St. Maarten, Saba and Sta­tia sign agreement for DNA research project.

St. Maarten, Saba and Sta­tia have signed a memo­randum of understanding (MOU) to launch a ge­nealogical research project examining genetic connec­tions between the three islands and their links to Africa.

Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Melissa Gumbs announced during her livestream MECYS Mat­ters on Tuesday that she signed the agreement on Friday, October 16, with Saba Commissioner Everton Heyliger and Statia Commissioner Reuben Merkman.

The project is one of the initiatives under the Future Routes programme, which will be executed by the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) in collabora­tion with the Department of Culture.

Gumbs said she and her co-signatories had the op­portunity to hear from the researchers about their approach, how the project idea developed and what they hope to discover based on their respective areas of expertise.

The research will follow two approaches, one focus­ing on ancient DNA and the other on modern DNA. The aim is to map genetic connections between the three islands and trace how those connections extend across the Atlantic to Af­rica, following the transat­lantic slave trade and other patterns of human migra­tion.

Gumbs said the project could open the door to fur­ther research as the islands continue to implement ini­tiatives under the Future Routes programme, which follows the Dutch apology for slavery.

She expressed anticipation about the findings and the information the research could provide about the connections between St. Maarten and its sister is­lands, Saba and Statia.

The Daily Herald.