The Tourists are coming. The potholes are already here.

Welcome to Sint Maarten! Please Watch Out for the Potholes. Can someone please explain to me how this is possible?

I just witnessed an ambulance swerving around potholes on Airport Road! How absolutely ridiculous and downright dangerous is that? An emergency vehicle, potentially racing to save someone’s life, forced to navigate around massive holes in the road. This is completely unacceptable! How on earth are we allowing this to happen?

We are heading straight into the busiest tourist season of the year. We proudly announce days when five, six, sometimes even seven cruise ships will be visiting our beautiful island. Thousands of visitors arriving to enjoy everything Sint Maarten has to offer.

And what do we offer them? Roads that, in some places, are in an absolutely disgraceful and downright dangerous condition.

Potholes everywhere. Some so deep and so dangerous that I genuinely wonder how long it will take before someone gets seriously injured. Especially tourists exploring our island on scooters, rental buggies, ATVs and other recreational vehicles. They don’t know our roads. They don’t know where the dangerous holes are hiding. One wrong move, one unexpected pothole, and what should have been a wonderful vacation could turn into a nightmare.

And let’s not forget the people who actually live here. We navigate these roads every single day. We damage our cars, risk our safety and somehow seem to have accepted that this is just part of life on Sint Maarten.

Well, I refuse to believe that this should be normal.  Let me explain something very simple:

When I invite people into my home, whether they are close friends or complete strangers, I clean my house. I tidy up. I make sure everything looks welcoming. I want my guests to feel comfortable, appreciated and, above all, safe.

Isn’t that the most natural thing in the world? So why on earth do we not apply that same principle to our island?

Sint Maarten is our home. Tourism is one of the most important pillars of our economy. We spend enormous amounts of energy attracting visitors, promoting our beautiful beaches, our restaurants, our hospitality and our unique Sint Maarten charm.

But apparently, making sure visitors can travel safely from one place to another is a completely different story.

Where is the pride?

Where is the urgency?

Where is the sense of responsibility?

I understand that maintaining roads costs money. I understand that government departments face challenges, that budgets are limited and that repairs require planning.

But surely, with the high season approaching, road safety should be an absolute priority? And if there are obstacles preventing these repairs, then please explain them to the public. Tell us what the plan is. Tell us when the most dangerous potholes will be fixed. Tell us who is taking responsibility.

Because what I find increasingly difficult to understand is how we can celebrate record numbers of visitors while seemingly accepting roads that put those same visitors, and our own residents, at risk. We should not have to wait for a serious accident before something is done.

This is not about politics. This is not about pointing fingers at one particular person. This is about something much more fundamental: taking pride in our island and caring for the people who live here and the guests we invite to visit.

I love Sint Maarten, I call her my home since I set foot on her the very first time in 2008. And precisely because I love this island, I believe we should expect better.

If we are proud enough to welcome seven cruise ships in one day, we should be proud enough to make sure the roads are safe for the people stepping off them. So here is my question to those responsible for maintaining our roads:

What exactly are we waiting for?

Because the tourists are coming.

The potholes are already here.

And an accident doesn’t wait for a government budget, a committee meeting or the next maintenance schedule.

Sint Maarten deserves better. Our residents deserve better. And so do our visitors.

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