la force d’un drapeaubis

« Broken english… » cette expression utilisée pour définir le « parlé Saint Martinois, est revenue dans des commentaires récents, notamment sur les réseaux sociaux… occasion pour moi de dire la place de la langue dans la culture d’un peuple…y compris le peuple Saint-Martinois, certes petit en nombre, certes actuellement en mode survie, mais surement identifiable par certains traits spécifiques, dont le «sint marten english».

Loin de nous la prétention de parler l’anglais de Cambridge ou celui de Harvard…
(même si nous pouvons l’apprendre…comme tout le monde)
mais personne ne nous empêchera de parler notre sin marten english.
Pour les Sint martiners il n’est pas broken, il est ce qu’il est, simplement, et il joue un rôle pivotal quand on veut nous définir identitairement : les saint martinois traditionnels parlent sint marten english, simplement, cela depuis la période de l’esclavage.
Ni la France puissance colonisatrice
Ni la France puissance civilisatrice
Ni la France puissance économique
Ni la France puissance administrative
Ni la France puissance éducative
Ni la France Jacobine
Ni la France du mépris
La hollande non plus, d’ailleurs,

Malgré la grande envie de certains,
Malgré les grands efforts de quelques uns
Malgré aussi notre manque de vigilance

n’a réussi à faire disparaître notre sin marten english

Preuve s’il en faut de la solidité, de la permanence, de l’immanence même de cette réalité là dans le corpus culturel du sin martiner. Une réalité qui résulte d’accidents successifs d’une histoire coloniale plusieurs fois centenaire. Une réalité forgée sous le chaud soleil des champs de coton, des champs de cane ou des marais salants. Une réalité renforcée par une nature plus forte que l’homme et qui oblige à la solidarité entre les hommes, une nature qui a pris le nom de Dona ou Luis, une nature que nous connaissons et que chacun doit respecter,  et respecter aussi tous ceux qui n’ont peut-être pas de grands savoirs, mais qui ont de la connaissance pour avoir un jour vécu ces choses là.

Par chance la France comme d’autres, n’est pas que destructrice,
C’est aussi la France de Victor Schoelcher et François-Auguste Perrinon
C’est la France de Diderot, D’alembert et Montesquieu, Ceux qui se sont opposés à tous les obscurantismes et les simplifications sociales, (telle classe supérieure à l’autre…)
La France de Jean-Jacques ROUSSEAU…(La philosophie politique de Rousseau est bâtie autour de l’idée que l’Homme est naturellement bon et que c’est la société qui le corrompt).
C’est aussi la France de Césaire et Senghor
C’est aussi la France des droits de tous les hommes
et des droits de chaque citoyen,

Voilà pourquoi je crois que l’identité culturelle des sin martiners perdurera, au moins à travers cette langue, n’en déplaise aux incultes, aux aigris et aux méchants.

How ever small in numbers, sin marten and sin marten english has value for us, and we will protect and value it, by all means possible… so be it. Tiz veez own !

Telle est mon opinion, aujourd’hui.

Contribution to an ever on going debate for those who have recently arrived, and for those who need their memory to be refreshed.

It is not really always necessary to go back more than a few decades to understand the consequences of the then events, on what we live today… and I choose to concentrate on what took place in the late 70s and mostly in the 80s…

what a decade !

1980 to 1990, the demographic explosion.

Here are some figures :

That is when it became relevant to distinguish indigenous people from the non indigenous.

Then also appeared the notion of communauties. You belong to one or the next depending on where you migrated from. This is true even if, from a philosophical stand point, we belong to one big family called humanity. Reality check obliges us to, litterally, see and hear the differences of life experiences that one group has compared to the next

It is easy then to distinguish : The haitian community, the dominican community, the « metropolitan community », the indian community, the chinese community, the dominiquian community, and some others of smaller size or of more recent creation.

And also, their are The Sin maatiners. I consciously choose not to categorise us, as a community among the others, since I think that it is legitimate for this group to benefit of a certain pre eminence, on the land where they sucked the most salt (litterally), they carried the most rocks and left the most sweat in the grounds, before surely but also since 1848 in the abolition of slavery laws…

Each of these groups kept their native language and some of their cultural habits (eating, dancing, religious and national celebrations…), but, almost all of these groups found it necessary to keep sinmarten english as the common language, this, not only because when they came here, it was sinmarten english that was predominant, but also because english happens to be predominant in the caribbean, and english happens to be very usefull for business and work on this island.

This demographic explosion resulted in a societal silent revolution.

Anyone that left here in the 80’s, will scarcely find his way 30 years later, in 2018…

• • Because he will meet on the streets and in the shops, people that he will perceive as strangers, (and they are the people that might be in a position to inform our valuable tourist on what sinmarten is)
  • Because he will see lots of buildings that didn’t exist : In Nettle bay, Hope estate, Spring-Concordia, La Savane, Anse-Marcel, etc
  • Because he will not be able to meet the mayor nor a general counselor. And he will not even recognise the family names of half of his elected representatives.

So much changes in so a short time !

Some contributing factors that created this situation are :

• • 1981 : François Miterrand becomes the first socialist president of France since WW2. It is rumored that Rich French people, out of fear that a socialist government might take their money, became fiscal runaways and some of them brought their suitcases to the free port of Saint-Martin… with its good neighbours, Sint maarten and Anguilla. But I don’t have proof and I don’t know the extent of this.
  • 1986 : Defiscalisation laws aiming at developping the french overseas territories. Construction of hotel rooms became very good business for investors from France… and construction needs a numerous work force with little qualification. The then local administration encouraged the system. That is what accelerated immigration from caribbean islands.
  • A skyrocketting tourism industry on the dutch side combined with an attractive and effective social safety net on the french side maintains a high rate of immigration… more so that control of immigration is very poorly coordinated… to say the least.

The Population witnessed history in the making without measuring the long term consequences of what was taking place, because every one had a job, even if he did’nt go to school. A barman or a masson could make more money than a teacher.

Then came Luis…

Another dream
I want a wall… but a wall for good

One is saying a wall is a must
The other believe, we need no walls
One side is wright, the next is not wrong
for some walls are wright, and some are wrong

Yes, i want a wall…

A tall, thick and unbreakable wall
a fortress surrounded by a ditch
with water and hungry iguanas…
on one side the ocean with big sharks

Yes, I want a wall…

Behind the wall will be the wicked
because he knows how wicked he is
because he knows the hurt he causes
and he never tries fixing the hurt

Yes I want a wall…

Behind the wall will be the greedy
who for the love of having much more
choose to take from those who have much less
knowing… that is being merciless

Yes I want a wall…

Behind the wall will be the scornfull
Whether « shey name » laurence or vero
Who think she is bright because of skin
Always forgetting that man is man

Yes, I want a wall…

The wicked, the greedy, the scornfull
are now behind my tall and strong wall.
good people of all color and creed
can now go about their richest lives

Is why I want a wall… a wall for good
So that my posterity may prosper in peace.

Ce septembre là,
la terrible bête
tenta de briser ton corps, en vain !
Mais ton esprit fut le plus atteint,
angoisses, peurs et pleurs partout!
Certains doivent s’enfuir, au loin,
il en est qui sont sans choix,
quelques uns, très courageux,
veulent défier l’adversité…
Ce noyau d’humanité
de tous âges, races et classes
à su retrouver la force
pour attirer d’autres forces
certaines cependant néfastes
qu’il faut traquer et chasser
si on veut encore briller
Mais l’enthousiasme est plus fort,
les esprits de la savane
sont de nouveau bien présents
permettant toutes cicatrisations
permettant toutes reconstructions
permettant toutes les (re) créations
Les stigmates resteront longtemps
mais il faut que les pas s’accordent
en s’efforçant de garder le nord
pour la nouvelle marche en avant
pour un nouveau et beau printemps
d’une île souvent trop amicale
ou se trouve la route du paradis

Bénie soit-elle !

Printemps 2019.

La fille de 83…

C’était en 1983, pendant les grandes vacances, à Saint-Martin, Il avait 30 ans, elle en avait 24. Il passait par là, devant la maison du cousin Raymond, à Marigot, et il aperçut les deux filles sur le balcon. Il fit un deuxième tour en voiture… Et la conversation commença la.
Elle était juste venue de Guadeloupe, passer quelques jours de vacances, Il était disponible et surtout bien disposé à faire le guide… De jour comme de nuit. En ce temps là il travaillait pour vivre la vie et faire la fête… Il était mince et son « afro » était beau, et il fit le guide de jour comme de nuit, à Grand-Case ou à Coconut Grove.

Cette année là (83-84) fût sa 9e et dernière en Guadeloupe, en tant que professeur de math-sciences, d’abord au Lycée Professionnel de Bouillante pendant 3 ans puis au Lycée Professionnel du Lamentin pendant 6 ans. Il garde de très bons souvenirs de son passage dans ces deux postes. Ils ont été extrêmement formateurs parce que les conditions de travail et le public n’étaient pas faciles.

…et la conversation avec la fille se poursuivi assidument cette année là. Toutes les routes nationales et beaucoup de chemins des grands fonds furent parcourus, des plages, des restaurants et des boites furent expérimentés…
A partir de la rentrée 1984 il obtint sa mutation sur l’île ou son nombril était enterré…et la fille a continué à travailler dans son pays. Il en fut ainsi en 84-85 et 85-86. Et ils ont tenu la distance dans le temps malgré la distance dans l’espace et malgré l’ inexistence de smartphone, FB ou messenger. Le téléphone (fixe) et air Guadeloupe ont aidé à garder le lien.
Il allait vers elle ou elle venait chez ses parents aux yeux desquels elle avait acquis un statut « d’officielle »
Nul ne peut connaître l’émotion de retrouvailles s’il ne fait l’expérience de la séparation… Ils avaient tiré sur l’élastique pendant 2 ans et il a tenu. Le temps était venu de s’arrimer plus solidement… Mais il fallait passer l’examen de passage devant les parents de la fille… Déclarer formellement ses intentions et obtenir l’aval de Jean-Baptiste… Examen passé haut la main. Il paraît qu’il paraissait sérieux, malgré une barbe et un afro bien fourni.
Et c’est ainsi qu’en août 86 le contrat fût signé…
Et il fallait voir la fierté de Jean-Baptiste (paix à son âme). sa fille au bras, avançant avec la prestance nécessaire vers celui à qui il avait accepté de la confier.
Et la mariée fût belle dans sa belle mercedes bleue et la fête aussi, et les petites filles du cortège, petite soeur et petites nièces ont été à la hauteur, et la nuit fût longue et les nombreux invités, amis et alliés, venus dans ce bel hôtel du Gosier, en voiture, par bateau (de Marie -Galante) ou par avion (de Saint Martin) furent tous bien content…sauf peut-être l’ami Denis (paix à son âme) qui avait commencé à faire la fête bien avant l’heure de la fête.
Au début l’appartement était presque vide et il s’est peu à peu rempli. De maison il est devenu foyer de vie. ils ont changé plusieurs fois d’appartement avant de construire…
Par chance, aucun d’eux n’a jamais manqué de travail.

…et ça dure depuis plus de 30 ans, avec l’indispensable entente sur l’essentiel, avec d’inévitables mésententes pour pimenter le plat sans avoir à le jeter, avec pas mal de voyages (St Kitts, Antigue, Dominique, Ste Lucie, Barbade, Aruba, New Orleans, Paris, Poitiers, Lourdes,…). Les voyages permettent de tester la patience de chacun, elle plutôt porté sur un shopping qui ne l’intéresse guère, et lui cherchant à connaître la réalité socio-économique et culturelle du territoire visité.

Cela dure depuis plus de 30 ans, mais contrairement à l’histoire habituelle de prince et de princesse, ils n’eurent pas d’enfants en quantité, mais des enfants de très grandes qualités…
Mais ça, c’est un autre histoire…

Because of unwanted circumstances…the begining

All of us are subjects to unwanted circumstances, but often times the unwanted turns out to be a blessing. As it is said : « il ne faut pas blâmer une contrariété »

such is the case with the twins.
Most parents don’t plan to have twins. The order in which they « come out » is surely not their choice. One could be big and healty, the next could be small and « sickly ». One is often dominant over the other…

One of Uncle Guillaume’s brother, also known as « Ti paï » was a well respected carpenter. His friends, Etienne Barry from St james and Parro’ from Red Gate were other expert builders of those days. And these are the people who helped Ti paï to build and finish his house in concordjun just before Dona gale in 1960. I want to believe that our architect of the days was Robert Arrondell, from Cripple Gate who, I think also designed Dany Hodge house on the corner of the road to Spring, as well as the dwelling of the methodist minister lil’ higher up the main road, on Gallisbay side.

Ti paï wife, bless their souls, was carrying this twin. In those days a local midwife (like miss elo) would help the lady to « bring her choil to life in shey house ». But a twin was a lil’ complicated to deal with. So it was decided not to take chances and have the « delivery » take place in a hospital.
So somebody had to go to french quarter to get one of the very few cars on the island, to pick up the madam in mar’gut, and take her to Great Bay St Rose Hospital, where Dr Tjon Sie Fat exercised his great talents. It was safer to perform this special operation in that place… And delivery went well… the second,10 minutes after the first.
One was brown, dynamic and dominant, the next was a lil’ fairskin, sickly and shy.
Soon it was known that the latter had severe chronic asthma.

Well, this asthmatic « choil » could not go out and play ball nor marbles, less again go in the sea. He was never bare back no bare footed, and this lasted untill he was 11 or 12. His parents tried all kinds of medecines to keep him alive and free from this impressive syndrome. They used stinging thyme bush tea, lizard in hot milk, or putting his back against a banana tree and cutting it with a cutlas just one or two cm over his head. Somebody from up the island had gave this « radical » cure for asthma. No one knows how much they paid, but we know now that they paid in vain. Once, this boy almost died because someone thought it a good idea to rub him down with vicks… to which he was allergic… he eventually survived.

And because of that sikness (the unwanted circumstance) he took to one occupation that was not dangerous for his health. There was no TV, no internet, so no social medias, but there was some books… big books.
So he read plenty and eventually got a certain mastery of the french language. He read :
les mémoires du général De Gaulle (3 tomes) which gave him great insight on WWII
Les misérables de Victor Hugo (Where he got his first hand knowledge of the 1789 french revolution.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo from Alexandre Dumas (whose father was Alexandre DUMAS, one of Napoléon’s generals who served in Haïti, His mother was a slave…)
Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain (life in the early United States)
huckleberry finn from mark Twain
L’île au Trésor (adventures…)
Paul et Virginie(Adventures…)
and so many more

At the same time the « healthy one » outspoken and dynamic, could play (and played very well) such sports as foot ball, volley-ball, base-ball, cricket… and marbles.

The primary school years of the sick one went very well because he was a good reader. he even skipped a class (because of unwanted circumstances).
and then his first years in high school went well also because of all the useful infos he had gotten from his readings . Good also to note, his catechism years went well from first communion to confirmation and renewal of baptism vows, but this was true for all of the children, being in a household where going to church or to cathechism was not questionnable.

Around 11 or 12, miss Tancee from Saint-James was working as a maid for the family and she introduced a new solution to this asthma. I don’t think she explained anything to the parents. Only when they where out that the method was applied… and it was simple : on hot sunny days tek off yo shoes and socks and walk on the hot ground… she was sure that would help.
The fact is that around then the asthma disappeard for good

The twin on vacation

Uncle Guillaume had a brother who had twin sons. One was darker than the next, one was healthier and stronger than the next, one was more out spoken and active than the next.

When they were big enough, they were sent « in the country » to spend some time with their grand mother, Mama Gath, a « learning to adjust to changing circumstances » experience.
The old house was small, there was no electricity, night came early and sunset was synonymous with mosquitoes setting in. A small fire with some green bushes created enough smoke to chase some of the mosquitoes. In the evening we mostly looked at the stars and passing satelites…

In the morning when they woke up, uncle Guillaume had already milked the one or two cows that lived around the house. Some fresh milk served to make chocolate tea. The rest was put aside in a big bowl, in the « safe », to make banaclower for the next day. Now and again some milk was reserved to make butter.

Some days uncle Guillaume would take them to « the hill » (petit Fond) to tend to the cattle and get some ground food. A good walk indeed, and easy to guest which of the twin toes came more often in contact with rocks…

Other days they would walk down to the bay, hop on the small row boat and get some fish or crab or lobster from uncle Guillaume’s fish pots. If there were lobsters they were thrown back in the sea. If there was a crab it was brought home and cooked for the dog. If there was too much fish the neigbours would get the excess.

Now and again they went to « lil Dan shop » with mama gath. (I cannot remember seing a prettier old lady than mama gath, with her long silky white hair. I don’t remember hearing her speaking loud but obediance didn’t seem difficult for her to get, she didn’t walk fast but no one wanted to walk faster…). They never used the main road but instead the walking tracks through the savanah.

And on sunday they would be taken to the church on the hill. They came through the traditional inland tracks and mama Gath was proud to show off the twin, her grand children from Mar’gut.

Some days they would listen to a base ball game transmitted by « the voice of america ». Uncle Guillaume was a fan of the New-York yankees.  In the afternoon, before sunset, They would play « ball » with uncle Guillaume. He was an excellent cricket’s player but he also had a base ball glove and a ball.                                                                                    Easy to guest wich of the twin played ball the best.

All in all, that way of life was pretty frugal but no one ever went to bed being hungry. The twin enriched themselves with knowledge of nature… the mangoose and the donkeys, the fowls catching sandopees and roaches, the lizzards and the wood slaves eating other insects, the cherry trees on the road side and the biggest of tamons or kennip trees, the harmless sleeping sharks in the shallow waters of l’embouchure bay, or the « not to walk upon dangerous black sea urchin », jack spaniard nest and feeding bees, the position of the north star and the constellation of Orion.

Years and years after, uncle Guillaume had become a respected old man, not only by family but by all the people of the village. So it was difficult to see him in the hospital when he got sick.
He went through the first surgery… but when he was told that « they » had to try a second operation, he said NO !… I believe that he had realized that he had given his most and best and that it was time to bow out…He was ready to leave and had already told his friend « Juko » where and how he wanted to be burried…

And Juko respected his last will to the T…
May he dwell in his best peace, untill…

The land surveyor

On that day, in the late 60’s, a gentleman from somewhere over yonder, came up the dirt road. He was well dressed, he looked smart and he spoke good french… and he introduced himself as « the land surveyor ». Uncle Guillaume Spirit got crossed one time.

Guy was born in 1914, the year when World War 1 begun. He didn’t go to high school because there was no high school on the Island and only a small chosen few could afford to go away to high school… But he was smart.
He learnt enough french to understand anything any french man could tell him.
Further more he always loved to learn. That is how he constantly developped new knowledge and new skills. For instance, because there was no public lighting, it was easy to observe the stars in the sky. In order for him to better understand he got his brother, Edgard, who was in america, to send him a book on astronomy… and soon he could recognise different constellations such as, Ursa major or Ursa Minor not forgetting the North Pole Star. He knew that the Orion Constellation would come up in the east earlier and earlier as we got closer to Christmas…
And then… up to his late 50’s he was an excellent cricket player
And then… once or twice a week he would go down to the bay, jump in his row boat and pull the one ot two fish pots that he had made with his own hands. The fish he caught was enough to feed himself and some good neighbors
And then… he knew how to lay a foundation and build a house from floor to roof.
And then… if you had land to separate between your children, he had rope and chain to measure and enough knowledge to calculate each one’s share… and no one contested his figures or design. That admeasurement served as an official document locally.

So when the well dressed land surveyor reached in front of the the ripe man, who was poorly dressed because he had just come back from his garden « in the hill », he could not imagine that he was meeting with someone who was considered by most as one of the best land surveyors you could think about.

Although he already had a negative prejudice he still wanted to hear what the gentleman had say. « Nous avons un projet pour réorganiser le Quartier » the man started…
and he unfolded the large sheet of paper with his plan.
A new road had to be built and the road was to pass « thru and thru » the family property.
He gave his full explanation then he lifted his head with the smile of he who feels satisfied with the quality of the job he had done. He was smiling from ear to ear. But as he looked at uncle Guillaume’s face in search of some kind of approval, he realised something was wrong and the smile disappeared from his face. He folded the blueprint and ventured an : alors ?

Guy said : « Attends ! Je vais à la chasse (I’m going hunting) ». Guy went in the house, picked up his old shot gun, the one on which he had built his reputation of being a very good hunter, and strapped it on his back. He came back out and told the gentleman, nicely but in a firm tone : please leave my property and don’t ever put you foot back here. The gentleman, looked at Guy’s face and realised the seriousness of the situation. He went back « dung » the dirt road and was never to be seen again, anywhere close.

There is where the « projet pour réorganiser le quartier » got killed indefinatly

This happened in July… it was kennip season again, and the lil’ children could come up just like their fathers did: can we have some kennips, please ?
And sometimes, Guy would question : buh who yo fuh ?

Real estate management

So there he was in his lil’ house with his lil’ family, and his neighbours whose family he knew and who knew all of his family. Everyone knew everyone in the village. And the boys and girls would come to his yard for kennips, and they were taught to be polite : « good morning Mister Guy, can we have some kennips, please. Of course Mister Guy never said no.
They also knew that mister Guy had a shot gun and was known to be a pretty good hunter.

There came a time when most of the family left. Some died, some went to Mar’gut, the capital and others went to bigger countries, and mister Guy remained alone to hold the fort.

Then one day, one stranger, Philippe was his name, came around. He was white, he was smart and he spoke well. Tu es seul, tu as de la place, je n’ai nulle part ou habiter. accorde moi un bout de terre pour faire une case.
Uncle Guy was kind hearted like all the people in the village. The stranger built a lil’ place for himself. And for some time things went very well. He worked in the capital, selling some clothes and shoes and paid a small rent for his place on the property…

The next summer the gentleman introduced his wife, the next summer the first child was born and a sister came to help the mother… friends begun coming around… parties were kept…the lil’ house was too small for a family of 5… Philippe needed more space and tried sweet talking uncle my Guillaume. He wanted to buy a piece of land.

Uncle Guy was a nice person but he was not stupid. He sensed the danger of been out numbered on his own property. He had to put a stop to the trend.
He consulted with the family, children, cousins, nieces and nephews. Within the family was this nephew, John, who had worked for a real estate company. John was smart. He learned some basics, just by listening to his bosses, and his advice was this :

Let us not sell the land. Let us build a few small houses. Let us fix papers with these people. Word a mouth could be good enough among us but never with strangers, because you don’ no’ who deh fuh weh deh come from, and wha deh background be.
And John became the manager of our real estate company. His strategy turned out to be succesfull. He earned the respect of the village who agreed that he should be our representative in the local government. Uncle Guillaume remained as the overseer and made sure that rents were paid timely. Tenants could see him from afar, as he approached on his old bicycle with his shot gun strapped to his back. We now had the mains to send some ah the children to study abroad… and some did very well. We had a doctor (Peter) and we had a lawyer (Paul) and a lil’ neighbour became an accountant.

The old and faithfull kennip tree was still there, and the small children still came around.
« Good after noon mister Guy, can we have some kennips, please ». And mister Guy was still the same, he never said no.

More people came to live in the village, but the village managed to always have its own specialists… Yo need a doctor ? Go see Peter. Yo need a lawyer ? Go see Paul. Yo need an accoutant ? Go see the neighbour son.
Uncle Guy developped a nice lil garden. You could find all kinds of provisions : Yam and sweet potatoes, Pigeon peas, corn and plantain. He also had a few cows for milk. The neighbors had fruit trees : soursop, sugar apple and figs. All these fresh provision were sold by uncle Victor, a brother to uncle Guillaume, who operated the shop.
The children still enjoyed picking kennips, tamons and pomserets….
FG