Honor na outor | Djis un Pensamentu

Inspire: Honor to the author

This is the column that honors one of our many authors. It could be a literary, artistc or musical author. First you will find a type of biography and at the end we will present a thought from him/her that he/she considers to be of utmost importance.

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This time in our column Honor to the author, we give honor to a person who is very dear to us.

We are talking about our own father Juan C. Martis, who recently moved from his earthly home to the heavenly palace of our Creator.

Juan Martis is a person who comes from a modest family. From childhood, he longed to thrive in life. This is clearly why he appreciated everything related to education.

Despite some of the obstacles he faced, he still made every effort to follow up every opportunity he got to learn.

It was with the same eagerness and passion that he entered the labor sector when he was the right age for it.

Juan C. Martis

* 1-27-1932 - † 8-02-2018

Juan was determined to do his work in a serious, correct and honest manner. But, as we can read in his autobiography, Life of a Prison Guard. A report of the events in the last years of the prison at Plasa Wilhelmina and the first years of the prison at Koraal Specht, that was not always appreciated. He even had to fight many times for his rights as a worker and as a human being.

Juan Martis ran into several issues to make him trip and lose the perspective he needed for his future. Evil maneuvers wanted to rob him from the most precious thing there is, his life. He fell victim to evil plans by criminal minds. But his enormous willpower and infinite faith helped him to never surrender despite different practices of injustice, humiliation, and discrimination.

Juan Martis has taught us, his children, various norms and values from an early age, such as: respect, pride, struggle, faith, perseverance and patriotism. He taught us to never give up. To always believe in yourself, in your abilities and to ensure that you are not dependent on anyone but yourself.

I remember a simple piece of advice that he once gave me, that I remember to this day and that I also try to apply to my own children. I was a child who always did well in school. But every time I had to test at school the next day, I panicked. My adrenaline went up and I was afraid to fail the test or to get a 'blackout' and to forget everything I learned, and that I wouldn't be able to take the test again.

Juan Martis, my father, said to me, "Why are you so tense? Don't you know that the person who made that test is a human just like you? That person is not a supreme being. So, that means that you can do that test without any problems. ”

Juan C. Martis

Happy like we'll remember him

Since then, whenever I feel a lot of tension for whatever important task I have to do, I just remember those words he told me, and that way I calm myself down and continue with everything in a fruitful way.

One thought, or rather a very important characteristic of Juan Martis, was his enormous sense of patriotism. He had a deep love for his dushi island Curaçao. He lovingly attended many courses to improve his writing skills of his mother language, Papiamentu. He also liked to read and listen to all kinds of programs covering topics related to Curaçao's language, culture, nature or politics. He was a good resident. An authentic Curaçaoan. A defender of his homeland. He radiated this immense love for his island of birth and naturally planted it in the hearts of us, his children.

Below you will find a poem that I wrote especially for Juan C. Martis.