3 Women and 10 Dutch children
National Alliance Senator and Councilman George Pantophlet said he thought it important to share this experience with the people of St. Maarten.
Many persons have come to my office seeking information on how to go about applying under the "Brook Towers Accord. I have written and spoken about the issue of undocumented persons for years. I have made suggestions in the past that unfortunately have been neglected and we are feeling the consequences today. I will not go into every detail of the suggestions I have made previously but share something that I thought was interesting.
I had the opportunity to talk with three women who have 10 Dutch children or for more clarity children born in the Netherlands Antilles (St.Maarten). None of these women at this moment have a valid residence permit. But all their children carry the Dutch Nationality.
The first one I would like to talk about came to the island at the age of 15 to join her mother who has been residing here for over 28 years and has a Dutch Passport.
She worked for different businesses but never received a working/residence permit. At the age of 24 she married someone born in the Netherlands Antilles with whom she has four children. For whatever reason he never requested a permit for her and at the same time refuses to go to the civil registrar to assist his children in receiving their passports. They are still married but have been separated for some years. She is trying to regulate her status under the "Brook Towers Accord".
The second one has also been residing here for over 10 years. She is married for over 7 years and has three children with her husband. He did request a residence permit for her on several occasions. However the last time he requested an extension before it was approved he left the island and has not returned. When the permit was approved she could not receive it because he was not present. She is presently undocumented and hoping to regulate her status under "The Brook Towers Accord".
The third one also came to the island at an early age and completed her secondary education on St. Maarten. She also married and has three children with her husband. Her husband requested residence permit for her on numerous occasions which were granted.
At present they are divorced. She is also presently undocumented and is hoping to have her status regulated. The problem with the situation these women are confronted with is that the "Brook Towers Accord" expires on December 15, 2009. All of them are employed but the scenario is that the Employers have not tried to regulate their status. What do we do with them? The Law of Admission and Expulsion in its present form does not allow them to request a permanent residence permit. St. Maarten will become country on October 10, 2010. We need to decide now what the laws of country St. Maarten will look like as it regards undocumented persons.