It’s January 1st, 2007. So what? I don’t mean to bust anybody’s balloon; people have few enough reasons to party. I have none. My wife and I were asleep before 10 p.m. Oh, I’m grateful that I’m still alive, but thanks is due to our Creator for that, not to people.
Celebrations are no longer important to me because too many people, in Belize and in the whole wide world, have nothing to celebrate. How do you think the families of the 3000 American soldiers who died or were seriously wounded in Iraq, feel? How about the families of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who were “collateral damage”?
“Collateral damage” – what a quaint way of describing the death or injury of innocent civilians. How can Americans with even a semblance of a conscience concentrate on US casualties while simultaneously ignoring the plight of Iraqis who died in such numbers? How about all the wars and conflicts that plague humankind? How many of us ever seriously think about things like that? Vin Scully, the renowned baseball announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers does. In the midst of his commentary during a game a few years ago, Mr. Scully blurted out to his co-announcer, “Do you realize that more people have been killed in wars during the 20th century than during any other period in history?” If you have any kind of compassion or conscience left at all, you can’t help but think about it.
Speaking of Iraq, the Dec. 31st issue of Amandala had a very interesting article on page 31 entitled, “We Broke It”. The article, written by Peter Beinart, was reprinted from “The New Republic”. The premise of the article is that the sectarian violence in Iraq is not a result of over a thousand years of enmity between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, it is a direct result of the destruction of the state by the US occupation army and the subsequent failure of the US to guarantee an orderly and safe society for the people of Iraq, an obligation, by the way, of an occupying army under international law.
The article refers to Max Weber’s definition of a state “as the institution with a monopoly on legitimate violence.” Mr. Beinart points out that Sunnis and Shiites are fighting because “when the state fails in its most basic task – that of keeping you alive – you turn to any entity that can.”
The situation in Iraq is compared to a prison, in which the guards, as the representatives of the state, fail to protect the inmates from the racial gangs that control the hallways and common areas. “If your survival depends on it, you’ll develop a neo-Nazi or Nation of Islam identity awfully fast,” says the author. Mr. Beinart also cites numerous historical references to show that, although Iraq is an “artificial country”, Sunnis and Shiites have eschewed sectarian violence throughout most of its existence, from 1920 to the present.
Reading this article changed some of my perceptions about the current situation in Iraq. It also got me thinking about the current situation in Belize. There is no question that the Government of Belize is providing less and less protection for many of its citizens, as a result of the deterioration of government services such as health and education that people depend on, and, the way in which the Police Department, that most basic of state services, operates.
On one level, nobody here has any faith in 9-1-1! You can call if you like, but you would be better advised to do what’s necessary to defend yourself and yours rather than to waste precious time on the phone. The cops will not arrive in time to save either you or your family, especially if you live on the Southside of Belize City.
On another level, the police are hardly regarded as protectors by black Belizeans or poor Belizeans. As Kremandala’s Kalilah Enriquez put it in her poem “Execution Style”, “but it’s tough, when the man you call for protection could be the same one you need protection from.”
What is that other level? Specifically, the refusal of the police to obey the DPP’s orders to charge Abou Bou-Nahra with murder for the shooting of Shawn Copius; the refusal to charge their own P.C. Jesus Marroquin for the murder of mentally ill Egbert Gordon until the family asked for leave to file an application for judicial review; the refusal to arrest Marshall Nunez at the request of the Supreme Court; what appears to be the refusal to assist the bailiff of the Court when he tried to serve a “cease & desist” injunction in regards to the BTL annual meeting; the release, ordered by the DPP this time, of Ricardo Aguilar who was allegedly involved in the shooting deaths of Philip and Kevin Brannon; the shooting of Leslie Rogers and incident after incident of sadistic, brutal and illegal police torture of arrested suspects, make it clear that some segments of Belizean society can’t expect protection from either the Police Department or the judicial system.
Now, look at the analysis of what is happening in Iraq, and then think Belize. When black and poor Belizeans get to the point when they all realize that they can expect absolutely no protection from the authorities whose obligation it is to protect them, what do you think might happen? Happy New Year.
It is also abundantly clear that in 2005 and 2006, GOB obtained loan after loan in a desperate effort to make the payments on previous loans. This means that Belizeans are sinking further and further into debt without benefiting from any additional development.
The latest 2 billion dollar bond offer is a cynical attempt by this Government to get enough money to try to buy the coming general election.
The “Reporter” editorial of December 29th points out that, at 10 percent interest, this bond issue will cost us the taxpayers “$547,945.00 Belize dollars a day in interest payments alone, before giving back a single dollar of the principal.” The bold typeface, by the way, is the “Reporter’s”, not mine.
Of course it will only cost us this if it is successful. A previous bond offer by GOB couldn’t find any takers. The international bond markets and financial institutions are well aware that Belize has already triggered the default insurance it was forced to buy, in order to make the last two debt payments. It is entirely possible that this financial version of the Titanic may not fly either. It is a disaster no matter what happens. If nobody buys, default will happen soon. If there are buyers, the default will merely be postponed and it will be bigger when it finally occurs.
The truth is that GOB’s unabashed and blatant corruption has put us “between the devil and the deep blue sea,” to paraphrase the title of composer Harold Arlen’s 1931 song. There is no positive way for us to get out of this mess. Maybe a different government with some credibility may find some kind of way, maybe not.
I recall an old rule of thumb that says, “Never let people know that you are broke.” If they know, they will squeeze you unmercifully, because they know you have to be desperate, willing to entertain any solution even if it is to your great disadvantage! An individual might be able to conceal his true financial condition if he is an excellent poker player who can sustain a bluff. As far as a nation like Belize? The whole damn world knows! Good luck!
Another problem revolves around the IMF, which appears to be of the opinion that Belize needs to further tighten its belt by increasing taxes or by retrenching Government employees. The people can hardly handle the current situation, much less absorb more punishment from a Government that has blown huge amounts of money by giving favored treatment to its friends and cronies. We need a tax revolt in 2007! Refuse to file. Refuse to pay GST. The best (read “least violent”) way to grab GOB’s attention is to hit them hard in the pocket. Any government can only get revenue from taxes. Didn’t a refusal to pay taxes trigger the American Revolution?
A quick note to G. Michael – Marshall Nunez did not pay his bill until the Supreme Court warrant for his arrest and Crispin Jeffries’ refusal to enforce it had become public knowledge. That’s why it keeps coming up, and that’s why it will continue to be mentioned. KiMBA.