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« O
SWEET SAINT-MARTIN'S LAND”! IT'S YOUR 61st,
ANNIVERSARY
I
HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU: WHY HAVE THE FRENCH CONVERTED YOU FROM
THIS "USEFUL BIRD IN WHITE"? :
« ...Thy useful birds in white
Their
morn and evening flight
Like
aircrafts-wings in unityTheir
coming down for food
Their
turning back to roost
Bring
home to me their harmony... »
TO THIS ?
“...
Flight of its pelicansGraceful and elegant
When
they hover high into air
When
they dive into the sea
Tell
me the place where we see them
When
based on their prey”
Can this be some sort of mockery?
What could be the
reason for the French to publish their own version of « O
SWEET SAINT-MARTIN'S LAND” and converted father Kemps “Birds
in white” to “Pelicans”?
To distort in substance and in form our cultural history and memories of a historic icon of our society Father Gerard Kemps, is nothing less than an intellectual crime. I can only hope that one day our cultural organizations will become conscious of this intellectual and cultural crime and proceed to the necessary correction.
I had already some years signal this distortion done to father Kemps song, but my plea has fallen into deaf ears.
To distort in substance and in form our cultural history and memories of a historic icon of our society Father Gerard Kemps, is nothing less than an intellectual crime. I can only hope that one day our cultural organizations will become conscious of this intellectual and cultural crime and proceed to the necessary correction.
I had already some years signal this distortion done to father Kemps song, but my plea has fallen into deaf ears.
This November 11th,
2019, 60th anniversary of St-Martin/St-Maarten Day, I want
us to consider the original 3rd verse of our island anthem
as written in its original lyrics by father Kemps, as in all the organized
official ceremonies , “O SWEET SAINT-MARTIN'S LAND”, our said to
be St-Martin/St-Maarten bi-national song and even Dutch Sint-Maarten
anthem, will fill the air with its charming melody.
But do we know that
the 3rd verse of this song is today completely obsolete?
“Thy useful birds in white”: Birds of Western Africa origin, known as ox-peckers (in french: pique-boeufs or Héron Garde-bœuf,), made their first appearance on our island, St-Martin, in the early 1950's, the most known colony was that installed in the mangroves of Lowland. This is the colony of father Kemps song.
They have in the recent decades been driven out of their nest in the Lowland by the new french european settlers therefore we have no more “Morn and evening flight”, we have no more “turning back to roost”, does this says that our bi-national anthem that we chant today on its 61st, anniversary in such a heartfelt melody is today in reality of facts obsolete?
These birds are essentially insectivorous, they feed on insects such as grasshoppers, locusts, bugs, ticks etc. and therefore render a great service to gardening and raising of livestock, in particular, they keep our cattle clean of ticks, a factor of disease.
“Their morn and
evening flight” “Their turning back to roost”: From
the presbytery balcony of Marigot overlooking the Marigot bay, father
Kemps home for 30 years, he had a daily clear view of this colony of white
birds leaving their nest in Lowlands early every morning and
returning every evening
“Like aircrafts-wings in unity, Their coming down for food” here we see that father Kemps not only observed this colony of white birds from his home balcony but also followed them on the pasture fields where they feed in particular on the cattle ticks and will separate group by group. As example, one group will land off in the Spring/Marigot, an other in Galisbay, then Friar's Bay, then the Savana etc.
“Like aircrafts-wings in unity”: Before the landing of each group, the colony will put on a flying performance in the air similar to the fighter jets grand performance we see in the skies of Paris on the 14th, of July festivity. By “aircrafts-wings in unity” father Kemps compares these birds coming down for food to that of the the known “Patrouille de France avions de chasse” show in the skies of France.
“Their turning back to roost”: In the evenings for the gathering back up of the colony to return to “roost” we were given the same grand performance, before the entire colony completed and ready to return to its roost in the Lowlands, flying in harmony always with one leading as a 30 seconds interval the "eclaireur", the reconnaissance bird
“Bring home to me their harmony” : The unified organization of this colony of birds was source of inspiration for father Kemps.
My question today is
what has remain today of all the charms of our little islands, put
into such heartfelt lyrics and melody in 1958 by father Kemps,
priest of the Marigot Catholic Church from 1954 to 1984,
In 1959 the entire
Lowlands have been sold off to the Americans by Paris as 50 pas
geometriques at the official price of ten centimes of francs a square
meter,
In the 1980's the Americans were chased out of their lowlands properties by the french europeans and so were these birds we are chanting today in our island bi-national anthem, chased from their nest in the Lowlands, by the destruction of ann the mangrove in the area, the erection of 8 meters high walls guarded by dangerous bulldogs
As father Kemps I was also charmed by the natural harmonious organization of this colony of birds. A group would land every morning on a cattle farm situated before my home in Friar's Bay.
In the 1980's the Americans were chased out of their lowlands properties by the french europeans and so were these birds we are chanting today in our island bi-national anthem, chased from their nest in the Lowlands, by the destruction of ann the mangrove in the area, the erection of 8 meters high walls guarded by dangerous bulldogs
As father Kemps I was also charmed by the natural harmonious organization of this colony of birds. A group would land every morning on a cattle farm situated before my home in Friar's Bay.
I can testify, for
the last 20 years there is no more : “Morn and evening flight”
there is no more “Turning back to roost”. it seems to me
that today they have started a new life style, they "roost" in the same
area where they feed.
Today, I really don't want
to believe that the little group of 15 to 20 birds I yet see
before my home in Friar's Bay, is the last remaining of the large
colony of over 300 birds that existed on this island in the days of
father Kemps.
The last cattle
farmer in Friar's Bay “ Maxi” has died last Saturday
November 2nd 2019 and this can well be the last of these
birds in Friar's Bay, as for now they are in a state of utter
disarray flying around by the one and two
