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.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MONIQUE EMMANUEL

For many decades, Monique Emmanuel was a

name in the traveling world associated to Saint-Martin. As one of the pioneers in the organization of the taxi trade on the island, his finesse, welcoming and friendliness spirit reflected the Friendly island Saint-Martin.

He was the recommended taxi driver by all travelers to Saint-Martin who happened to get in contact with him, and this has given him an unequalled reputation to be the right man for travelers to Saint-Martin, worldwide.

Monique relates his memory of his early years as taxi driver at Juliana Airport, with an extraordinary nostalgia as he compared with today's enormous change.

Monique did not officially integrate the Taxi trade on the island before 1969, because up to that date the only possibility to get a Taxi license was to apply to the Dutch Administration. But he was rendering transportation services upon demand, as early as 1961.

The airport was created in 1943, in a zone that was before reserved for cultivation of food crops, particularly by the people of Simpson Bay. The terminal consisted of just a little home style building, the landing run-way was unpaved.

The air traffic was very slow, and limited to propeller aircrafts deserving the leeward and windward islands.

Up to the early sixties traveling from or to St-Martin was essentially assured by boat, but from about 1964, Juliana Airport was developed into an international airport with a paved run-way, capable of accommodating intercontinental airlines. The air traffic started to multiply at a rapid space, flights to Guadeloupe, Martinique and within the Netherlands Antilleans: Sint-Maarten, Bonaire,Curacao, Aruba were multiplied and turn around flights through the English and American West indies, principally by the airline LIAT were scheduled all through the day.

With Juliana Airport, becoming an international airport open to large intercontinental flights , taxi trade had become a very coveted profession and the number of taxi drivers on the island was growing tremendously. It had become a necessity to organize the profession on the French Side of the island.

In 1969, Monique took the initiative to organize the profession on the French side by creating the first FrenchTaxi Driver's Union of which he remained the president up to the time of his retirement from the profession, this means from 1969 to 1997.

It's through his persuasion and voluntary work that the French State's Administration (Sous-Prefecture) started deliver taxi driver's license on the French side. Before 1969, French residents had to apply to Dutch St-Maarten Administration to obtain a Taxi license.

In the early seventies, on the French Saint-Martin, was also opened an airport, Grand Case “Esperance”. A new Taxi Station was created, but the objective was mainly to assure independently domestic flights between french West Indies islands, this explains it's slow growth and it's little attraction to Taxi Drivers. The Taxi's stations of interest were Juliana Airport and Philipsburg's pier.

As president, Monique struggled very hard so that Taxi Drivers be recognized their full rights according to the profession laws and regulations in the French legislation. In the late seventies he had to deal with a real threat, the State's administration plans to open up the profession to European settlers. He took an uncompromising stand, the taxi trade must remain in the hands of locals.

On the other hand, he had to compromise with the limitation of taxi drivers property rights to their license, so that the protection rights he was claiming on the top may not become possible at the bottom, by taxi drivers selling out their license to anybody and emigrating to Santo-Domingo as that was a popular attitude in those days.

Another outstanding struggle he had to confront was the State's Administration unilateral decision to induce a double standard within the Taxi Trade, consisting of dividing the profession into: On one hand Taxi operators and on the other hand Taxi Drivers. All Taxi Drivers were compelled to work as an employed for a Taxi operator. Monique interceded and see to it that that prefectoral decree be voided and replaced by a new decree respecting the trade autonomy.

Previously to the State's Administration decision, all Taxi Drivers in St-Martin, were holders of a Taxi Operator's license, they were summoned to turn in that license and in exchange they were given a Taxi Drivers license. Monique did advised his Taxi members not to surrender, but seemingly he was the only one not to turn in his Taxi Operator's license. Contrary to his other colleagues with a license titled “Chauffeur de Taxi” Monique license was titled: 'Exploitant de Taxi” up to the day of his retirement.

From time to time, Monique will hint me on his hard struggle, often being misunderstood by his fellow-taxi-Drivers, and will say to me: “I'm between the devil and the deep blue sea, but I'm not given up”.

In 1995, Monique was honored by the Municipality decision to name the Taxi Drivers Stand on Marigot Water Front after Him. Here is his speech:

We are gathered here today to celebrate the Grand opening of our Taxi Stand in Marigot.

I congratulate Monsieur Le Maire Albert Fleming and his councillors, also many thanks to Madame Bernadette Davis, president of the tourist office and Mr. Romeo Fleming, Vice president.

I will pray to God that the Tourist Trade continues in unity between French and Dutch Taxi drivers with love and respect.

I would like to thank also the Taxi drivers who are here to celebrate with us.

Years ago, before I began to form a Taxi Syndicate, I had written to the Prefecture in Guadeloupe to form a Taxi Syndicate in St-Martin.

One month later, I was told that if I agree to stay responsible for the syndicate, they will do so.

I answered then, stating yes, I will be responsible for the Syndicate in St-Martin.

I formed the Syndicate in St-Martin on the 11^th of September 1969.

This Syndicate was for Taxi, Bus and truck. I received a letter from the Prefecture asking me for the rates/Tariffs for each district on the island. I send them the information and then I received another letter on the 11^th of September 1972, asking for information on the distance in kilometers from each district and charge per kilometer to make the total price.

This was done three years after the Taxi Syndicate was formed.

The prefecture secretary with his wife came to St-Martin to hold a meeting with me, relating to what they claim was a mistake in my kilometer/tariff calculation. I counted 10 Km from Marigot to Philipsburg and 7 km from Marigot to Grand Case.

I explained to him that it was not a mistake, the reason why, is that we prefer to go to Philipsburg or to Juliana five times before going twice to Grand-Case. Because going to Grand Case, we have to burn more gas, damage our brakes shoes and our life is in more danger.

Then he ask me what sort of machine I used to calculate the Kilometers I had advanced in my tariff list. I told him it is my car I had to use for everything.

He told me I was right and invited me to have a drink with his wife. I was appointed to take them from Juliana Airport to Marigot and back.

From 1969 to 1995, makes a total of 26 years that I served the Syndicate. The first Taxi Syndicate to be formed in St-Martin's

Let me wish all Taxi Drivers may they stay in unity and love,

Stand shoulder to shoulder

In God we trust

Emmanuel Monique

Monique resigned in 1997, in a very short speech:

Brothers and Sisters,

I have been president of the Syndicate for Taxis and Buses from 1669 to 1997.

Thanks to all the members for keeping me there as president

It's one year and five months since I'm suffering a health problem, praise God I'm much better.

I'm resigning from the Taxi service and is no more qualified to be your president. My colleague Mr. Arnell William Artsen, vice-president, will be taking over as president of the syndicate.

I will be there to help, cooperate and inspire him if he needs advice.

He is a man with a large family and a member of the Commission of suspension of license in Sous-Prefecture of Marigot.

Brothers and Sisters, nothing in the world is better than unity.

Believe in God, our Master. Amen

The president/ Emmanuel Monique

Monique was honored on March 23^rd, 2000 by the French Tourist Office for his outstanding contribution in the tourist industry

Monique received on October 28^th, 2000 from Mr. Jean Luc Hamlet and members of his Associatiom “Demain Saint-Martin” the prize of excellence in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the island.

Monique received the Grand distinguished National Awards medal from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (C.T.O.) Comity at the C.T.O. 50^th anniversary held at the Waldorf Astoria New York from the 27 to the 31 of May 2001. Monique was present at the ceremony to receive his award.

(The C.T.O. was etablished in 1989 but as the merger of the Caribbean Tourism Association created in 1951 and the Caribbean Tourism Research & Development Center founded in 1974.)

Monique was presented with a Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award by Tourism Commissioner Theo Heyliger on the 27^th of September 2001 in commemoration of World Tourism Day held at the Great Bay Beach Hotel.

Monique received on December 18^th, 2009, from Saint-Martin United Taxi Association (SMUTA) a certificate of acknowledgement for his good and faithful service as being the ambassador and architect of the Taxi Trade organization on the island of Saint-Martin

MONIQUE, HIS FAMILY AN SOCIAL LIFE:

Taxi trade might has been Monique last exercised trade before his retirement, but surely it represented only a little slice of his life time struggle. Monique declared:

Born on May 6^th, 1917, in St-Martin. My mother was Emmanuel Marie Magdeleine, daughter of Anasine Baly and Roumou Hippolyte from Marigot Hill and my father Emmanuel Abraham.

My father died when I was five years of age. I was raised by my mother and my aunt Leontine Roumou.

From the age of 8 years, I already started to work like a man, precisely, as a field worker and milk boy on the Spring estate, owned by Mme Marie Leydet ( call Mme Ledee), last French European plantation owner in St-Martin. Every morning I had to deliver the milk to all of her customers in Marigot. My aunt Leontine also worked for her.

At the age of ten to twelve I was managing the Spring Estate for Mme Marie Leydet, responsible to oversee the rearing and milking of the cattle.

My souvenir of Mme Leydet, is that of a very solitary religious and mysterious woman, a fervent believer in the Roman Catholic Church , she observed all the ritual of the catholic faith. She had her own little Lady chapel on her estate where she make her daily prayers to the Holy Saints

I can remember her walking very early every thursday morning from her home in the Spring/Marigot to Grand Case to attend the Church mass.

After Mme Leydet died, her son came to St-Martin and sold the Estate to Mme Yvette Fleming. I decided to quit the Estate and the new owner asked me to recommend her a good man so I presented her Mr. Paul Mingo.

I then went to learn a trade, I started first training to be a carpenter, I found that too slow so I switch over to training to be a tailor.

At the age of fourteen I was already a self-employed tailor.

I can also remember in my young age going every monday morning to Cole Bay to work with Mr. BELL, we use to sail through the lagoon to get to his root crops and vegetable plantation at Simpson Bay, in the zone now transformed in Juliana Airport.

In 1937 I married Elisabth FITALY from Gourbeyre/Guadeloupe. After 62 years of marriage, she died on December 2^nd, 1999 at the age of 82.

In 1939, I was recruited by the French army in view of the 1939-45 second world's war and send to Basse- Terre/Guadeloupe on a battleship, “Le Barfleur”.

Shortly after the official French Government under the German's occupation of France, Known as the Vichy Government, had abdicated and agreed to cooperate with the enemy, so I was not send to the battle field in France.

It was a death sentence crime to try to join General Charles De gaulle resistance army after his June 18^th, 1940 call to the people to resist and join with him, from his exile place in London. Many French West Indians tried and succeeded with the help of the American Marines, but many had also lost their lives taking the risk.

After one year service I was discharged and returned to St-Martin.

After my return to Saint-Martin, unlike most Saint-Martiners of my status, whose highest ideal was to emigrate from St-Martin to Aruba, Curacao to profit of jobs opening in the oil refinery, or to the united States of America, I decided to make myself a man with a future in my own country.

I took photographer training and established myself as a self-employed tailor and photographer, and later around 1950, I get involved in the retail market selling a little of everything and two years later in addition I started to fabricate and sell construction and decorative blocks.

In 1959 I was elected deputy-mayor on Dr Petit Hubert list and was attributed the Sports and festivity portfolio jointly with Mr Simon Jeffry.

In 1961 Monique I obtained my driven license and started to render little transportation services here and there on demand.

It is only in 1969 that I obtained a Taxi operator's license and started to operate officially, in particular, from Juliana Airport.

After the death of my beloved wife Elizabeth, I have chosen to remain faithful to her memory, I remained single but living a very happy life in my family circle, surrounded by the most loving and faithful children one can think of, in particular my daughters: Julia, Cecile, Louisa and Angele and my son Rodolphe.

Today, the age of 93, I have a lot to thank God the Almighty for, most of all my health. I'm a retired taxi driver, and also a registered veteran (Ancien Combattant).

Contrary to the recent tendency here in St-martin to place aged parents in Old People's Home, treating them as if they have become too much of a liability, I thank God for granting me the privilege to be enjoying my old age in the happiness of my family circle in particular in the precious, loving and caring hands of my above mentioned daughters and son.

Monique relates his life from childhood to this day with a great sense of pride and satisfaction, as a man that has fully accomplished his mission here on earth. He reminds God's apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4: 7 “ I have fought the good fight, I have finish the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.....”

On May 29^th, 1964, Monique received the Decoration medal for large family with congratulation from the Mayor Dr. Hubert Petit.

MONIQUE, MY RELIGIOUS FAITH & SPIRITUAL BELIEF

Born of a mother Catholic and a father Methodist, I was baptized within the Roman Catholic faith, and remained up to this day a faithful follower, believing in all the Church's teaching, believing in the Holy Trinity, God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Are one.

I raised my children in the same faith, teaching them how to pray and the right way to know God's love and also how to ask his protection. In all their doing, I told them to put their faith, trust and belief in God.

Ask for his protection and guidance, without his light present in your life you cannot feel safe. When you put your trust in him he will keep you safe from all danger.

Search for God and you will find him, trust him, he will not fail you.

Monique also testifies of the double nature of human being , to be at the same time human in the flesh and Soul in God's Spirit, through God' breath blown into us by creation. In God' Spirit, we have great spiritual power that unfortunately we often ignore.

Monique talks of many occasions in which he saw things times before their effective occurrence. He said: When you know what is coming, you know the precaution to take.

I personally can recall, once I felt myself at death's door with non-stop hiccups for over a week, when on the morning I felt life leaving my body, my door bell rang, I open the door, It was Monique, I said to him: “Monique I'm not going to make It through” He ran back and returned in minutes, with some leaves of a castor-oil plant and told me to make a tea and drank it.

I immediately made the tea and after drinking the first cup in his presence, instantly the hiccups were gone, never to come back. We just sit and enjoyed our conversation as if I was never ill.

From that day I look at him as a God send Angel to save my life.

On April 6^th, 2008 Monique received from the Diocese of Guadeloupe, Parish of Saint-Martin de Tours, from the hands of Father Samson DORIVAL, the Testimonial and Acknowledgement Certificate in acknowledgement of his exceptional support and devotedness

MONIQUE, MY ELECTIVE FUNCTION

I was one of St-Martin's elders in 1959 to push for a political change in St-Martin. I along with many others, had seen in the person of Doctor Hubert Petit, son of the soil, and St-Martin's first successful medical physician, the incarnation of that dreamed political change for St-Martin.

Dr. Hubert PETIT established his clinic on St-Martin in june 1955, and performed miracles in the medical and surgery field in St-Martin, he was honored by the people as a God send savior.

Myself along with many other elders, selected him and encouraged him to run as candidate for Mayor.

As expected, he was elected Mayor in March 1959 and I was elected on his list as 3^rd Deputy-mayor, in charge jointly with Simon Jeffry, of the sport and festivity portfolio. I occupied that function until 1977 when our party lost reelection.

During the reign of Monique and Simon Jeffry, the 14^th of July festivity had taken a new dimension, a new enthusiastic spirit of joy amongst the natives. Anguillians also began to participate fully in particular in the boat races. It is also under the impulse of the team Monique/Simon Jeffry that public festivity was organized for the first time on the 21^st of July in Grand Case and on the11th of November in French Quarter.

MONIQUE, HIS PATRIOTIC IDEAL

Monique lived all his life with the dream to see many things change in the way the affairs of the people is handle in St-Martin by the government and its Administrations.

Not long ago, Monique expressed to me his very deceitful feeling over the uncontrollable and unprincipled manner in which St-Martin's heirs are selling out indiscriminately ancestral succession property.

He claims to have suggested to the young generation of elected politicians to introduce a law limiting heirs liberty in the transfer of ancestral succession. St-Martin is too small an island to allow any further pursue of the unprincipled sell out of succession land.

Monique concern is that if the wild sell out of succession property should perpetuate any longer, in short St-Martiners will be bare-natives in their ancestral homeland.

A native without at the very least a house lot of land in his country is not only unworthy of being a son of the soil, but sooner or later will find himself in a very frustrated and humiliating human condition in all that concerns his native's rights.

Monique also regrets the little interest shown by younger generations in benefiting of their elder's wisdom. Wisdom is built on knowledgeable experiences that younger generations should seek from their elders as a relay because it is ignorant to believe that a people can progress wisdom-wisely by each one depending on his own personal lived experiences.

Monique claims that the progress of a people is a matter of one generation passing on to the other his wisdom, enriched by his own experiences of life. Just as a truncated branch of a tree dies, so will generations truncated from their elders die culturally-wise and progressively-wise. Communication from generation to generation is the key to our progress as a people.

One can pretend to be a self-made man in education or knowledge, but wisdom is a combination of knowledge and continued experience through generations.

Monique claims: It is a shame what is happening in St-Martin today, the younger generations have lost the upright principles and patriotic pride of their forefathers. I believe this comes from an absence of communication from one generation to a next.

Monique claims: my recommendation to the young people is to give high honor to words of wisdom of their forefathers for that is the secret of a fruitful life. This is my deep and sincere thought to my young people.

For many decades, Monique Emmanuel was a name in the traveling world associated to Saint-Martin. As one of the pioneers in the organization of the taxi trade on the island, his finesse, welcoming and friendliness spirit reflected the Friendly island Saint-Martin.

He was the recommended taxi driver by all travelers to Saint-Martin who happened to get in contact with him, and this has given him an unequalled reputation to be the right man for travelers to Saint-Martin, worldwide.

Monique relates his memory of his early years as taxi driver at Juliana Airport, with an extraordinary nostalgia as he compared with today's enormous change.

Monique did not officially integrate the Taxi trade on the island before 1969, because up to that date the only possibility to get a Taxi license was to apply to the Dutch Administration. But he was rendering transportation services upon demand, as early as 1961.

The airport was created in 1943, in a zone that was before reserved for cultivation of food crops, particularly by the people of Simpson Bay. The terminal consisted of just a little home style building, the landing run-way was unpaved.

The air traffic was very slow, and limited to propeller aircrafts deserving the leeward and windward islands.

Up to the early sixties traveling from or to St-Martin was essentially assured by boat, but from about 1964, Juliana Airport was developed into an international airport with a paved run-way, capable of accommodating intercontinental airlines. The air traffic started to multiply at a rapid space, flights to Guadeloupe, Martinique and within the Netherlands Antilleans: Sint-Maarten, Bonaire,Curacao, Aruba were multiplied and turn around flights through the English and American West indies, principally by the airline LIAT were scheduled all through the day.

With Juliana Airport, becoming an international airport open to large intercontinental flights , taxi trade had become a very coveted profession and the number of taxi drivers on the island was growing tremendously. It had become a necessity to organize the profession on the French Side of the island.

In 1969, Monique took the initiative to organize the profession on the French side by creating the first FrenchTaxi Driver's Union of which he remained the president up to the time of his retirement from the profession, this means from 1969 to 1997.

It's through his persuasion and voluntary work that the French State's Administration (Sous-Prefecture) started deliver taxi driver's license on the French side. Before 1969, French residents had to apply to Dutch St-Maarten Administration to obtain a Taxi license.

In the early seventies, on the French Saint-Martin, was also opened an airport, Grand Case “Esperance”. A new Taxi Station was created, but the objective was mainly to assure independently domestic flights between french West Indies islands, this explains it's slow growth and it's little attraction to Taxi Drivers. The Taxi's stations of interest were Juliana Airport and Philipsburg's pier.

As president, Monique struggled very hard so that Taxi Drivers be recognized their full rights according to the profession laws and regulations in the French legislation. In the late seventies he had to deal with a real threat, the State's administration plans to open up the profession to European settlers. He took an uncompromising stand, the taxi trade must remain in the hands of locals.

On the other hand, he had to compromise with the limitation of taxi drivers property rights to their license, so that the protection rights he was claiming on the top may not become possible at the bottom, by taxi drivers selling out their license to anybody and emigrating to Santo-Domingo as that was a popular attitude in those days.

Another outstanding struggle he had to confront was the State's Administration unilateral decision to induce a double standard within the Taxi Trade, consisting of dividing the profession into: On one hand Taxi operators and on the other hand Taxi Drivers. All Taxi Drivers were compelled to work as an employed for a Taxi operator. Monique interceded and see to it that that prefectoral decree be voided and replaced by a new decree respecting the trade autonomy.

Previously to the State's Administration decision, all Taxi Drivers in St-Martin, were holders of a Taxi Operator's license, they were summoned to turn in that license and in exchange they were given a Taxi Drivers license. Monique did advised his Taxi members not to surrender, but seemingly he was the only one not to turn in his Taxi Operator's license. Contrary to his other colleagues with a license titled “Chauffeur de Taxi” Monique license was titled: 'Exploitant de Taxi” up to the day of his retirement.

From time to time, Monique will hint me on his hard struggle, often being misunderstood by his fellow-taxi-Drivers, and will say to me: “I'm between the devil and the deep blue sea, but I'm not given up”.

In 1995, Monique was honored by the Municipality decision to name the Taxi Drivers Stand on Marigot Water Front after Him. Here is his speech:

We are gathered here today to celebrate the Grand opening of our Taxi Stand in Marigot.

I congratulate Monsieur Le Maire Albert Fleming and his councillors, also many thanks to Madame Bernadette Davis, president of the tourist office and Mr. Romeo Fleming, Vice president.

I will pray to God that the Tourist Trade continues in unity between French and Dutch Taxi drivers with love and respect.

I would like to thank also the Taxi drivers who are here to celebrate with us.

Years ago, before I began to form a Taxi Syndicate, I had written to the Prefecture in Guadeloupe to form a Taxi Syndicate in St-Martin.

One month later, I was told that if I agree to stay responsible for the syndicate, they will do so.

I answered then, stating yes, I will be responsible for the Syndicate in St-Martin.

I formed the Syndicate in St-Martin on the 11^th of September 1969.

This Syndicate was for Taxi, Bus and truck. I received a letter from the Prefecture asking me for the rates/Tariffs for each district on the island. I send them the information and then I received another letter on the 11^th of September 1972, asking for information on the distance in kilometers from each district and charge per kilometer to make the total price.

This was done three years after the Taxi Syndicate was formed.

The prefecture secretary with his wife came to St-Martin to hold a meeting with me, relating to what they claim was a mistake in my kilometer/tariff calculation. I counted 10 Km from Marigot to Philipsburg and 7 km from Marigot to Grand Case.

I explained to him that it was not a mistake, the reason why, is that we prefer to go to Philipsburg or to Juliana five times before going twice to Grand-Case. Because going to Grand Case, we have to burn more gas, damage our brakes shoes and our life is in more danger.

Then he ask me what sort of machine I used to calculate the Kilometers I had advanced in my tariff list. I told him it is my car I had to use for everything.

He told me I was right and invited me to have a drink with his wife. I was appointed to take them from Juliana Airport to Marigot and back.

From 1969 to 1995, makes a total of 26 years that I served the Syndicate. The first Taxi Syndicate to be formed in St-Martin's

Let me wish all Taxi Drivers may they stay in unity and love,

Stand shoulder to shoulder

In God we trust

Emmanuel Monique

Monique resigned in 1997, in a very short speech:

Brothers and Sisters,

I have been president of the Syndicate for Taxis and Buses from 1669 to 1997.

Thanks to all the members for keeping me there as president

It's one year and five months since I'm suffering a health problem, praise God I'm much better.

I'm resigning from the Taxi service and is no more qualified to be your president. My colleague Mr. Arnell William Artsen, vice-president, will be taking over as president of the syndicate.

I will be there to help, cooperate and inspire him if he needs advice.

He is a man with a large family and a member of the Commission of suspension of license in Sous-Prefecture of Marigot.

Brothers and Sisters, nothing in the world is better than unity.

Believe in God, our Master. Amen

The president/ Emmanuel Monique

Monique was honored on March 23^rd, 2000 by the French Tourist Office for his outstanding contribution in the tourist industry

Monique received on October 28^th, 2000 from Mr. Jean Luc Hamlet and members of his Associatiom “Demain Saint-Martin” the prize of excellence in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the island.

Monique received the Grand distinguished National Awards medal from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (C.T.O.) Comity at the C.T.O. 50^th anniversary held at the Waldorf Astoria New York from the 27 to the 31 of May 2001. Monique was present at the ceremony to receive his award.

(The C.T.O. was etablished in 1989 but as the merger of the Caribbean Tourism Association created in 1951 and the Caribbean Tourism Research & Development Center founded in 1974.)

Monique was presented with a Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award by Tourism Commissioner Theo Heyliger on the 27^th of September 2001 in commemoration of World Tourism Day held at the Great Bay Beach Hotel.

Monique received on December 18^th, 2009, from Saint-Martin United Taxi Association (SMUTA) a certificate of acknowledgement for his good and faithful service as being the ambassador and architect of the Taxi Trade organization on the island of Saint-Martin

MONIQUE, HIS FAMILY AN SOCIAL LIFE:

Taxi trade might has been Monique last exercised trade before his retirement, but surely it represented only a little slice of his life time struggle. Monique declared:

Born on May 6^th, 1917, in St-Martin. My mother was Emmanuel Marie Magdeleine, daughter of Anasine Baly and Roumou Hippolyte from Marigot Hill and my father Emmanuel Abraham.

My father died when I was five years of age. I was raised by my mother and my aunt Leontine Roumou.

From the age of 8 years, I already started to work like a man, precisely, as a field worker and milk boy on the Spring estate, owned by Mme Marie Leydet ( call Mme Ledee), last French European plantation owner in St-Martin. Every morning I had to deliver the milk to all of her customers in Marigot. My aunt Leontine also worked for her.

At the age of ten to twelve I was managing the Spring Estate for Mme Marie Leydet, responsible to oversee the rearing and milking of the cattle.

My souvenir of Mme Leydet, is that of a very solitary religious and mysterious woman, a fervent believer in the Roman Catholic Church , she observed all the ritual of the catholic faith. She had her own little Lady chapel on her estate where she make her daily prayers to the Holy Saints

I can remember her walking very early every thursday morning from her home in the Spring/Marigot to Grand Case to attend the Church mass.

After Mme Leydet died, her son came to St-Martin and sold the Estate to Mme Yvette Fleming. I decided to quit the Estate and the new owner asked me to recommend her a good man so I presented her Mr. Paul Mingo.

I then went to learn a trade, I started first training to be a carpenter, I found that too slow so I switch over to training to be a tailor.

At the age of fourteen I was already a self-employed tailor.

I can also remember in my young age going every monday morning to Cole Bay to work with Mr. BELL, we use to sail through the lagoon to get to his root crops and vegetable plantation at Simpson Bay, in the zone now transformed in Juliana Airport.

In 1937 I married Elisabth FITALY from Gourbeyre/Guadeloupe. After 62 years of marriage, she died on December 2^nd, 1999 at the age of 82.

In 1939, I was recruited by the French army in view of the 1939-45 second world's war and send to Basse- Terre/Guadeloupe on a battleship, “Le Barfleur”.

Shortly after the official French Government under the German's occupation of France, Known as the Vichy Government, had abdicated and agreed to cooperate with the enemy, so I was not send to the battle field in France.

It was a death sentence crime to try to join General Charles De gaulle resistance army after his June 18^th, 1940 call to the people to resist and join with him, from his exile place in London. Many French West Indians tried and succeeded with the help of the American Marines, but many had also lost their lives taking the risk.

After one year service I was discharged and returned to St-Martin.

After my return to Saint-Martin, unlike most Saint-Martiners of my status, whose highest ideal was to emigrate from St-Martin to Aruba, Curacao to profit of jobs opening in the oil refinery, or to the united States of America, I decided to make myself a man with a future in my own country.

I took photographer training and established myself as a self-employed tailor and photographer, and later around 1950, I get involved in the retail market selling a little of everything and two years later in addition I started to fabricate and sell construction and decorative blocks.

In 1959 I was elected deputy-mayor on Dr Petit Hubert list and was attributed the Sports and festivity portfolio jointly with Mr Simon Jeffry.

In 1961 Monique I obtained my driven license and started to render little transportation services here and there on demand.

It is only in 1969 that I obtained a Taxi operator's license and started to operate officially, in particular, from Juliana Airport.

After the death of my beloved wife Elizabeth, I have chosen to remain faithful to her memory, I remained single but living a very happy life in my family circle, surrounded by the most loving and faithful children one can think of, in particular my daughters: Julia, Cecile, Louisa and Angele and my son Rodolphe.

Today, the age of 93, I have a lot to thank God the Almighty for, most of all my health. I'm a retired taxi driver, and also a registered veteran (Ancien Combattant).

Contrary to the recent tendency here in St-martin to place aged parents in Old People's Home, treating them as if they have become too much of a liability, I thank God for granting me the privilege to be enjoying my old age in the happiness of my family circle in particular in the precious, loving and caring hands of my above mentioned daughters and son.

Monique relates his life from childhood to this day with a great sense of pride and satisfaction, as a man that has fully accomplished his mission here on earth. He reminds God's apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4: 7 “ I have fought the good fight, I have finish the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.....”

On May 29^th, 1964, Monique received the Decoration medal for large family with congratulation from the Mayor Dr. Hubert Petit.

MONIQUE, MY RELIGIOUS FAITH & SPIRITUAL BELIEF

Born of a mother Catholic and a father Methodist, I was baptized within the Roman Catholic faith, and remained up to this day a faithful follower, believing in all the Church's teaching, believing in the Holy Trinity, God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Are one.

I raised my children in the same faith, teaching them how to pray and the right way to know God's love and also how to ask his protection. In all their doing, I told them to put their faith, trust and belief in God.

Ask for his protection and guidance, without his light present in your life you cannot feel safe. When you put your trust in him he will keep you safe from all danger.

Search for God and you will find him, trust him, he will not fail you.

Monique also testifies of the double nature of human being , to be at the same time human in the flesh and Soul in God's Spirit, through God' breath blown into us by creation. In God' Spirit, we have great spiritual power that unfortunately we often ignore.

Monique talks of many occasions in which he saw things times before their effective occurrence. He said: When you know what is coming, you know the precaution to take.

I personally can recall, once I felt myself at death's door with non-stop hiccups for over a week, when on the morning I felt life leaving my body, my door bell rang, I open the door, It was Monique, I said to him: “Monique I'm not going to make It through” He ran back and returned in minutes, with some leaves of a castor-oil plant and told me to make a tea and drank it.

I immediately made the tea and after drinking the first cup in his presence, instantly the hiccups were gone, never to come back. We just sit and enjoyed our conversation as if I was never ill.

From that day I look at him as a God send Angel to save my life.

On April 6^th, 2008 Monique received from the Diocese of Guadeloupe, Parish of Saint-Martin de Tours, from the hands of Father Samson DORIVAL, the Testimonial and Acknowledgement Certificate in acknowledgement of his exceptional support and devotedness

MONIQUE, MY ELECTIVE FUNCTION

I was one of St-Martin's elders in 1959 to push for a political change in St-Martin. I along with many others, had seen in the person of Doctor Hubert Petit, son of the soil, and St-Martin's first successful medical physician, the incarnation of that dreamed political change for St-Martin.

Dr. Hubert PETIT established his clinic on St-Martin in june 1955, and performed miracles in the medical and surgery field in St-Martin, he was honored by the people as a God send savior.

Myself along with many other elders, selected him and encouraged him to run as candidate for Mayor.

As expected, he was elected Mayor in March 1959 and I was elected on his list as 3^rd Deputy-mayor, in charge jointly with Simon Jeffry, of the sport and festivity portfolio. I occupied that function until 1977 when our party lost reelection.

During the reign of Monique and Simon Jeffry, the 14^th of July festivity had taken a new dimension, a new enthusiastic spirit of joy amongst the natives. Anguillians also began to participate fully in particular in the boat races. It is also under the impulse of the team Monique/Simon Jeffry that public festivity was organized for the first time on the 21^st of July in Grand Case and on the11th of November in French Quarter.

MONIQUE, HIS PATRIOTIC IDEAL

Monique lived all his life with the dream to see many things change in the way the affairs of the people is handle in St-Martin by the government and its Administrations.

Not long ago, Monique expressed to me his very deceitful feeling over the uncontrollable and unprincipled manner in which St-Martin's heirs are selling out indiscriminately ancestral succession property.

He claims to have suggested to the young generation of elected politicians to introduce a law limiting heirs liberty in the transfer of ancestral succession. St-Martin is too small an island to allow any further pursue of the unprincipled sell out of succession land.

Monique concern is that if the wild sell out of succession property should perpetuate any longer, in short St-Martiners will be bare-natives in their ancestral homeland.

A native without at the very least a house lot of land in his country is not only unworthy of being a son of the soil, but sooner or later will find himself in a very frustrated and humiliating human condition in all that concerns his native's rights.

Monique also regrets the little interest shown by younger generations in benefiting of their elder's wisdom. Wisdom is built on knowledgeable experiences that younger generations should seek from their elders as a relay because it is ignorant to believe that a people can progress wisdom-wisely by each one depending on his own personal lived experiences.

Monique claims that the progress of a people is a matter of one generation passing on to the other his wisdom, enriched by his own experiences of life. Just as a truncated branch of a tree dies, so will generations truncated from their elders die culturally-wise and progressively-wise. Communication from generation to generation is the key to our progress as a people.

One can pretend to be a self-made man in education or knowledge, but wisdom is a combination of knowledge and continued experience through generations.

Monique claims: It is a shame what is happening in St-Martin today, the younger generations have lost the upright principles and patriotic pride of their forefathers. I believe this comes from an absence of communication from one generation to a next.

Monique claims: my recommendation to the young people is to give high honor to words of wisdom of their forefathers for that is the secret of a fruitful life. This is my deep and sincere thought to my young people.

CAN WE SEE GOD?

Our reluctance to believe in the unseen God, results from our poor knowledge of creation.

In Genesis 2: 7 we read: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”

This of course meant that human being by creation is both flesh and spirit and also, from a functional standpoint that every functional part of our body from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet, has at the same time inherited a double existence: An existence in the flesh and an existence in the spirit, with absolutely the same functional faculties in spirit as in the flesh.

Whatever our brains, eyes, mouth, ears, hands, feet, heart, lungs, pancreas, intestines, sex etc. can perform in the flesh, they can perform in the spirit.

Our ability in the flesh and apparent inability in the spirit come from our misunderstanding of creation.

By creation, God has given us full authority over all of his earthly creation including our physical being. But he did not entrust us with free access to our spiritual functions, because, this part of his creation, is not of the earth and does not belong to the earth, but is of the immortal substance of God himself and belongs to him alone.

God claims absolute authority over the spiritual, our immaterial human nature and transcend over all of his material earthly creation including our physical existence..

Access to our spiritual being, is only possible through our constant appeal in prayer to the glory of God, whether directly or through his unique Son Jesus Christ.

By creation, God’s plan is for us is to feed our spiritual being with spiritual food that only he can produce and that we must appeal to him at the very least at the same daily tempo we are obliged to feed our physical body with earthly food out of necessity to assure our physical life.

By creation we were handed a physical life on one side and a spiritual life on the other side and God’s purpose is for us to sustain both and to observe a just balance.

Spiritual healing is less a miracle for those of us knowledgeable of this truth. Our overall health resides in our ability to obtain the most perfect as possible, balance between the physical and the spiritual.

The reason why some of us are reluctant to believe in the unseen God is that we only focus and train ourselves to the use of our eyes of the flesh and ignore completely that God has also equipped us with eyes of the spirit.

With the eyes of the spirit, we can see God in his power and glory, we see God through his creation, we see God through his spiritual and physical light that shines upon us, we see God through his dependable supreme justice, we see God through his infinite love, we see God through his omnipresence within us in hard times and in good times.

With the eyes of the spirit, we see God in our human nature to always give priority to the good over evil. We see God through the purity of our subconscious, reflection of his omnipresence within us.

We see God in our human nature to love others, in our intelligence, in our faculty to reason, in our knowledge and wisdom, our faculty to distinguish good from evil and natural inclination towards good, our natural tendency to seek and to attach to the truth, to the ideal and to the absolute, in our peace of mind and unchanging smile in good times or in hard times, In whole, we see God in the happy, joyful, contented aura that covers our way of life in all seasons.

God is infinite but we are finite being, in flesh surely, in spirit we are on probation during our entire life on earth. God is giver of eternal life but it is not granted it is an acquired merit.

God requires our desire for spiritual renewal likely our constant desire for physical renewal.

Outwardly, in innocent appearance or by conscious will, we may ignore God’s presence within us. But his breath, spiritual substance instilled into us by creation, was a gift, and God as eternal cannot take back what he had given. Whatever God does is to remain for eternity.

That said, no human being can escape God’s presence within us, it is an integral part of our nature. For this reason we ought to always seek a perfect coexistence between our conscious state and our inner subconscious and by so doing assure our happiness.

When conscious state enter into conflict with the subconscious, the predominance of the later causes unhappiness and even mental illness.

This presence of God within us in spite of our ignorance of him, is also noted by the apostle Paul in his addresses to the ‘Men of Athens’, we quote in Acts 17: 23: “For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you.”

Often we find atheists, in spite of not believing in God, yet involved in godly duties such as love for others, promoting progress and the advancement of humanity, or engaged in voluntary service or in humanitarian organization/aid, etc.

None can honestly deny the supernatural and mystery aura that covers the natural and perfect order of the self-organized universe or restrain from the question of our purpose of human existence on earth, a planet amongst many others.

In spite of all that has been demonstrated spiritually-wise on how can we see God, our physical nature yet remains unsatisfied because seeing God through our spiritual eyes only convinces us of his existence when the true question is: Why can’t we see God in real eye to eye?

The second question that comes to mind, even of the believer, is that since the duality of our human existence in flesh and in spirit is the sole hindrance to our liability to see God eye to eye, then what happens when we pass on from this earthy life and become spirit likely God that is spirit?

CHRISTIAN CHURCH BELIEF IN THE UNSEEN GOD

Christians in general never question the unseen nature of God. God is visualized in the person of his only Son Jesus Christ and Christian’s duty is to proclaim his infinite love for the world.

God has revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ, in the form known in terms of the Holy trinity: God the father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost.

We have tangible proof of the existence of God’s prophets, most of whom were persecuted and even executed for having prophesied the coming of Jesus Christ as King of Kings, and this long time before accomplishment. Secondly, Jesus Christ during his earthly mission has left indelible marks confirming truth and certitude.

When one seriously analyzes the lessons from Jesus Christ, his recommendations and examples to mankind during his journey here on earth, only one thing we can honestly acknowledge: If it should be an invented legend, it was a vital necessity for the well-being of humanity and it has all the merits to have been invented.

A great philosopher once testified in theses terms: “If God did not exist, we would have had to invent him.”

We may also agree with the famous bet laid by a certain philosopher by the name of Blaise Pascal: “If God exists and I was a believer, I have won everything. If God does not exist and I was a believer, I have lost nothing”

We can never see God in this earthly life with eye of the flesh, but with the eyes of the spirit, we are equipped to recognize, to approach and to value all that God represents: He is the architect and organizer of the universe, he is the ruler of Heaven and earth, he is Lord of the visible and the invisible, he is spiritual, immortal, divine, perfect, just, he is eternal and giver of eternal life, he is light, he is the word, he is the Almighty, he is infinite and eternal, he is omnipotent and omnipresent, as he said through his Son Jesus Christ: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, who was and who is to come….”

To believe or not to believe, that’s the question.

By human nature, believers and non-believers, desire is to accede to the absolute truth. Fortunately or unfortunately, the absolute can only be found in the God believers glorify. In this hypothesis, believers and non-believers may be divergent in the form of their pursuit, actions or deeds, but basically, by the predominance of their common human nature, at the end of the day, they often end up in the same earthly melting pot of godly duties.

Unfortunately, by the word of God, only those that exercise their duty within God’s spirit, will inherit eternal life.

THE HEBREWS PROOF OF GOD:

The Hebrews believed in a unique God, that is: almighty, spiritual, transcendent, creator and supreme organizer of the universe. But contrary to the prophesies on the coming of the unique Son of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, if I’m not mistaken, they reduced the prophesy to their belief in reincarnation of the soul of man.

For the Hebrews, supposed to be God’s chosen Nation, the prophecy was simply the coming back of a deceased prophet, and Jesus was to be assimilated with other prophets.

We know what followed. Jesus declaring: “ I come unto my own, and my own received me not.”

However, Hebrews as God chosen Nation, have tangible proof of communication with God, directly or through God’s Angels. We may refer to God’s many manifestations in voice or in signs to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, but none of these has ever related of having a visible eye to eye contact with God.

ANCIENT EMPIRES PROOF OF GOD: Egypt, Japan, Peru,

Ancient empires were also convinced on the existence of a unique God, invisible, supernatural, immaterial, All-Powerful, a celestial governor of the universe and all things there within, including mankind.

But instead of questioning their inability to see God, they opted to credit to the Sun all the qualities recognized in God. Without the Sun no life on earth can be possible. The Sun was honored as the fertilizer of life, of fruitfulness, of joy and of happiness on earth

This led them to confound the almightiness of God with the mystic they observed in the Sun. This was the case of many ancient empires or Kingdom dynasties, to name: Egypt, Japan. Peru. Were also associated to this concept, the Pharaohs, Monarchs or supreme pontiffs known in ancient Egypt.

They practiced as religion, the cult of the Sun. To illustrate their belief they compared the Sun to a mirror. The people were considered children of the celestial, under the protection of the Sun and their Monarchs were called: “Sons of the Sun”

The Sun was taken as a living incarnation of the mystery and miracles governing the universe, the triumphal divinity, conqueror over the force of inertia and sterility inherent in chaos.

They considered every day to be a necessary eternal rebirth of the Sun, after a long stay in darkness, as to renew its divine energy.

The Sun was worshiped as the father in the realm of the celestial powers, the mother of all civilization, the center of the universe and governor of all things visible and invisible.

This ancient legend of the Sun was to be strengthened by modern science conformation of ancient belief in the heliocentric system, claiming all planets of our immediate universe, including the earth to be originated from detached particles from the Sun.

Added to their belief in the divinity of the Sun, they illustrated the Sun with the contrast between the front and the back of a mirror. Likely the back of a mirror, behind the visible brilliant face of the Sun, resides the invisible face, purposely dissimulated from the eyes of Man.

The hidden face of the Sun is described as an immense and terrible blaze, infinitely huge and more brilliant than the visible face. This side of the Sun is unapproachable by any living creature. They called it the unseen sun or the spiritual fire.

Their belief was, that after our earthly death we systematically pass on to this hidden face of the Sun, called the “Sun of the Dead”. They claim the “Sun of the dead” to be the guide that will lead our soul after physical death, towards the transcendent Spirit where we will accede to the mystery of supreme knowledge.

In 1 Timothy 6, 15-16 we read: “…God the blessed and the only ruler, the king of kings, Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, to him be honor and might forever.”

Is there a link?

BELIEF OF EARLIER ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

More ancient civilizations put their belief not in the existence of one God, but from their belief in earthly spirits, they believed that certain souls are deified by death.

Deified souls were therefore personalized into divinities or gods. Each god or divinity was determined as to corresponded to a specific natural but contingent need. We find a pluralism of gods, each corresponding to a specific aspect of life.

SUMMARY:

CAN WE SEE GOD WITH EYES OF THE FLESH?

We can give an absolute NO to this question.

CAN WE SEE GOD WITH OUR EYES OF THE SPIRIT?

Witnesses of God omnipresence and omnipotent in all aspects of their life, can give an absolute YES to this question.

CAN WE SEE GOD EYE TO EYE IN OUR LIFE AFTER DEATH?

No mortal can answer to this question with absolute certainty. It is nevertheless the hope of believers. Hope through belief in Jesus Christ. Should we live a godly life in the spirit of God, seek perfection in the carrying out of Jesus Christ recommendations, we can reckon on a place in God’s house, eye to eye in spirit..

CONCLUSION:

When analyzing closely all religious belief, whether the belief of Christians or religions that choose to worship the Sun and other symbols taken as incarnation of divinities or other worshiping of a plurality of gods, at the bottom line we find that all agree on the existence of a general supernatural and omnipotent force, that regulates the universe and all there in.

Liberty to identify God belongs to every individual. My personal testimony is that those of us that have identified the hands of the almighty God in all that concern our life and the world, and to give him glory have a happy existence by the assurance that we are in harmony with the absolute truth.

Those reluctant to accept the existence of a living and Almighty God, appears to be very unhappy because unconsciously, they are reduced to permanent and unsuccessful searcher for truth.

Desire for the absolute truth is instilled in our human nature, likely a gift from God, no one can escape that desire, trying to reach what surpasses human knowledge, reduces us deep down inside to unfulfilled and unhappy feelings.

Written by Leopold Baly,