In last weekend’s issue of Amandala, we reminded you of what the Guatemalan Army Chief of Staff, Rene Mendoza Palomo, said of us Belizeans in 1982: “At the very least, the blacks will have to be deported. Quite simply, we would send them back to the land of their ancestors.”
At the time Mendoza Palomo made that statement, black people were still the majority in Belize. Today in Belize, blacks are a decided minority, of which a substantial percentage have become drug dealers, muggers, armed robbers and beggars.
When we began this process in 1969, we will concede, in retrospect, that some aspects of the process were easily portrayed as premature. The United Democratic Party (UDP), founded in 1973, was able to convince Belizeans that Guatemala was not really an issue, that communism was the real threat, and that the United States represented a land of unmitigated opportunity and support for Belizeans. The fact that Washington explicitly supported Guatemala, and financed Israel, Guatemala’s most aggressive ally, was glossed over by the UDP. In essence, the UDP overpowered the UBAD process, and the only thing that survived was this newspaper.
Today, nevertheless, how can anyone not concede that the Southside, black Belizeans’ chief population center, is not in a struggle for its survival? There are many who argue that the Maya of Toledo, statistically speaking, are in substantially worse shape than Southside Belizeans. We would argue, though, that the Maya of Toledo are holding on to their culture, and they have not become beggars. In Southside Belize, the culture of begging has become prominent. Consumerism and hedonism rule. The people of the Southside have placed “fun” on an altar, and they are worshipping it as their god.
Amidst all the “fun,” it is a sad thing to watch grown, able-bodied men, in the prime of their lives, begging in the streets. When a man loses his dignity, then he becomes less than a man. When a man becomes less than a man, then you don’t have to deport him to the land of his ancestors. In fact, the land of his ancestors would not accept him back anyway. Nobody wants worms.
Everybody can see the problem, but what are the solutions being offered? The politicians say, “vote for me;” the preachers say, “love Jesus;” and those who are on the payroll of the oligarchs responsible for the marginalizaton of our people, say, “hate Kremandala.”
We are more positive today than we ever were, that our approach to our people’s situation was superior to what we have seen since 1969. That is why we continue to say to you, support Kremandala. With what we have, we have achieved much since 1969. We have created employment, and we have established a symbol of stability for our people. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Power to the people.