I start this Christmas speech with a sigh, a sigh because I too, with so many of you, have felt at times despondent during the past year. But it is also a sigh of relief. There is increasing awareness of a vaccine against the coronavirus and the number of infections on our island has been declining in recent days. That reassures you.
A vaccine enables us to resume life as we knew it before the pandemic. That does not mean that we are there. Caution is still required and we will have to take each other sufficiently into account.
The corona crisis has affected everyone. Whether because of illness, job loss or loneliness, or because the crisis limited our freedom, we have all been hit hard and directly. Our daily life has changed since the first corona infections were detected on our island in March. And now, at Christmas we only want one thing, to be together, to reflect on what has been and what is to come.
Laugh together, eat together and put a hand on the shoulder of someone who can use it. That is not possible right now and it hurts. From this place I want to wish everyone who has lost a loved one this year a lot of love and comfort. The loss is now extra heavy because we cannot say goodbye in the usual way. Like many Curaçaoans, I am with you in my mind and my heart.
If we've learned anything this year, it's how important it is to feel supported and not alone. By being part of a larger whole, be it a family, a church choir, the neighborhood, or a sports club, it's important to be able to share joyful events and receive support when times are tough.
This year we also reflected appropriately on the fact that we have been an independent country within the Kingdom for 10 years. As a country, we have also experienced what it means to be part of a larger whole. We have received help from the Kingdom in various ways. Food aid and financial support as well as knowledge and experience in health and education were shared at a time when we needed it so badly and at a time when our kingdom partners themselves were also suffering from the pandemic.
Our national services such as the police, coast guard and hospitals still work closely with service units located elsewhere in the Kingdom. Fortunately, that cooperation is going well.
But much remains to be done. Our Kingdom is a precious possession that must be able to withstand a beating. This year we have experienced that this is also the case. The help offered by our Kingdom members is voluntary but not without obligation and that is how it should be. Together we will support the construction and recovery of Curaçao.
Our government is also aware of this. This year it showed what management is all about: taking responsibility when it is most needed. Always putting the interests of the people first. In recent months, attention has been paid to various groups affected by the crisis and measures. That is understandable and rightly so.
There is an eye for our healthcare staff who deliver an exceptional performance, for the countless volunteers who were able to mobilize food aid in a short period of time, which is still being used gratefully, the hospitality entrepreneurs who see their carefully constructed work endangered and our musicians that make a major contribution to the lively atmosphere for which Curaçao is famous far beyond our borders.
I would like to address two other groups in particular. These groups are also of great importance for the further construction and recovery of Curaçao. These are our children and young people. Dear children, this year must have turned out differently than you expected. Many of you have missed school lessons. And I understand that secretly it seems exciting and fun for a few days. But after a while you start to miss your friends and maybe even the teacher. Birthdays are not celebrated in the usual way, you can play together less often and it may also be less fun at home.
The same goes for our young people; at a time when you should be discovering the world and wanting to meet, we appeal to you not to. For a large part of the school year, you were forced to study a lot more independently than you are used to and the nightlife has been restricted. Maybe you too have felt despondent just like me. Because what can you do in a world where everything seems unsafe?
It's okay to be insecure or afraid. We all agree. Take a good look around you, there is always someone around who you can trust and who will listen to you, someone you can lean on. Share your experiences with your parents, your friends or someone else you trust. That often helps enormously. You too have had to suffer for most of the year and now you are still being called upon to observe the applicable security measures.
Dear children, dear young people, your commitment is also important for weathering this crisis. Keep that in mind. You can, sometimes even better than adults, think of what is still possible today, and in what ways heat and light can be transmitted. That is why I have had the Governor's Palace illuminated extra this year, as a symbol of hope for a better new year.
Dear people from Curaçao,
My husband Herman and I wish you and your loved ones a Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. Continue to pay close attention and take care of each other in 2021. Let's make it a great new year together.