31.1 C
Belize City
Thursday, March 28, 2024

World Down Syndrome Day

Photo: Students and staff of Stella Maris...

BPD awards 3 officers with Women Police of the Year

Photo: (l-r) Myrna Pena, Carmella Cacho, and...

Suicide on the rise!

Photo: Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator by Charles...

We need people with common sense in authority

LettersWe need people with common sense in authority

Dear Editor,
We stay complaining about the long lines and other problems at the Santa Elena Border, but until our authorities begin to understand that this is a modern world, we are no longer a colony and our Belizean citizenship must count for something in our own country, we will always remain subjects and not citizens.

Why on earth do persons who report to work in the Santa Elena Border Free Zone have to have a border card which is scanned. A Free Zone Pass is all they are supposed to produce to be able to go through the border and report to work. It was like this before and it was much easier.

You cannot get a job there if you are not a Belizean, and this entails proper identification as such.

If a Belizean intends to go to the casinos, he should only have to identify himself as a Belizean to be able to go through. The authorities require that you stamp a document for this. If you produce a Social Security Card, it is not enough; you need a permit or a passport; this is disrespecting the Social Security I.D. Card.

A group of young people wished to go to the casino but did not have their “travel documents,” only their Social Security I.D., which they were willing to leave as guarantee that they would return. They were denied the pass.

“Protocol must be followed,” the officer stated. Reminds me of the Guatemalan officers denying us entry and use of the Sarstoon.

Also, there is a special line when you are leaving Belize, where all the family members can stay in the vehicle and be checked by an officer. This line has a limited time to be open to the public — only in the mornings.

Cannot the ones in charge see that this helps to keep people from wasting time crossing the border, and it helps both them and us? Why can’t the line be kept open during most of the day?

Darn, we need some people with common sense in authority.

Regards,
Romel Cuello

P.S. The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. John Briceño, gets the idea, but the party in power does not.

Check out our other content

World Down Syndrome Day

Suicide on the rise!

Check out other tags:

International