Let’s get one thing straight from the get go. The Ashcroft attack on Kremandala is a serious situation. It is also a situation that has personal implications. I have had a Sunday morning jazz show on KREM for seven years, and a weekly opinion column in Amandala that is now in its third year. Russell Vellos has told me that a number of people have asked him how he edits my columns. He tells them, “I don’t.” Nobody believes him, but he is telling the truth! The only alterations have been the removal of names (I seem to have finally figured that out) to avoid the strict libel laws in Belize, and an occasional change in paragraphing. That’s it! No one has ever told me what music to play or what to write.
Being a press officer and a public spokesperson for a government is a dicey job under the best of circumstances. This is because (surprise, surprise) governments are hardly paragons of virtue. Politicians do tell lies and it becomes the press officer’s job to defend those lies, which often requires that unfortunate individual to emphatically insist that those lies are not really lies at all.
Millions of people all over the United States are suffering from addiction to different kinds of drugs. And millions of people all over the world are suffering from the abuse and addiction to different kinds of drugs. Some begin to get gripped in the vice of these drugs early in life, while others discover the euphoria of drugs later in life. In all, all those who submit themselves to the ravages of drug abuse definitely enjoy the experience, and will fight doggedly against any suggestion that drugs hurt. However, it does hurt those who adapt themselves to it, and hurts those that care for them. In view of the fact that drugs eventually destroy lives, governments and authorities wade in to rescue and protect those who are gripped in its claws. The society defies the protest of the addicts, not just because it kills only its victims sweetly and they enjoy it, but because it costs the society. And once governments are involved in anything, there will likely be forms of politics associated with it. Therefore, we must note fairly the effect of social politics to every facet of society that has to do with mores and morals. In the same vein, we should expect to find, at least, skirmishes of politics in the access to, and control of drugs. And without fail, a close examination will reveal a glaring jolt of politics in the issues of sexuality as well.
Monday, April 9th. The 6 p.m. news carried a story about the death of an Argentinean chemistry teacher, one Carlos Fuentes Alva, who was hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired by police who were trying to break up a protest by teachers for higher pay. The response by trade unionists not only shut down the schools across Argentina, the entire country was shut down, brought to a standstill!
OK, so what now? What happens next? The truth is that I have no idea, and neither does anybody else. We try to make predictions but we are really guessing, trying to make what is called “an educated guess.” This means that we base our guess on past events and on accumulated knowledge, but it is still just a guess. Every now and then somebody compiles a list of past predictions from supposedly knowledgeable people and “experts” in their respective fields. It is amusing to see how far off base most of those predictions really were.
Using limited liability companies as vehicles to commit fraud on the public is relatively recent in Belize and may have occurred only within the last two decades or so. In countries like the United Kingdom though, fraudulent use of limited companies has been an all too common feature in practice. The devious methods employed by fraudsters have in instances pushed a reluctant UK court to lift “the veil of incorporation,” (remove the distinction between a company and its members) to prevent fraudsters from getting away with their crimes.
It is not guaranteed in the Constitution but we have the right to take sides. In the case of Ashcroft vs Prosser, I am on the side of the people of Belize and, in this case, the interests of the people of Belize lie with Mr. Ashcroft. I don’t have to like the good gentleman to take his side but, if you say you’re a nationalist you can’t support Mr. Prosser.
We don’t have any heroes for our young people to emulate. Not quite true. We have George Price and Philip Goldson in politics. Dr. Karl Heusner in medicine. Nurse Vivian Seay and Cleopatra White in social services. George Gabb and Gladys Stuart in drama. Gabb, Belisle, Barrow, Cain and others in literature and the arts and, a few nameless leaders of slave rebellions against their colonial masters. Oh, I almost forgot the Father of Trade Unionism, Tony Soberanis. Where are the epic stories and poems about these great Belizean men and women to fire the imaginations of the young and make them feel proud to be a Belizean? Instead, what do we have?
If the title of this piece reminds you of other questions that needed answering in other places and other times, that is intentional. There are a whole lot of questions swirling around last Friday’s demonstration that are unanswered, and I don’t know whether those who could provide at least some of the answers are that eager to do so. The March 21st Amandala carries an article entitled: “Teachers take a stand in Belmopan - but say colleagues left them out in the cold.” Indeed, there are issues with exactly what happened. Who knew what and when did they know it?
There is a game going down in Belize and no, I’m not using the word “game” in the way that I sometimes do. The politicians seem to move in such transparent ways that it often provokes laughter, a sort of gallows humor if you will; the “I’m laughing to keep from crying” syndrome. This is a high stakes game, a game whose outcome will determine the course of thousands of lives, a game that will either allow thousands of Belizeans to profit from the abundance that Belize can offer to its people or, that will force the majority of Belizeans into abject poverty - the modern equivalent of slavery.
Septuagenarians, Mr. Karl Menzies and his wife, Mrs. Dorothy Menzies, have a fascinating story to tell. Their paths crossed while they worked in the 1960’s at the British Honduras Distributors in the old capital, Belize City. Both had been married previously to other people, but Karl said that he always gets what he wants, and when he told Dorothy that he was going to have her—he was dead serious.
The philanthropic couple, Karl and Dorothy Menzies, have extended a generous helping hand to the children of three women - Ana Marie Magdaleno Basto, Karel Ogaldez Gabourel and Keisha Sutherland - whose lives were senselessly stolen by their violent abusers.
Last week I got into the current state of mind of our young people. It’s not a pretty picture, but then, our current society doesn’t present a pretty picture, and our so-called “leaders” bear a significant share of the responsibility for where Belize is today.
Tony Wright and his co-host, J.C. Arzu will tonight mark the 12th anniversary of Belize Musicians Past and Present, a show that airs regularly on Thursday evenings on KREM FM - the Mighty Mandingo.
