by Colin Hyde

There is a lot of history behind what is going on in the Middle East right now, but if we jump to the last month, we have Israel with its knee on the necks of the people in Gaza; a militant group in Gaza, Hamas, launching a vicious attack on Israel; and Israel countering with an attack on Gaza which, if it continues any longer, will become a chapter in the book of genocides.

A surprising number of Belizeans are cheering Israel’s destruction of Gaza, and most of us are having some difficulty with that. There should be no glee if you believe that the attack by Hamas was justified, and there should be no glee if you believe the people of Gaza deserve to be punished. Both deeply devoted and non-churchgoing Belizeans should not find themselves in any part of the cheerleading section.

The fight is over land, and it is being stoked by religion. At the core of Israel are some hawkish Jews who overrun all the other Jews and Palestinians living in that space. There are Jews, many, who believe in peaceful solutions, but the Jews who have the power in Israel at this time, are quite vicious.

The hawkish Jews would be a lot less aggressive if they didn’t have the support of the Christian Zionists (CZ). The Jews did not and do not accept Jesus as any kind of Messiah. So, what’s the fuss of the CZs about? The CZs believe that Jesus the Christ can only return if the Jews have a home in Palestine, so they pump their money and prayers into the Jews dominating the Palestinians, yes, so that Jesus, whom the Jews think is nada, can make the triumphant entry.

It’s, convoluting. The Jews are still waiting for the Messiah. The CZs are pushing the Jews because they want to bring back the Messiah. The Jews have become quite vicious. What will they do when the one who rides in on the chariot is none other than the rebel they crucified?

NICH only wanted to tell the truth

Recently, thanks to Brother JC Arzu, I came across a social media post, dated September 25, 2019, from the pen of Brother Yasser Musa. JC is a hero, with an ehm, fault, that being he is one of those Belizeans who have regular beefs with the Crown. Since he retired from Krem, his reminders about colonial evil can only be found in his personal posts and shared posts on social media. In this one it’s a shared post, from Yasser, a commentary about a presentation in 2019 by the NICH on our national flag.

I give much respect to the intellectuals, but I will check them when I think they are off base. Recently, a close friend sent me a paper by Dr. Dylan Vernon on the gestation of our present Constitution, a quite interesting piece that explains why so little of its evolution came from the people. If I recall correctly, the PUP was chasing independence, the UDP was calling for a delay, and all this was taking place with the British and Americans overseeing and Guatemala with its foot on our neck. The report is okay, and we should be grateful for the knowledge, and that should be that. Unfortunately, it isn’t, because the intellectuals are never satisfied with gratitude; they get puffed up and think they are ready for bigger game.

I will say this to Brother Dylan and all his colegas: I know that knowledge informs thinking. But I also know that knowledge does not give anyone ownership of thought. People like me will listen to you, and say thanks for the enlightenment, then we’ll think for ourselves. One of the big aims, probably the biggest aim of the local Constitutional experts, is to take us into the republican system. They blame every failure of our leaders on our Parliamentary Democracy. I think Marie-Therese Belisle Nweke and Hector Silva blow away the arguments for pushing Belize there.

Turning back to Yasser, he went full bore on the flag presentation from NICH and Brother Nigel Encalada, who I think was the presenter.

Yasser didn’t hold back on the presentation, History and Evolution of the Belizean Flag. He said if it had been delivered 200 years ago to patronize the slave master, he would have understood; he said that a part of the presentation kept thanking them for the flag; he said that the contributions of white powerful men were being celebrated … “when in fact they were immoral, and wretched abusive people.”

I’m not game on obliterating history. When the PUP declared the 10th a myth, their intention was to wipe out a big part of the pre-1950 history of Belize. When the Spaniards came, they sought to bludgeon the story of our ancestors who were here. Our Mayan ancestors were painted as pagans, and backward. I think the fair thing is to tell it as it was, in the time. I think that’s what NICH and Nigel did.

There’s a discussion that’s missing from Belize. I understand why some people run from it. They do because it’s a sixes and sevens thing. I think it was Rolando Cocom who said you can’t fight colonialism while glorifying our colonial past. But I don’t think you can fight it by whiting it out either. In a way, Nigel and NICH found good in things that were sometimes not pretty.

I’ll close with this. Someone close to me said they were totally against removing Paslow’s name from the new building. And someone close to me said Belize cannot go forward with that name prominent in the center of the old capital. A famous lawyer once said he could argue two sides of a matter. For now, I’ll just say I believe I know the two devil bohgaz who burned it down. The things people get away with in Belize.

An evolving flag

The story out there is that we are the only country with people on our flag. Originally, there were two black brothers on our flag. What’s the problem with black and brown brothers on the flag now? I think that’s evolution. So, women might want to be on the flag. If they feel they have been left out, let’s get one of our illustrious artists to paint on a couple. What chore will they be about? It’s okay, it’s evolution.

Continuing with Yasser’s beefing, he said, no, blasted: “The justification of putting two enslaved Black men, without shirts, holding instruments of enslavement on our flag needs to be considered in 2019. Imagine putting two white men without shirts on the flag.” He said, about two men, no women, “The lecture could have been an opportunity to point out the origins of racist and sexist symbolism on our flag …”

Hmm, I have heard people complain that of recent one of the men had been mixed with white paint, to lighten his shade. Pardon me, I hadn’t paid any attention to the men being shirtless. Hn, did Andrew Steinhauer really think one of Norris Hall’s nudes was as benign as a side of beef? I guess I didn’t see anything untoward with the flag, because I grew up shirtless, was proud that I could swing a good paddle, and I thought men who could handle an axe were men, and men with pens (and fine paint brushes), whoa there, let me not say anything bad about the gapeincili.

It’s an intriguing discussion, that flag. I don’t mind its evolution. Yep, a Black and Brown, that’s Belize. And if our women want to be on it, why, make some space for a couple of them. Now what chore would they be about? Me, I think one of them should have on one of those padded gloves, a kitchen mitten, and be outside around a baking drum. Wa, my ma wouldn’t mind that.