The Road Less Travelled

On Tuesday night, in Pachakan Corozal, the Northern Caucus held a special meeting where 23 representatives from different constituencies stood up to recommend that we hold a National Convention celebrating the Peoples’ United Party 60th Anniversary as a unity event.

As I listened to all these speakers, I couldn’t help but remember the past two years as the leader of this great party of ours.

As Moises Martinez was speaking I remembered him in 2008 pledging his support at that National Convention. Unfortunately, his father died two days before the convention. Nevertheless, he felt it so important that he took the time to go and cast his vote before he joined his family to bury his father.  Such is the sacrifice of true Party Loyalists.

I can remember Rodwell Ferguson, a first term representative reeling from his first loss at the polls in 2008. I spoke with him and encouraged him not to give up, that too much is at stake in our country. In two short years, Rodwell has turned the political tide around in Stann Creek West and is now poised to be the next Area Representative.

Likewise in the Toledo district, both Mike Espat and Oscar Requeña visited my office after the National Convention, pledged support and encouraged me to visit all the villages in the Toledo district.

The experience going from village to village in the Toledo district visiting our party supporters have allowed me to have a better understanding on how they live and the challenges they face daily. This has been educational and has allowed me as leader to have a better understanding of what the new PUP government needs to do especially in our most impoverished rural communities.

I remember once late on a Friday night arriving at a farmer’s home in the village of Medina in rural Toledo, along with Mike and Oscar. As we entered the house there were his three teenage children sitting around a table – one reading an old edition of the Belize Times, another the Bible while the last one was painting. There was no television, computer, internet, email, Facebook or video games.

What was impressive about that is that they were together as a family, talking, sharing and supporting one another. This is an experience that many young Belizeans are losing out. We no longer have the time for these simple but important necessary family experiences.

These are just some of the many experiences that I have had over the past two years as I have traveled hundreds of miles across this country visiting almost every community in the country.

Everywhere we go the Belizean people are complaining about the same things, they feel abandoned, that their representatives no longer listen to them, that as country things are getting worse.   Belizeans are despondent about the future. They see no solutions to their problems. They have serious challenges in keeping their children in school. They can’t afford to buy schoolbooks and can’t pay the ever-increasing school fees.

Today Belizean are facing some immense challenges and many are being overtaken by fear and despair for the future.

Through all this, the rank and file of the PUP once again believes in the PUP. They recognize that the PUP is the only party that has the talent, experience and the vision to move Belize forward.

But there are two powerful messages that they give us every time we meet. One, they want the PUP to be the Party of selfless service to the people, especially our poor people and those living in the rural areas, and they want us to avoid the excess of our past PUP government.

And they are also demanding that the PUP leaders set aside their egos and think about the rank and file of the PUP, especially the ones suffering under the hands of this vindictive UDP government.

Our PUP faithful are demanding that we unite and fight to save Belize. A famous poet Robert Frost wrote a poem about the Road Not Taken. Today the PUP is at this crossroad. We in the PUP need to take the road less traveled and make all the difference for the Belize people.

Long live the Peoples’ United Party!

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