When a society becomes a pressure cooker

Over the past several weeks, we have witnessed one disturbing incident after another. Reports of violence, armed robberies, assaults and senseless acts of aggression have become increasingly common in our daily news. Every one of these incidents leaves another family traumatized, another community shaken and another scar on the soul of our country.

It forces us to ask an uncomfortable question:

What is happening to us?

St. Maarten has always faced challenges. We have survived hurricanes, a global pandemic, economic downturns and political uncertainty. But today many people feel they are carrying a burden that becomes heavier every single month.

Families are struggling with the rising cost of groceries. Fuel prices continue to affect almost every product and service we purchase. Electricity bills remain a source of tremendous anxiety for many households. Questions surrounding the fuel clause, affordability, transparency and the possibility of utility disconnections have created uncertainty for countless families. Public debate around these issues has become one of the dominant concerns affecting our people.

Our island is also enduring prolonged periods of extreme heat and drought. Scientists warn that our climate is becoming hotter and drier, placing additional physical and emotional strain upon our communities.

When financial pressure, uncertainty, exhaustion and fear begin to accumulate day after day, week after week and month after month, they can test the patience and resilience of any society.

To me, St. Maarten increasingly resembles a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker functions safely only as long as the pressure has somewhere to escape. When pressure continues to build without an outlet, eventually something gives way.

For some people, that pressure becomes anxiety, for others, depression, or hopelessness.

For some, it erupts in anger and sometimes, tragically, that anger manifests itself in violence.

Let me be absolutely clear, economic hardship never excuses violence. Financial stress does not justify taking another person's life. No amount of frustration permits robbery, assault or abuse.

Every individual remains responsible for the choices they make.

But as leaders, we also have a responsibility to recognize when our society is under extraordinary strain and to respond before the pressure becomes unbearable.

We cannot police our way out of every social problem. Law enforcement remains indispensable and must continue to hold offenders accountable. But lasting peace is built not only through arrests. It is built through hope, through opportunity, through fairness, through trust and through compassion.

Peace begins in our homes, continues in our schools, grows in our churches and is strengthened in our neighborhoods and must be reflected by every ministry and every institution of government.

Today, I ask every resident of St. Maarten to pause. Pause before responding in anger. Pause before escalating an argument. Don’t allow frustration to become violence. No disagreement is worth destroying a family. No insult is worth taking a life. No financial problem is solved through violence.

Go back to being the compassionate society we have always been on St. Maarten. Remember, the person standing next to you at the supermarket may also be struggling. The driver who cuts you off may be carrying burdens you cannot see. The cashier serving you may be worrying about paying rent. The police officer responding to emergencies is under pressure. The nurse working another long shift is exhausted. The parent working two jobs is simply trying to survive.

We are all carrying something. That is why this is precisely the moment when kindness matters most. History teaches us that difficult seasons do not last forever. This too shall pass, but how we treat one another while passing through this difficult season will define the kind of country we leave for our children.

The strength of our nation has always been found in our people.

I extend my sympathy to all who have lost loved ones to violence. I wish a great recovery to those hospitalized as a result of violence and I encourage all of the victims and families of the victims to contact Victim Support Services for assistance.

May God continue to bless every family on our beloved island.

Let's choose peace.

Veronica Jansen-Webster

Member of Parliament

Sint Maarten

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