Dear Editor,

When I heard that the Dominican Prime Minister would be visiting Belize, I was delighted. Perhaps closer ties would develop between the two countries and I would at last be able to take my husband to meet my extended family in Dominica. Had history played out differently, Roosevelt Skerrit would have been my prime minister.

Whatever happened? I have watched the news channels, I have read the newspapers, I have listened to the chat shows and I am still at a loss.

I could not believe that such a terrible insult could happen and be ignored by certain quarters. On Monday, I found The Guardian. Absolutely no comment, as far as I could see. We were told that Prime Minister Skerrit is Prime Minister Barrow’s personal friend. Why would his Party newspaper ignore what happened?

Today I finally found The Belize Times (often difficult or impossible to find in Cayo). They reported the incident in a similar manner to The Reporter (though on page 19, not the front page).

Thanks to the Amandala for reporting the terrible incident in more detail. The petty officer has been demoted, Admiral Borland has offered his apologies and NO ONE has explained why “The Coast guard received the call very late”. That call was to escort an important guest. That call should have been made even before the tour was organized, so that nothing could go wrong. WHO SLIPPED UP? Or who deliberately ignored a call until it was too late?

One prime minister is insulted, one prime minister sees his friend insulted in his country, and neither say anything. What is going on?

The editorial in the Amandala has given me a lot of food for thought. This is an extremely worrying situation and obviously has far-reaching implications. The more I consider things, the more I wonder what is happening here in Belize.

When will the public apology be made available to the media and the rest of us?

Yours Sincerely,
Sally Caretella,
Esperanza