In the United States, those of my generation, the children born in the years right after World War II, are called “Baby Boomers,” because there were a lot of babies born after the war. My generation of British Hondurans/Belizeans went to the United States, and very few of them returned.
I haven’t been to the United States since 1979, so it may be that things have changed for Belizeans. I didn’t see much difference between 1965, the first time I went to Brooklyn, and 1979, the last time I saw the Bronx, so I am willing to place a small wager that things for Belizeans are not that much different today from 1979.
I suppose Dr. Jerome Straughan can speak as the only Belizean authority on this, but it seems to me that the first significant migration of British Hondurans to the United States took place during and after World War I. I know of two granduncles and a grandaunt, on the Belisle and Lindo sides, who made that move almost a century ago. They landed in New York, specifically my granduncle, Wilson Belisle, and my grandaunt, Gladys Lindo Ysaguirre. These people traveled by ship, of course.
I submit that the next significant move began after World War II and during the 1950’s. This move became a flood after the Hurricane Hattie disaster in 1961, when the United States allowed Belizeans who had relatives in the United States to take refuge in the U.S. Many of these Belizeans never returned home. They spread from New York into Chicago and Los Angeles.
When I went to New York City in 1965, I considered Belizeans there an exile community, which is to say, a tiny minority, relatively close knit, and tortured by the conflict between the great opportunities of America as opposed to the comfort and familiarity of home in Belize. There was a conscious, outspoken effort on the part of Belizeans in the States to convince visiting Belizeans to stay in America, and it seemed to me that that effort was largely successful.
When I left Belize in August of 1965, I wanted to leave in a very bad way. I suppose this was the case for all of my generation, as young and adventurous as we were. I don’t think we spent any time reflecting on the possibility that we would someday wish to return home to Belize. America seemed like a dream we had cherished all our lives, and the fulfillment of that dream, actually going to America, blew away all other considerations.
On the UBAD rostrum in 1969 and 1970, my message to young Belizeans was that while it was impossible for them not to want to go to America, if it was possible they should make some allowance for the possibility of returning home afterwards. In my case, it hadn’t taken me long, after starting school in 1965, to realize that I would want to return home after my studies.
The World War I generation of British Hondurans, to repeat, traveled by ship, a long and tedious journey. The post World War II Belize people flew in propeller-driven airplanes.
But the 1950’s were when a growing amount of Belizeans began to travel by road through Mexico and enter the United States illegally. The American immigration officials along their Mexican border, from Tijuana west to Matamoros east, did not know that there was a black, English-speaking nation in Central America. So they assumed Belizeans were black Americans who had been visiting Mexico. This is no longer the case today. Belize is well known by American immigration, a process of familiarity which, it seemed to me, began with Belize’s marijuana export trade in the middle 1970’s.
I think Belizeans in the United States understood how important they were to Belize financially, but they have lagged behind other Caribbean and Central American exile communities where solidarity and nationalism are concerned. Belizeans in the United States should be much more connected and organized than they are, because they can communicate easily with each other by telephone and electronic mail.
A major problem is that so many Belizeans in the U.S. remain undocumented, which is to say, they are not living in America legally. But, if we are to save Belize for Belizeans and not give in to Guatemalan pressure, then every Belizean can play a role. Information and education are important for Belizeans in America. For most of them, Belize was not of regional significance when they left. In fact, the place was considered a backward swamp. Today, things have changed. Belize is now considered one of the most promising and potentially wealthiest countries in the world. The smart money on Wall Street know this, but many Belizeans do not.
The researcher who has done the most work on Belizeans abroad is Dr. Jerome Straughan. The government of Belize should have him establish a foundation so he can continue this work. Dr. Straughan is one of the most important Belizean academicians today, but he is in Los Angeles trying to make a living without being awarded the exalted status he deserves.
In Belize, we are always saying we must do this, or we should do that. The big problem is that Belizeans who have accumulated money never donate to important research or social projects. In Belize, you get rich by being individualistic and selfish, so our successful citizens are no real asset to the community. I’m saying that Dr. Jerome Straughan is the pioneer in research which can make our nation much stronger than it is. He should be well financed and integrated into the development plans of government. That’s if we want to save Belize. On the other hand, if you believe in the International Court of Justice, then perhaps we don’t really need Jerome. Take your pick.
Power to the people. Arriba y adelante.