Barrow is bogus

by glenntillett@yahoo.com

The violent crime situation in the old Capital is so bad that nearly everyone I have spoken to over the past few months that don’t live in Belize City have expressed some reservations about visiting the City. Some have told me that they no longer go to the City to shop or for entertainment, and only go out of necessity.

Now please don’t run away with the conclusion that I think I am telling you something you don’t know. I sincerely doubt that almost anyone reading this article doesn’t know that this is a fact.

It may be that there are people who do not appreciate how extraordinary this simple fact of life is if only because it is so unprecedented to our way of life, and how at odds it is with our cultural “picture” of Belize as one of the most peaceful and friendly places on the face of the earth.

For people like me, and the generation that came just before me, and that includes Dean Barrow, the 21^st Century Belize is so at odds with the 20^th Century Belize we grew up in that back then, it now appears so surreal when I start thinking about those good old days.

The number one problem we face when attempting to deal with the significant increase in violent crime first on the streets of Belize City, and latterly in other areas of the nation is attitude. Barrow’s budget will cut the money allocated to our national security services by $6.5 million. I don’t know, other than from what I heard said in the House by Lake Independence area representative Hon. Cordel Hyde, but if he is correct there are not only no new initiatives but it seems most of the brunt of the cuts will be made to the Police Department.

It hardly seems logical that in a time when citizens all across the country are terrified of the City’s violent crime problem that you would allocate even less money to the Police Department. I am sure that there is some rationale at work, but Police Minister Hon. Carlos Perdomo’s remarks on the subject at the House meeting were, to be as charitable is possible, markedly unhelpful.

This is the problem, the Barrow administration’s attitude seems to be that escalating violent crime is not an anomaly and a source of persistent concern if not anxiety for us, but it requires even less attention and thereby effort at curbing.

If you think about it you may even agree with me that reducing the policing budget’s fiscal appropriation amounts means if you’re not throwing in the white towel, (or at least waving the white flag), that you are satisfied with the effort to stem the rising tide of ever more violent crime. I think that I got the memo when Barrow refused to relieve Carlos Perdomo of his policing portfolio and has refused to take him to task for his decided lack of success in that regard. Now I suppose the rest of the nation has “gotten it” too.

Excuse me if I am very much a product of the past. It was now Justice Denys Barrow, then brother Dean’s unofficial campaign manager, who wrote the media following their loss in the 1998 General Elections to say sarcastically that it seems the Government was no longer responsible for crime.

Denys, (and I call His Honour by his first name now as I did then, and in no way intend to portend any disrespect), was reacting to what he termed then was a torrid torrent of criticism of the then UDP administration’s total failure at curbing violent crime. See, his older brother was the Minister of National Security then, and was perturbed by the political message that “BARROW IS IMPOTENT on crime.”

See, from way back then we knew that Dean Barrow didn’t really give a rat’s a$$ about crime and incredibly he seems to care even less now.

See, the one person who could really do something about curbing violent crime is Dean Oliver Barrow.

But Barrow is bogus.

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