(This column was first published in the Sunday, August 20, 1995 issue of Amandala.)

Sense …

You know there are some little changes we can make now that we are “independent” that allow for a more comfortable working environment for our policemen. In this hot humid climate, why should our police have to wear such clumsy shoes, thick black pants and hat (we do know that black absorbs heat) and a sack cloth for a shirt? If you want to know what purgatory is, wear this uniform for a day in these dog days of summer.

Can you, Joe Citizen, imagine yourself trying to catch a thief, he with his Reebok or more often running barefeet? And can you understand the police beating up the thief the few times the latter is caught, venting his frustration and rage for having been forced to run, causing him to sweat like a hog and smell like same after the chase?

It is time for someone to design a new uniform for our policemen, particularly our hard working, underpaid, and understaffed P.C.’s appropriate to this climate. One thinks of a lightweight, heat-reflecting material for his pants and shirt, an appropriate hat and sensible “running” shoes; officers would be distinguished by their insignia… Perhaps we could offer a prize to the designer who creates the best ensemble. Our policemen deserve no less.

Common sense…

In 1948, when the British abandoned Palestine leaving the Jews at the mercy of their Palestinian neighbors (or so they thought), the best trained, the most “spit and polished” army in the region was touted to be that of Jordan. It was trained by a British officer named Chubb; it was reputedly the elite fighting force of the Arab armies. Kept out of the initial battles when it looked as if the Israelis were going to lose, they were asked to engage when the Israelis turned the tide. The Israelis cut them to pieces in one week.

The Israelis were more motivated, for a defeat would mean returning to the diaspora. They possessed the mobility, skill and the intelligence to fight their kind of war. The Jordanian army, with the mindset of Chubb, paid the price, as did the rest of the Arab armies.

Can you imagine our “armed forces,” with the boots and uniform they wear, carrying a knapsack of 36 lbs., fighting in the hot humid jungles of Belize being effective? Please!

With our limited financial resources and our small population, isn’t it time that we begin to rethink the training of our forces and how to sustain their strength and preparedness?

We need to develop the motivation of the Israelis; we need to learn the speed of their armor, we need to adopt the uniforms of the Viet Cong, right down to their moccasins (can you picture our forces being transported to the point of battle, jumping out of these trucks five feet high, landing in the swamps and being unable to move because they’re bogged down by their heavy boots? And this is assuming that these trucks can get there in the first place).

We need to sustain the forces. Would it be too much of a stretch to suggest that those of our youths who do not qualify or do not wish to further their formal education, be apprenticed to the army and navy; and even as they are exposed to the discipline and vigor of military life, they’ll be given the opportunity to become plumbers, foresters, electricians, chefs, medical attendants and to gain handsome training in computer technology. In the completion of their apprenticeship they’d have come to learn that this is their country, and the skill acquired will serve them well to protect and develop it for themselves and children and children’s children.

And would it be too much to ask that the above suggestion should transcend party politics? After all our enemies, like a hurricane, will not ask the Belizean if he is UDP, PUP or no P. He’ll ride roughshod over all and treat us as a conquered people.

Is this possible? Yes, if we use the training received abroad to translate it to our particular conditions, avoiding the “Chubbean” nightmare of the Jordanian army.