answers from Minister of Home Affairs Kasja Ollongren about the problems with registering homeless St. Maarteners in certain municipalities, Natasja Gibbs reports on Caribisch Netwerk. After Hurricane Irma, dozens of homeless St. Maarteners fled on an evacuation flight to the Netherlands. Several municipalities do register them, but a city like Haarlem refuses to do this “because the St. Maarteners are homeless and cannot support themselves.” In a letter dated September 6, Minister Ollongren wrote that the point of departure in the Netherlands is that citizens are able to support themselves. According to…
HAARLEM – For months the municipality of Haarlem has refused to register homeless citizens from St. Maarten, but last Thursday it seemed that the city administration had changed its position, Natasja Gibbs reports on Caribisch Netwerk. Two single mothers with children received a proof of registration, but their joy did not last long. A spokesman for Haarlem’s mayor Jos Wienen said on Monday that the registration is a misunderstanding. Sella and her 10-year old son and another mother with two children did not believe their ears when they were refused last Friday with their proof of registration at the UWV…
WILLEMSTAD – XCOR, the American company that aimed to offer flights into space with its Lynx rocket plane from a launching platform in Curacao, is bankrupt and the space tourists who paid more than €70,000 – 260 in all, for a total of more than €18.2 million (close to $21,.5 million at the current rate of exchange) – have lost their money, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday. The Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol established the Space Expedition Corporation in 2011, a company XCOR acquired in 2014. The plan was to launch Lynx rocket planes from Curacao that would shoot travelers within…
