GREAT BAY--Chairlady of Parliament and St. Maarten’s First Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams delivered a deeply personal address during the Constitution Day 2025 sitting of Parliament on Monday, October 13, reflecting on the nation’s 15-year journey since achieving country status and calling for unity, honesty, and renewed purpose in shaping St. Maarten’s future.
“I wish I was standing because then the pride that I feel would have been even more evident,” Wescot-Williams began. “So I sit here today, proud. Proud of every paper, every drop of sweat, and every tear. When in 2000, others and I told the world that we could do it, I was convinced we could, and I still am.”
She recalled her longstanding conviction that St. Maarten could govern itself, saying, “In fact, I told them this even earlier in 1994, but I accepted the people’s choice at that time. This country status for me was never about titles or names. It was about one simple, powerful principle, no taxation without representation. It was about bringing government closer to the people.”
Reflecting on the 2000 referendum that set St. Maarten on the path to country status, she emphasized that the foundation of that achievement was unity. “Our success in 2000 was rooted in unity, unity amongst political parties, unity amongst politicians,” she said. “That was a unity no one could get in between. We stepped over our own political shadows in the interest of the people.”
Wescot-Williams described that period as one of shared vision and clear purpose. “That was vision, a vision birthed in the early 1990s, one of full internal self-government in sovereign association,” she said. “Our language was clear, our purpose was defined. We said at the time, as former Governor Holiday will recall, our name would be St. Martin, not Sint Maarten, and our people would come first.”
However, she admitted that the early vision had since lost momentum. “We faltered,” she said. “And now today, that vision must be redefined. I have come to realize how void we are of our own history, because if we truly knew it, we would be more focused and more determined about St. Maarten’s future.”
Wescot-Williams reminded Parliament that while 10/10/10 represented a historic milestone, the nation was not fully prepared for the responsibility that came with it. “We failed to brace ourselves for the humongous task of leading a small island developing state,” she said. “And of course, there is more than enough blame to go around. Because, you see, as long as we keep blaming, we avoid taking responsibility. Blame absorbs us of the duty to look in the mirror and ask, What have we done with the opportunity we fought for?”
She stressed that autonomy is not a trophy, but a continuous obligation. “We asked for autonomy, for the right to decide our destiny, and we got it. But autonomy is not a trophy. It’s a task, a responsibility we must renew every single day by how we govern, how we serve, and how we care for our people.”
Addressing misconceptions about progress, Wescot-Williams said, “We thought a new constitutional status would automatically bring progress. But progress is not written into constitutions. It is built by people. It is shaped by integrity, discipline, and vision, and it can vanish if we lose sight of those values.”
She noted that 15 years after 10/10/10, St. Maarten stands at a new crossroads. “Not one defined by a referendum or a legal status, but one defined by trust,” she said. “The trust of the people in their government, in their political system, and even in the promise of 10/10/10 itself.”
“If 10/10/10 was the day of birth, then today we must ask, have we grown? Have we matured as a nation? Have we lived up to the ideals that drove us to seek self-government, fairness, accountability, and opportunity for all?” she asked. “Because our journey is not just constitutional, it is moral. It’s about the soul of a people who wanted to stand tall, not just administratively, but in dignity and self-respect.”
Wescot-Williams called for honesty, courage, and a renewed social contract between the people and their government. “We must admit where we fell short, be honest about what went wrong, but above all, be courageous enough to move forward,” she said. “We must renew the social contract between government and people.”
She explained that much of her time is spent reflecting on how the country can “reset, without going back and without pausing our future,” because, she said, “St. Maarten cannot afford to stand still. We must evolve with clarity, with courage, and with conviction.”
Recalling the vision that inspired her decades ago, she said, “The St. Maarten I back then dreamt of, the St. Maarten we all envision, is one where our children see government not as something above them, but as something of them; where our debates are about ideas, not personalities; where our economy serves the people, not the few.”
“To achieve that, we must return to the principles that guided us in the 1990s, unity and purpose, courage to confront hard truths, and faith in the capacity of our people. And above all, love for this island, both sides of it,” she said. “We cannot speak of St. Maarten’s future without acknowledging our shared history as St. Martin.”
In closing, Wescot-Williams called for a reawakening of the original spirit of self-belief that drove the constitutional movement. “As we commemorate this day, I call for a reawakening, not to the slogans of the past, but to the spirit of 10/10/10. The spirit of belief, the spirit of collaboration, the spirit that said, we can do it, because we still can.”
“So we mark this day not as a celebration of perfection, but as a reminder of potential, the potential of a people who once dared to believe they could govern themselves and still can,” she said. “Self-government was never meant to be easy. It was meant to be ours. And because it is ours, we must protect it, nurture it, and make it worthy of the generations that will inherit it.”
“As we look ahead, let us do so with clear eyes and steady hands, not blinded by nostalgia, not burdened by blame, but guided by purpose,” she said. “The story of 10/10/10 is still being written. It is written in every act of courage, every honest decision, every young person who refuses to give up on this, their island. And if history has taught us anything, it is this: St. Maarten rises when St. Maarten remembers who she is.”
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