Who’s a foreigner on this island?

The recent public uproar about a category of workers at the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) who were born on the northern half of the island being threatened with denial of Access Passes by the management of the airport has fizzled out almost as quickly as it erupted. We have simply preferred to do what we are accustomed to doing,, kick the can down the road and put on our ostrich costume. Yet, it is a very fundamental issue that strikes at the very core of our existence as a people.

The new CEO of the airport, obviously bowing to pressure from both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT), withdrew his controversial letter to the workers overnight.

The Minister of Health and Labor Affairs (VSA) publicly denied prior knowledge of the letter and stated that he did not give any order to warrant such a letter being issued in the first place.

Politicians and other influencers jumped into the fray, labelling the letter ill-advised and even “anti-St. Martin.” But none of them addressed the basic question, which is: who is a foreigner on this island - the whole 37 square miles of it? There are several ways to look at this matter.

1. A foreigner in the southern half of the island is legally defined as anyone who is not a Dutch citizen. This obviously does not take into account the place of birth of the person nor where their navel string is buried. Consequently, all other nationalities require a temporary or indefinite residence and work permit to live and work in St. Martin (South). This includes citizens of other European Union (EU) countries, even though they are generally considered "EU citizens." St. Maarten is not part of the EU, but rather an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT). This gives it a measure of autonomy over immigration matters.

2. On the other hand, St. Martin (North) is an overseas Collectivite of France and therefore is an integral part of the European Union. This places it directly under French and EU laws.

As a result, citizens of France and other countries within the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland are not considered foreigners there. They have the right to free movement, residence, and work within the French territory of St. Martin without needing a visa or work permit.

Based on this, anyone who is not French or a citizen of an EU/EEA/Swiss country is considered a foreigner. They are subject to French immigration laws, which means they must obtain the appropriate long-stay visa and/or residence permit to live and work on the island.

None of these definitions have anything to do with the Treaty of Concordia, which some legal minds see as having the attributes of customary law. However, the Treaty of Concordia was never ratified neither by France nor by The Netherlands and as such lacks the force of law. This is because in international law, ratification is the formal act that a state undertakes to express its consent to be bound by a treaty's provisions. Without this consent, a treaty does not have the force of law.

This brings us back to the question, why is a person born in Marigot or French Quarter or any part of the northern half of the island viewed as a “foreigner” in the south and therefore requires a work and a residence permit in order to legally work in the south, whereas a Dutch citizen from Indonesia or South Africa or Romania is not a foreigner here?

But legalities aside, the people of the island have always been one. Historically, socially, culturally and even economically, we have lived as one, including during the evil period of Slavery. Blood, sweat and tears unite us. That unity is not founded on the Treaty of Concordia which saw our ancestors as part of the property the Dutch and French enslavers were free to carry across the borders. To the contrary, our unity predates any treaty and is etched in our DNA as we demonstrated on September 16, 2020 when they attempted to close the borders.

This is the reason why authorities in the south have chosen to close their eyes to the immigration laws that view those St. Martiners born in the north as foreigners.

This is also why, noting that the “Constitution” of 10-10-10 does not define who is a St. Martiner, some groups went ahead and introduced “Honorary St. Martiner” ID cards to those foreigners who wanted to identify themselves as part of the people.

In fact, if we were to adhere strictly to the legal definition of a foreigner as explained above, how would politicians in the south campaign for votes in the north as they customarily do at election time? Conversely, how would politicians in the north do the same in the south? They do not do this based on the Treaty of Concordia; they do so in spite of any treaties.

There are those who argue that it is the “spirit” of the Treaty of Concordia that informs our behavior. I beg to strongly disagree. That must be an EVIL spirit because it did not see us as human beings. Besides, which body does that spirit inhabit? Is that body living or dead?

All in all, the fact remains that we (St. Martin, North and South) have no authority to sign any treaty on our own behalf. And even when we vehemently oppose treaties that are signed which affect only our island, they are still ratified and imposed on us like the Franco - Dutch treaty of 1994.

The Treaty of Concordia divided us. That is why it is also called The Partition Treaty. It did not unite us. It should therefore never be invoked as the so-called “foundational” instrument of our existence. That is totally untrue.  It could even be argued that it has turned us into foreigners in our own land by partitioning the island between two colonial European powers. The only way we could reclaim our island is to become independent. Then and only then would we be able to define who is a St. Martiner and who is a foreigner.

‍