A petition to "defend the rights of Saint-Martin’s indigenous families"

 "Our Land matters - we are St. Martin" is the name given to a group which has recently formed and whose aim is to defend "the rights of the indigenous families of Saint-Martin and Sint Maarten" against "the unfair practices of the old colonial system of French justice". A petition was created online on July 30. Currently, it has gathered 368 signatures.

This initiative was taken when the Beauperthuy family was ordered a few days ago to evacuate the AW 59 parcel located on Orient Bay beach within fifteen days. This parcel is better known as the one belonging to Boo Jam. The reason for this evacuation is reportedly the auction of the real estate for which the reserve price was set at 341,000 euros.

The text accompanying the petition points out that the Beauperthuy family has a notarial act from the 1930s ensuring their occupation of the parcel for 150 years and that several judicial proceedings have been conducted against them.

The authors of the petition also accuse the French administration of "favoring foreign investors at the expense of Saint-Martiners by easily granting them ownership".

"Our uncle Louis Beauperthuy wanted to help build a new Bettany Home (editor’s note: retirement home) for the elderly but this project for the good of the Saint-Martin Community cannot be fulfilled", was written in the petition.

Finally, according to the authors of the text, other families are reported to be in the same situation and cannot obtain land titles. The authors urge them to take action.