The "The Hero From Sint Maarten: Part I" Story

Preface: In 2014 my wife, Carol, and I had the privilege of meeting Barbara and Diederick Cannegieter while on vacation on the island of Sint Maarten.  Dee owns and operates a liquor store in the capital city of Philipsburg while Barbara was a homemaker, mother and social activist.  

Carol and Barbara in Dee's island garden.

We were invited to visit with them in their gorgeous home high on the hill above Philipsburg.  The view also happened to capture the scene of what is known as "The Dump" which is the collection point for trash from all over the island.  And...it has been ill-administered for many, many years and has caused life-threatening fumes for the residents of the island.  My story today tells of the success that Barbara has obtained to date for her fellow citizens while tomorrow's story shows Barbara's human interest side.  Read both to see how important she has become to the island since her marriage to Dee and her move to Sint Maarten.  I say this because she at one time lived only about 120 miles from my home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the headline on the website SXM Talks which states:  SXM TALKS 2018 "PERSON" OF THE YEAR: CITIZENS THAT TOOK GOVERNMENT TO COURT OVER DUMP.  The location is Philispburg.  The following story is directly from SXM Talks: 

On August 24th, 2018, “St. Maarten residents Barbara Cannegieter and Camiel Koster and law firm Bergman Zwanikken Snow Essed (BZSE) filed a petition for an injunction against Country St. Maarten, the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI and current management company of the landfill Robelto and Son B.V. in Sucker Garden”.

The "Dump" which burns on a daily basis is shown here.

“Plaintiffs request that the Court order government and the dump operator to take effective measures to prevent the emission of smoke, gases and stench at the landfill within three months following a Court ruling”.  “They also request that the Court order
govern- ment to have an official institution such as the Netherlands Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, conduct measurements of the toxic fumes”, according to this article.  The plaintiffs were later joined by the Prosecutor's Office, in an unprecedented move, who already launched a criminal investigation surrounding all “Dump Affairs” in April of 2018.  Since launching the court case, Government had to report to the judge on a structural basis on what it was doing to come to a permanent solution for the Dump, in terms of waste management / processing in general but also how to stop the toxic fires on the short term.  Small wins, although not as fast as plaintiffs would have wanted it, have been recorded and it seems that with the help of the World Bank Trust Fund, an action plan will be financed and implemented to mitigate fires and to make a decision what the best long term solution is with regards to waste management / processing for SXM.  We at SXM Talks have been advocating for a permanent solution to the Dump for a long time and as such salute these brave residents for taking this courageous step in the benefit for SXM, making it a better place to live for all in the end.  We thank you and wish you much strength in seeing this court case through until structural solutions are indeed implemented!

Carol and I want to congratulate Barbara, Camiel and the law firm for their hard work in trying to help their fellow residents of Sint Maarten.  This "Person Of The Year" award is certainly well-deserved.  But, the job isn't finished yet, as they all know.  I'm sure they will see it through to the end and obtain the results that all citizens have a right to expect from their government.  Good job, Barbara and others!  Well done!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.