Marigot/Great Bay, St. Martin (December 30, 2002) — When the St. Martin racing car takes to the starting line for the 25th annual Paris-Dakar rally in Marseille, France, on New Year’s day, January 1, 2003, it will have stickers of the St. Martin national flag highlighted on its body.
Shujah Reiph, president of Conscious Lyrics Foundation, presented the national symbol of St. Martin, which is also called the unity flag or the people’s flag, to the car’s co-pilot Eric Hélan, said Lydia Arnell, secretary of the foundation.
When he received the flag stickers, Hélan said that “St. Martin should be proud of this historic opportunity, these nationals symbols say a lot to us because when we are going over there it is to represent St. Martin, both sides of the island.”
Hélan, a teacher at the mechanical department at the Lycée or technical college in Marigot, was the driving force behind St. Martin’s first participation in the Paris-Dakar car race. The participating vehicle was pre-pared in Marigot by his Lycée students. Hélan also confirmed that a delegation of 35 teachers and students are expected join the racers in Egypt for the last leg of the race.
Ever since its launch in August 1990, the flag symbol has taken on a life of its own “as sports groups, churches, and many individuals have used it proudly, representing St. Martin all over the island and the globe,” said Arnell. This is the second time in less than one year that the flag would reach Africa as a representative feature of the history, culture, natural environment and unity of the St. Martin people.