UDP Politics as Usual

6 weekend murders…

Apparently the criminals celebrated the 10^th of September with much more passion that could be found in the crowd following Dean Barrow in the parade. It was a bloody, brutal vicious weekend with six murders reported, four of them within three hours of each other on Sunday morning. That is a record in the jewel, but certainly not one of those records that will find its way into the ads produced by BTB every now and then. Things are deteriorating in our jewel, going to hell fast. Violent crimes are escalating and have been escalating for a while, but now there is a sort of senselessness and reckless abandon displayed. Lately there have been reports of wild gunfights on the south side of Belize City, with shooters pumping out bullets with mad abandon in densely populated areas. Over the weekend 8 year old Eyannie Nunez died as she lay in her bed sleeping, the victim of gunfire from outside her home. Another victim was a 69 year old man who had gone out to buy rice for his midday meal…no apparent sense behind it. The Minister of Police has nothing to say – he’s probably still hyped up from the Carnival.

……………………….

Steak & Noodles…

On Monday a family member of one of the murder victims brought home the sense of desperation which is ruling our streets but has been ignored by Mr. Barrow. According to the irate and grieving man, the Prime Minister has no sense of what is happening on the streets because he is at home eating steak while the rest of us have to be out here eating noodles. That’s the crux of the matter right there, from the streets to Barrow’s ears. Things are getting much, much worse out here because people have no food to eat. Because the economy stranglehold hasn’t found its way to Mr. Barrow’s house, he seems quite comfortable pretending that it doesn’t exist. Poverty is becoming more widespread, youths are dropping out of school either because they cannot afford education or it just isn’t a priority anymore. The frustration levels are rising as poor Belizeans have to struggle even harder to put food on the table and the fact is that Mr. Barrow is living a life of luxury while the rest of us are sinking further into despair. Some of us don’t even have noodles to eat – that’s the truth.

………………………..

Mr. Barrow’s response….

Oh wait, I’m sorry, Mr. Barrow hasn’t said anything because he’s not even in the country. He’s somewhere in Mexico dressed in Armani enjoying fine dining and fireworks and fancy champagne. Hell, maybe he doesn’t even know that six persons were murdered over the weekend, one of them an 8 year old girl. But then again even if he did and even if he were in the country when it happened, it’s doubtful whether Mr. Barrow would have much to say. I remember when his best friend Rodwell Williams was shot and Mr. Barrow spared no opportunity or emotion to speak to the nation. He vowed that no stone would be unturned in the hunt to find the fiend who had hurt his friend. Yeah, okay, but there has been a whole lot happening since then, Mr. Barrow, and a whole lot more tragic and senseless and heinous than what happened to your friend. But you’ve been very silent. I would have loved to hear you expressing condolences to the family of the 8 year old child and committing all resources to finding the man who shot and killed this little girl. But I guess she doesn’t travel in your social circles, does she? None of the victims do.

……………………….

Protection fees…

Word on the street is that another tragedy was narrowly averted one night this week when gunmen swarmed a popular store on Mahogany Street. The shopkeeper saw what was happening and pulled down his metal shutters before they could enter. Things aren’t getting any better and the Police Department needs to realize that it is dealing with well organized and well financed criminals. These youths between the ages of 10 – 17 are being cultivated by big players who provide arms and instructions. Reports circulating are that while the Police are running around with no direction and no guidance and little will to get the job done, Belize is seeing the emergence of its own little era of organized crime. Some shopkeepers on the south side of the city claimed this week that they are being approached by young thugs with threats and then an offer of protection in return for a small weekly fee. Since nobody in this UDP led administration seems to be able to deal with crime on any level, I can foresee the time when most businesses in the city will be paying protection to gangsters who sit back and rake in the dough. Don’t scoff…it’s happening all around us.

…………………………

The public health system…

There was a protest this week at the Northern Regional Hospital in Orange Walk Town after reports of negligence. There have been reports of negligence recently at the Corozal Hospital and the nation’s referral hospital, the KHMH. Everybody knows our public health system is in chaos and it is near impossible to access even the most basic medicines at our hospitals. There have been more than a few unnecessary deaths lately so everybody knows. This morning a smooth talking guy from the KHMH was on Love FM, Dr. Longsworth. He was referring to the chronic lack of human resources, physical resources and financing which affects the level of care at the KHMH. He claimed that they were stretched so tight that when emergency cases come in through the Accident and Emergency area, everybody else has to go to the back of the line in terms of priorities and care. As I was listening to this while driving on the Northern Highway a brand spanking new luxury SUV with Minister’s plates overtook me and I realized – aha, that is the problem right there. Just what the hell are our priorities? Suppose the Prime Minister had set the example and had settled for a vehicle costing $125,000 rather than one costing $250,000. They could have put the extra $125,000 to good use at the KHMH, I’m sure. And they could do this across the board. If UDP ministers and back-benchers would settle for vehicles costing $100,000 rather than $200,000 and the difference would be funneled to the KHMH, we would go a far way to dealing with our health issues. But hey, this is the UDP so it ain’t gonna happen.

…………………………

Irreverence and blasphemy…

I think that the Mayor of Belize City Zenaida Moya should have been struck by lightning when she stood up in front of the gathering on September 10^th and blasphemed, using God’s name and asking for guidance in her work in the jewel. I think the crowd should have stood up and walked away because this is not the time to be listening to more crap from a perfectly coiffed and manicured alleged thief. Seriously! Zenaida Moya could not even cut down the grass in the median leading to the city before September 10^th. Our streets are filled with garbage and gutted by potholes. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are missing from public coffers while Moya lives a life of luxury in her multi-million dollar seafront mansion. A few years ago she claimed to be penniless and now she lives the lifestyle of the rich and famous. But still we sit and clap politely even while we know she is talking absolute rubbish. Since the weather didn’t permit lightning strikes, she should have been booed from the stage and stoned with rotten fruit. She deserves nothing more from the Belizeans whom she has betrayed.

| | | | | |