What would the world be like if there were no human beings? We would not have any wars, we would not have any diseases, we would not have so many differences among us, there would not be white or black like the rainbow. We would not have those who think that they are better than others, we would not have an educational system which is based on the ideology of foreigners.

We had a great civilization prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Our Maya had invented the zero before the Indians from the Valley of Indus. Our ancestors were already studying the universe, the movement of the stars, the planets, the moon and the sun. We had a rich diversity of food. Our ancestors knew how and when to plant, they had the technology. The earth gave everything for the livelihood of our people. But with the arrival of the Europeans, everything changed. Today, they are the ones who dictate how we should live, what is good for us and what is not. Our ancestors knew the plants which were good for the different illnesses of the time that we suffered from before the arrival of the Europeans.
Today, I listen to so many things which cause the differences among us, our people, as Belizeans. They call us Spanish, when we are not; we are Spanish-speaking people, but we are not Spaniards. I listen to others who say that they are black, but they are not. There were, once upon a time, black people in Belize, but not today. Many years ago, when I was a little boy, I used to visit my grandmother in Belize City. My cousin used to take me to a certain place they called Southside 70 years ago over the London bridges to know my black cousins. They were black.

After I went away, I came back sometime in the 60s and I didn’t see many black people in Belize, only a few. Thereafter, I came back again sometime in the 90s, and what I saw were brown people of different shades. One of the problems that I think we have is that we like to copy the behaviour and the way of thinking of people from the United States. In the U.S., if you are not white you are black, but we don’t have that here in Belize. Why should we copy that? Many of you went to the U.S. and you were discriminated against as black people. There, black people could not enter where the white people are. They have special churches for black people. That experience that many of you went through while in the U.S,, you brought it back here, believing that we have the same system down here too. A few weeks ago, a young man approximately in his 20s was at the market buying a pair of black shoes, but he spoke in Spanish. A few feet away from him, there was a person from Belize City who thought that this young man was insulting him, discriminating him, calling him Negro. The person from Belize City got upset and cursed the young man. The young man’s aunt had to enter to explain to him that he did not insult the person from Belize City, but that he was asking for a pair of black shoes. That is how far we have reached because of the lack of understanding, and on many occasions I have said that we need to learn to speak both languages, since we are surrounded by Spanish-speaking people, not Spaniards.

There are those of you who are upset because of the 60 thousand Central Americans who have entered this country because of different reasons, but that amnesty that is to be given by the government of this country is not being given just like that. You have to realise that the United States does not want to have more of what they call aliens or Hispanics, whatever name they want to give them, in their country, so… Belize has a lot of land to put these people. There are many Belizeans who don’t have a piece of land, but it’s not the fault of these people, it’s not the fault of any of us. Look back into your history and you will see who are the ones that did not give you what you were supposed to have. Who are the ones who did not educate you and train you for the good development of this country and yourselves.

It would be very interesting if each and every one of us would get a DNA test to see who we are and the mixtures we have in us. These people are human beings just like us; these people have needs just like us. This land or this earth was not given to a certain people, it’s for everyone. It’s not we who made frontiers, it’s not we who separated people, it’s not we who made so many divisions among us. We are human beings and should be treated as such. We should love each other, we should have unity if you believe that there is a God, if you believe that there was a Jesus Christ. If you believe that we should love each other, then show it. Don’t use Christmas as a day of love, because love is every day, every year, until the end of time. What would the world be like if there were no human beings?

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January 1, 2022
Finca Solana
Corozal Town