Nothing is safe in Belize anymore; even our sacred secret ballot lies in the ashes among the fallen. And while the detractors of the system might not have pointed the index finger specifically on anyone, we out here know darn well which totally corrupt no-goods in the society are keenly interested in where our X goes.
20% of Belizeans, those aligned with the two main parties, are fully set up for the spoils, so they are loud about the colour of their shirts. The gullible 40% in the middle, those who insist on believing in the innate goodness of man, bury their heads in the sand and vote for the preservation of our democracy. But suspicion that those incorrigible crooks of the notorious pudup have breached the system has driven droves of serious citizens, up to 40% of us, away from the ballot cubicle.
Well, now the whole blank is exposed for all to see. I ask, how else would Mr. Glenn Tillett of the Belize Times have known how everybody in the media voted in the last general elections? How, Braa? Put aside the coyness, all the “I think” etcetera installed to pull the wool over our eyes — the man’s call was right on the ehm money…so he bloody KNOW. He got the goods on all of us.
Insiders are inside those ballot booths, my friends. And they know the innards of all those media people and other so-called independents who think they are voting in secret. It’s very simple, really. Media faces are splashed all over the place. They don’t need Dr. Petters’ math book to figure out how to put a face to a number. Then, after the dust settles and they absolutely need to know who all were on their side on the critical day, and who all were against them, on the said critical day, they send their men over to the Registration Office for to go over the evidence in the labeled boxes. It’s that simple.
Yeh, like I said, all those “I think this ya one voted red” is just to cover the sordid tracks, keep a scam going, AND (why waste a good stone on one bird if you can knock down two?), make Mr. Tillett look like he is way smarter than the rest of us yokels. Boo hoo, all those sneaky bogaz in the pudup know the color of the horse I voted for in beautiful Cayo South is red…as in ehm H. Ramon Witz.
I know, I know, my mug is not popular across the country. But people in my neighborhood know me. The same trap they sprang on all those others, they sprang on me. Hey, please don’t squander your precious breath asking why politicians would waste good time on a nobody. They have their wicked intentions (they always do), and that’s beyond for you and me to figure out.
I just knew I was going to get caught this time. You know that clammy feeling you get when ghosts, or people who mean you no good, are around? Well that’s exactly how I felt when I received my ballot last time. I just knew in my bones that they had my hash in their crosshairs.
So, sorry Mr. Hubert Enriquez, and Ms. Khalilah, and all my friends in the VIP camp, sorry I lied to ya when you came to my humble home to ask for my vote in the big 2008 G-E. Man, after all Brother Hubert’s sterling work at the Union. Goodness, on matters of pay and benefits no Trade Union leader ever delivered one half as much, before or after, for public servants. Comrade, your selfless work at the VIP…your unwavering fight for all the working class of Belize…your unswerving devotion to country, makes you a true people’s champion. I am such a…hn! I wasn’t man enough to vote for you, like I promised, and broadly hinted.
It most have been those damned tall rubber boots. I remember it was like a powerful magnet calling to helpless steel. Don’t scoff. I bet if you were me, and you saw Mr. Witz campaigning your way in tall rubber boots, in dry weather, you would have caved in too. How could any self-respecting countryman resist?
But, no regrets here. I lied, that that that yes, even though I never promised H.witz my lee vote, the insider goods are that I voted for him. And anyway, time has proved he was the best man. Do you see how much work H. Ramon Witz has done in my village in just a year and a half? Why, if you multiply his achievements around here by 4, (that should more than cover his five years reign), my, we will get a whopping ZERO more feet on our walkway, ZERO more open air meetings to discuss our issues, and ZERO more sightings of him in tall rubber boots.
Ah, Mr. Glenn Tillett, Mr. Glenn Tillett, you dastard, you exposed me and my colegas. But in doing so you also exposed your own what the monkey showed when he climbed the tall tree. Yap, brother, your last musings from the blue pulpit are proof positive for everyone to see that you are now sufficiently delusional…to be a full-fledged pudup style politician. Congratulations sir, on gaining your spurs. Forward ho! No siree, no more bak-a-rop, no more hesitation next time when your party comes a knocking on your door, asking you to serve as Belize City’s…next great Mayor. Whoa, if that title is too small (what?), noh fret, your party will desperately need a free body to run in Caribbean Shores too.
Aaah, I can see the cut of Machiavelli clearly now. The Reds say that for following the advice of his political committee, your former boss, Mr. Joe Coye, has earned a comfortable settlement at the Kolbe Reformatory. H. Carlos Perdomo swore to that on election night, and we know that the bad-minded UDP’ll blow an election, even two, for a shot at the unfettered joy of seeing their enemy incarcerated. Daam, dehn mek 250,000 people wait three whole months while dehn try fu collect on the 3.34!
It’s clear sailing for you, Braa. For all of us we sincerely hope that your eloquence on paper translates into more than talk when you climb the high hill in 2018. And that the same light you spotted on sacred things done in the dark by the common sheep, you turn on the ’98 -’08 doings of your real hero, the one you voted for in the last G-E. You were registered in Belize Rural South, weren’t you?
A family and a nation needs to know
There are no words to sufficiently console the Jones’ family on the loss of their child, through the apparent negligence of the nation’s hospital services. The mother, who just went through the nine long, hard months carrying her beautiful baby in her womb, must be devastated.
It’s absolutely amazing how doctors can look at a pregnant woman and know when she will go into labour. But they aren’t perfect. Even in wealthy countries sometimes they miss their call, and we hear of babies being born in cars, or other places away from the hospital. Yes, when they err it is big trouble.
In the medical world, because they see health troubles and death every day, it’s mostly about statistics. In the world of the common people the grief is always personal. The family of the child who was lost and the rest of us await the investigation to find out if there was gross negligence at the hospital, or if it was a case of a badly missed call.