SOLIDARITY RAS TAFARI/RAS TOUZAH

MEETING WITH RAS TOUZAH JAB BASH

Touza is one of the rare reliable native capable of given a true testimony on the transformational process of St-Martin’s society. He relates his life story from the conditions of his drop out of elementary school class to his present experiences in the agricultural field, with an exceptional sense of consciousness and purpose fulfillment.

He relates his social and cultural environment as a teenager growing up between the district of St-James and Sandy-Ground.

He claims that in those days it did already existed a notion of rivalry from one district to the next but if there was confrontation it was strictly a question of physical strength never any sort of weapon was involved.

On the other hand he claims in every district there was a voluntary mediator that had the confidence of all and to whom everyone freely recourse to for counsel or solution to any relational conflict. Unfortunately this mediation wall fell down with the implantation of a new population along with a diversification of cultures.

He claims, instead of promoting the mediation system as to achieve more democratic and proximity form of justice the people were imposed the same national form of centralized justice with its arsenal of jurisdictional procedures and compulsive auxiliaries common to all French territories.

This new arbitration system has proven to be a human disaster, because far from being democratized it was only accessible to the few privileged, leaving the unprivileged mass in a state of discouragement.

He claims, another human disaster was the implantation of military camp in St-Martin. It fall at a time when most young fellows like myself, were becoming conscious that the education system was not conceived for us and instead of being heartedly educated we were purposely led astray. Failing the normal elementary classes, we were oriented into a specialized called fourth degree, proven to be a real fiasco.

In our young age, dropouts of the education system, we found ourselves reduced to a very humiliating and frustrating condition in the perspective of being accepted by society.

We were forced by circumstances to search and adapt a new culture. It is in this disoriented season of our young life that like an aura of blessing blowing over us, we were all carried away by the message of hope, unity and love in the lyrics of the reggae music in particular by Bob Marley and the Wailers.




We started to shift to a new life style in the image of the Rastafarian movement. Recognized mainly by our hair style in locks, rejected be the called civilized society, abandoned by most of the young girls of our generation who were now mostly interested in new adventures with theses newly implanted militaries to only find themselves pregnant in no time, by many dozen at one time, many of us held on to the Bible.

Many of us were pursue on the French side by the gendarmes to be recruited for military service after cutting off our locks, On the Dutch side the police will also arrest us simply to have our locks cut off.

To escape this hostile environment we decided to retreat in the hillside not really as a community we were divided by district groups, the purpose being mainly for meditation and exchange of wisdom. At the same time we were pleading by means of letters and distribution of tracts to the State’s government for the respect of our Faith belief and culture.

After about seven months of retreat and considering that there was a significant ease off in the repression we were formerly subject too, we decided to come out of our retreat and face the civil world.

Strengthen in unity as a movement and equipped with arguments to affirm our social and cultural convictions. We had taken the decision, even knowing that we were not accepted by the people, not to back out from society life but to struggle against the evil that has destroyed our customary way of life and leading our society as a whole to its destruction.

Our first fight was against the military camp in St-Martin in form of public demonstration and tracts. We claimed their departure as our victory. Today I’m hearing that the government is contemplating sending them back.

After a few years of uphill fight to promote the quality of life in society, morale of the fellow-brothers started sinking and many decided to leave up to the legal system the full responsibility of society trend and tried to integrate the system with priority the satisfaction of alimentary necessities and living standard.

The other disaster to affect our fellow-brothers was the arrival in St-Martin of a considerable number of single European girls in search for tropical adventures. Practically every brother had his European girl friend and that caused the disintegration of our movement. Personally I decided to quit St-Martin for a while to travel around to the other Caribbean islands.

Today the result of this attitude is clear. No one is qualified to lead, because while every thing was changing around us, each generation just blended in themselves in the same routine and trend of their predecessors, with only concern their self-achievement and fame.

But I’m confident that our former ideal to pursue towards a quality life in preference to simply material satisfaction is still alive and circumstances are driving us closer and closer to picking it up again.

On my return to St-Martin, enriched by my abroad contacts, I initiated a new and structured Rastafarian movement in association in particular with the movement in Guadeloupe along with the practice of our religious belief we have decide to engage actively in agriculture activity

He claims that the young people condition today in St-Martin is very serious and even hopeless.

Today the situation is such that it is impossible for even socially privileged families to exercise control over their kids because of the existence of what he call “Shot-Callers”. The only way to be protected is to answer positively to their call join the gang.

Youngsters are today organized into district/gangs. If a member of one district enters into conflict with a member of another district, one is forbidden under death threat to circulate in each other district and if one is forced to pass through the other one territory to get to another destination he is obliged to be escorted by his gang members. No gang is safe in trespassing another gang district.

Secondly all gang members are bound by oath not to snitch on another member or another gang. The password is: Snitch and you condemn yourself to death penalty.

So even parents cannot intercede at their level to settle a problem between their respective children without running the risk of denouncing their children for snitching. In this context children even when facing serious problems refuse to communicate with their parents.

On the other hand, they are not afraid of police or gendarmes because they are fully aware of legal protection due to under full age status.

This is the condition of the young people’s district life today compared to district’s elder’s mediation system that existed in my youthful age. The question is how worst is it to get before society in a coordinated surge decide to assume full responsibility and if not eradicate the scourge at the very least put a curb to its vertical ascent.


From his personal experiences with his own children, he claims that young people are more intelligent and apprehensive of the true realities of society life in St-Martin than their parents may imagine and the system may consider them to be.

He claims that children abuse largely of discordance between parents. Mother and father are likely to be more competitive than cooperative and usually children pick their mother side as to constitute a dominant majority against the father.

Fathers are finding themselves diminished in their parental authority and as a consequence, in their civil responsibility.

The common factor to all of these young people considered to be society drop-outs, is that they are from premature fathers and mothers, not only in age but more psychologically. Parents that ignore the psychological growth of a child and out of ignorance, end up being the killers of their children innocent good will spirit.

As early as the age of three, a child’s mental ability may be innocent but surely already directionally set. At this age a child has already innocently chosen his adult model and from their on he can be encouraged or deceived. Deceit when confronted to the true realities of adult’s world is the prime cause of young people’s revolt against society’s established norms.

The quality of fruits we harvest is a result of not only the nature of the tree but depends over all on the gardener cultivating knowledge and wisdom. As in garden cultivation, little attentions parents, teachers too often ignore, matter in the growth of a child’s mental health and confidence in the adult’s world.

Too often in actions and in words we imprint on our children the idea that only having money counts to be a personality in society life and pass under silence the process to holding money. When our children get to understanding age and discover the truth, the necessarily fall into deceit and become repulsive to the said civilized world.

Children in their innocent age, in the purity of their nature, have a very rich spiritual view of themselves and of the purpose they are meant to fulfill. In all their efforts they need to be encouraged in their good will by our kind and understanding words and not mentally destroyed by our lack of knowledge and wisdom in dealing with children.

Parents, teachers and elders in general must never look upon a young person outside appearance and believe that they know right from wrong because the reality is that they only know as much as they were thought. If we as adults, fail in our role as educators we should not be surprise when we behold our young people deviating from society rules and conduct.

On the other hand, he claims, the system believing it can educate our children into a different culture than the examples it is showing and young people are witnessing and living in their home and in their socio-culture environment is nothing but a pipe dream.

He claims that many young people he had talked to are convinced that Marigot, business-wise is death-bound and the called economy of St-Martin with it. They have done their own survey and relate on the little number of clients to frequent many businesses in Marigot, at times they may only count two client in a period of two weeks and this is the case year in year out for several decades and they question how can they meet with overhead charges?

From source I retain from publishing, he asserts that school’s children topic today is centered on St-Martin’s fake economy. This is for them is subject of serious concern and discussions.

Teenagers in school as they visualize their future entry into active life are conscious by facts that St-Martin is prospering on a fake economy used essentially as a cover for laundering money and other illegal traffic. In such a context they have no foresight of the least chance
They are conscious that their social future is in advance compromised no matter their academic achievement and this state of insecurity and utter disarray force them to create their own world of self-esteem.

Those in charge of the run of the island affaire need to bear in mind that as long as there is no transparency on the top of the social ladder with those in charge of the run of the economy and the administration of public funds, their will always proliferate at the bottom an uncontrollable chaos with its load of unsolvable delinquencies and crimes.

I shared with him the paradox that has always strike me about the category of young people considered as society’s “Dropouts” or drug addicts: They are the only people that will always give me a warm greeting and when in need a voluntary assistance, more they are the only people I can hold a serious intellectual conversation without seeing my words turned into gossip as when trying to communicate with those seen as the intellectual elite.

The reason he said is that those seen as society’s dropouts have nothing more to lose. They are now living by their own soul and conscience, across all imaginary self-protection against the judgment of others



APPEAL FOR UNITY AMONSG YOUNG PEOPLE (By: Ras Touzah Jab Bash)

As a father of two sons engaged in district’s hostile gangs, I wish to make a solemn appeal to all the young people in St-Martin engaged in senseless wars, committing hideous cruelty and homicide against their comrade of another district.

Competitive rivalry between districts is a part of our tradition but it was always a question of comparing strength and abilities one to another.

District’s rivalry in my young age was an emulation to give to one district a better image than the other.

Hearing the funeral of a youngster was a rare and exceptional event, today, on the contrary, we are seeing more parents burying their children than children burying their parents. Too much parents today are left to mourn the horrible and unjustified death of their children at a young age.

As a People, where is our life destiny when the common trend today is parents burying children?

In my days as a youngster, we did face rivalry conflict, but they were rather latent, I may cite as example, the existence of a dominant clear complexion elite in Marigot, known to be prejudice against the countryside people that were generally of dark complexion.

Marigot elite had seen in the implantation of European, a godsend opportunity to become an electoral majority and guaranty their perennial leadership. As a consequence, Marigot has lost its life! Its liveliness is today replaced by a sense of absence of life, a dead city, a city empty of its people and its soul and so the entire island is dying with it.

Marigot recall to our minds the history on the death of Rome, once the most luxurious capital in the world but once divided by civil wars it has become an open door to the entry of barbarians and so we learn of Rome, the world’s greatest and most luxurious empire dyed in the sixth century falling in the hands of barbarians.

These examples are simply to refresh our minds on the fatality that awaits a people when falling into division and fratricidal wars.

Nevertheless, returning to our former society life in St-Martin, I assert that never our district differences have trespassed on our friendship, fraternity and heartfelt relation one to another as one people bound together by the same fate.

And today as parents and elders, we can only be but horrified by the state of merciless wars our young people have reduced themselves too, one against the other. We are powerless witnesses of senseless fratricidal wars between young people distinguishing themselves by their only belonging to one district gang or to the other or to one gang or the other.

This is an unacceptable condition of life for our young people and it is our duty a question of our own security to no longer remain indifferent but to take a responsible stand as to eradicate the this dangerous trend.

We know the human tragedies as consequences of fratricidal wars in all European’s ex-colonies of Africa and as we see our little island taking the same trend, it is high time for us to take a stand with objective the eradication of the source.


Yong people must understand that by dividing themselves into district hostile gangs they are offering to their oppressors an accomplice helping hand by auto-destroying themselves.

The system want to see you wiped out and what a better gift if you decide to take on the job yourself by division and fratricide gangs wars.

In Mathew 12: 25-26: Jesus awaked the Pharisees from their nonsense in theses words: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand;
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then his kingdom stand?”

Young people of Sandy-Ground, young people of St-James, young people of Colombier, Young people of Grand-Case, young people of French Quarter, you all need to understand that your fate is not and cannot be divided into districts nor be solve in division but by gathering together your strength as an unified front against oppression in all of its form.

Gang life is not of St-Martin’s tradition or culture. It has been imposed on your young and naïve minds as a way of making you weak and auto-destructive generation.

Young and united you constitute a threat to oppression and its accomplices that have given themselves the rights to design your fate.