Peaceful protesters are not against the Chinese
GREAT BAY – Were there eighty protesters on Saturday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pearl of China project, 25 or just a handful? In a press release the startup political party Hope claims that there were 80 protesters, while a photo showing protesters huddling under a tent on the beach shows that there were at best 25. Our photographer Milton Pieters counted “a handful of protesters.”
Peaceful however, it was. Francine de Polo and Mercedes van der Waals-Wyatt, leader of the Hope party, organized the protest. It was, Hope says in a press statement, “about the manner in which the government made the announcement to the people.”
To this newspaper, Van der Waals-Wyatt stated: “I am not against the Chinese coming here, what I am concerned with is that the interests of the residents must be taken into consideration. Over the years, investors came here and when they decided to sell out, they didn’t make plans for the people that have given them their services for many years.”
The protesters discussed the Pearl of China project under a tent they had erected on the beach. According to Hope, the discussions were about issues like transparency, traffic congestion environmental and social impact studies and the draft development plan for Little Bay.
Other concerns are about the protection of the wetlands and the Little Bay Pond, sustainable jobs, managerial positions and the view for residents living on the hill behind the project.
“Emotions ran high at times,” Hope states in its press release, adding that the protesters remained peaceful.
When officials arrived for the groundbreaking ceremony, the protesters sang the St. Maarten song. Sjaoul Richardson carried a printout of an online petition with 850 signatures against the project; he said that “actions will continue until answers are given to the people of St. Maarten.”
Francine de Polo objects to “the secretive manner in which government rushed this project” and she criticized “the lack of transparency.”
Van der Waals-Wyatt expressed concerns about the protection of the workers “that allegedly will be hired to execute the 400 promised jobs.” She also wonders what provision have been put in place in case the project gets hit by a natural disaster.
The Hope-leader furthermore referred to the Pelican Key Resort where dozens of workers were affected when its management changed. “I don’t see why they cannot build the hotel in the Mullet Bay area instead of here. Now the next thing will happen, like what is happening at Divi Little Bay. You have to get permission just to visit the fort, one of the main historical spots on the island.”
Van der Waals-Wyatt, De polo and Richardson were allowed to voice their concerns to Shuqiang Cui. The protesters received a business card with contact information and the promise of a more formal meeting.
“It is a miracle to see how a Chinese businessman from the other side of the world took time to listen to the concerns and questions of the protesters while our own government ignores the concerns of its own people, environmental activists,” Hope wrote in its press release.
