The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports Hon. Patricia Lourens-Philip on Sunday released the following message on the occasion of the national day St. Maarten/St. Martin’s Day:
My Fellow St. Maarten/St. Martiners,
The significance of St. Maarten/St. Martin Day from a cultural perspective is a day when St. Maarteners from North and South come together to celebrate their national Culture. It’s a display of treasured memories dating back for more than half of a century. It is unity through diversity. It is a reflection of a joint history.
For me St. Maarten’s Day is always a day of reflection and appreciation. Reflection on the sacrifices that those of the past made so that we can today enjoy a measure of freedom, choice, friendships and togetherness and …… appreciation for the people and the society in which we live here on this island.
This day is meant for families/friends/neighbours/community groups/civic organization/cultural groups, service oriented organization, nationals/non-nationals/social clubs/sporting organizations to come together to celebrate the culture that laid the foundation for the St. Maarten that we know today.
It was a culture of respect, integrity, compassion and of hard working people that earned the island the name “Friendly Island”. Families should reflect from whence we came to where we are and where we want to go in the spirit of optimism.
My message is a very simple one in the unsettling social and political times that we are in: Don’t lose focus of who you are as an individual but even more so don’t lose focus of who we are as a community/people.
We come from a strong resilient people, we all want the best for our children and there is room under the sun for all of us to achieve this but we must remain true to the core values that got us to where we are and that can take us far beyond our imaginations. I am referring to those core values of respect and love for neighbour, respect and love for hard work, respect and love for the family unit and above the love, respect and adoration for God.
Have a pleasant and most wonderful St. Maarten Day!
Minister Hon. Patricia Lourens-Philip
Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports