December 25, 2006: Christmas Message 2006 for television of H.E. mr. F.M. d.l.S. Goedgedrag

I am speaking to you, to wish you, also on behalf of my wife and sons, a very merry Christmas! 

Christmas is a season for giving.  When I listen to people talk during this season of Hanukkah and Christmas, I often hear the words: What did you get? What did you get? At other times I hear: what did you give?  Maybe some people are more inclined to focus on receiving, and others put the emphasis on giving.

When I travel to the different islands, I go to the airport, and just before I turn right, I see this beautiful, brand new sign with the name Margareth Abraham Plasa. Margareth Abraham was a flight attendant with ALM. When on May 2, 1970 flight 980 was approaching St.Maarten, it got into difficulty and had to divert to St.Croix. Unfortunately the aircraft had to descend to the ocean and was ditched. 63 people were on board, of whom 40 were rescued and 23 died.  One of those who died was Margareth Abraham, who sacrificed her life, so that more people could be brought to safety.

Margareth Abraham was an Antillean hero.  A hero is a person of courage!...........A hero is a person of good moral character, but mostly a hero is someone who cares first about others and then about herself…………A hero is someone, who sacrifices for someone else.

I like to tell you my Christmas-wish:  I would like to have more heroes in the Netherlands Antilles. The greatest value for heroes is the value of love.  With   love your   focus   first   goes   to  others, instead of to yourself.  Love is marked by giving, not by taking.  Love is giving up something that is yours, for somebody else.  Heroes are people who give and they give a lot….they give of their energy, time, money, attention or sometimes even their life.  A hero is someone who loves!

All morality has its roots in love.  All values and laws are summarized in love.  People who love do not insult,…they do not steal,…they do not lie,...and they do not kill….Children brought up in love, honor their parents.…Loving people do not gossip and talk evil of others….People who love their island do not dump their garbage in the mondi….People of love refuse to drive when they drink….People who love need no law.

Some think that the opposite of love is hate; but with hate you still have your focus on another person.  You still care somewhat….I believe that the opposite of love is selfishness, when people mostly think of their own interests, their own glory, their power, their fortune, their comfort, their ego.  Selfish people are seldom heroes.

While morality is marked by love, the essence of immorality is selfishness.  It is immoral when a mother does not care for her child.  It is selfish when a father does not support his children.  Is it not immoral if parents spend their time and energy fighting with each other instead of bringing up their children?

And immorality is expensive! Doing what’s right,…loving,…is good for our economy. Can you imagine….a nation without corruption, without teen pregnancy, without murder, or accidents because of drunkenness?  Can you imagine an island where fathers and mothers bring up their children to become decent citizens, where everyone contributes and no one takes from another?  Can you imagine our prison and emergency rooms almost empty? We would save quite some money! 

Could it be that some boys are criminals, because they did not have a hero when they were growing up?  Someone who loved them, cared for them, gave up on himself?  A hero, who set out to develop his child fully? It is good to develop children… but not just intellectually, but most of all spiritually and morally.  What good is it for our society, if a well educated thief just learns how to steal better?  Yes, we need educated people, but more than that, we need people who love. People, who are willing to risk their lives, jump in the water in order to rescue a child who fell in the ocean.  People like Margareth Abraham.

Who is your hero? 

Nelson Mandela? The man who pursued freedom and justice and selflessly served his people?

Martin Luther King?  The man who risked his life to pursue a dream where all men are equal?

Mother Theresa? The woman who cared so much for the development of children, whatever limited resources she had to her disposal?

Many people have Jesus of Nazareth as their hero, the one whose birth we celebrate today.  He spent his life caring, freeing, healing and developing people.  He was motivated by love.  His followers believe that he loved so much that he gave his own life, so that people could reconnect with their creator, without fear, guilt or shame. 

Others have Gandhi, or Moses or Mohammed as hero.  All of these are people who gave!

Maybe your hero is Maria Corstjens, also known as Auntie Mia, who has been serving the community of Curaçao for the past 53 years. Piles of donated goods are dropped off at her home daily and she places a call every two days to social workers, churches and other social groups to come pick up these goods. Why?...Because of love!

I asked, who is your hero, but an even harder question is:……...whose hero are you?

Fathers, are yoú your child’s hero?

When asked who her hero was, Miss Curacao 2002 said her father was her hero. How would you feel if your children said of you, that you are théir hero?

Mothers are you the hero of your children?

Teachers, are you your students’ hero?

Spiritual leaders, are you the hero of your followers?

Businesspeople, are you your employees’ hero?

Politicians, are you a hero to those who elected to trust you?

Are you a hero in your neighborhood?

I hope you will grant me my Christmas wish and……become a hero to someone…

Merry Christmas.