The Belize Social Security Board will turn forty-three years old on Saturday and to celebrate the occasion, S.S.B. offices around the country held open-day activities with members of the public today. It was June first, 1980, that the first Social Security Office opened its doors. Today, the offices encouraged the public to visit their booths that they had set up and get their blood pressure and glucose tests and oncology nurses were on hand to educate the people about the screening process to identify cancer. S.S.B. offices also encouraged people to do portal sign-ups for their online portal, as Communications and Public Relations Manager, Vanessa Vellos told us.
Vanessa Vellos
Vanessa Vellos, Communications and PR Manager, S.S.B.
“We still need people to sign up and get their portal account because as we’re transitioning from the paper process more to the digital online process. In addition to that, we’re just telling the general public about the basic services that we offer and also the online services. For example, for sickness benefit, you can load your sickness benefit claim forms online. If you’re an employer, you can load your contribution statements online as well. And you can also pay online. Apart from that what we’re doing is we also are partnering that concept of the 43-year anniversary with wellness services So S.S.B. has adopted the GIVES philosophy and a part of the GIVES philosophy, the I in that word GIVE talks about improved health outcomes. So that’s where the wellness part comes in. And so we have representatives here from the Ministry of Mental Health and Wellness, as mentally you need to be well. It affects your emotions. It affects your how you are on the job and stuff like that. So it’s basically like preventative medicine if you want to look at it that way. We also have representatives from the National Health Insurance N.H.I., and if you need to get your blood pressure checked or sugar test you can come out and you can get that done for free. We have nurses who are doing that today.”
Argentina, here they come! The Belize National Under- Eighteen Basketball Team left for Argentina just before sunrise today. They are headed to compete in the FIBA Under-Eighteen Americup after securing a bronze medal in the FIBA Under-Seventeen Centrobasket Championships 2023, hosted here in Belize. Our team has been placed in group B along with teams from Argentina, Brazil and the U.S.A. Their first game is scheduled for Monday against Brazil. The tournament will run from June third to the ninth. The top four teams from the tournament will get a chance to compete internationally against other teams next year. We spoke with some team members before they departed Belize.
Jacob Leslie
Jacob Leslie, President, Belize Basketball Federation
“We reach Argentina Saturday morning, at five thirty in the morning. We check into the hotel and try to get some rest and they compete on Monday, and they compete everyday from the third to the ninth and return to Belize on the tenth. What Belize can expect from these kids are exactly what we saw last summer, a bunch of kids that plays hard. They play to the whistle, and they don’t give up. They have gotten better; the kids individually have gotten better and that will cause us to look better as a team.”
Douglas Langford Jr., Belize National U18 Basketball Team
“I feel like this is something we all looked forward to after the end of the first tournament we played. The only thing we were talking about is when we get back together and get to compete again and that time is finally here and we are super excited. As you can see we are just laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It is something we really looked forward to.”
Elijah Favella
Elijah Favella, Belize National U18 Basketball Team
“We have two really big goals. The biggest goal that every team should have been to win the whole thing. So that is the first thing we want to do is win the whole thing. And if we don’t win, we definitely want to qualify to go to the world cup next year. So the top four make it so we definitely want to be the top four to make it up there.”
Paul Lopez
“Is there anything intimidating about the group you have been placed in?”
Ellijah Favella
“I mean they do have U.S.A. but at the same time everybody is the same. You got to look at them the same. If you look at them like they are better than the others, then we are going to get a lot scared and it is going to throw off our whole game. So really don’t fear anybody.”
Devin Moody
Devin Moody, Belize National U18 Basketball Team
“Growing up it has always been a part of my dream to even be on the national team. So for me to be on the national team for the second time and knowing that we are going on a bigger stage, I feel very great about this opportunity that I have been given.”
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, the Minister of Human Development, introduced a historic bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The Disabilities Bill has been in the works for the past thirteen years. Once it passes through the lower and upper houses, persons living with disabilities will have legislation that empowers them to have full and equal enjoyment of rights, privileges and benefits afforded by the Constitution of Belize. Here is more from Minister Garcia.
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development
“We ratified the convention in 2011. Imagine we are here thirteen years later doing what we need to do. But the fact is nothing happened before its time, and now is the time to make this happen. We want to put in place appropriate legislative and administrative measures for the implementation of the rights that are recognized in the convention. And this legislation will directly provide for the safeguarding of the constitutional rights that have been absent in the existing legislation, but which are applicable to persons with disabilities. If I am correct, persons living with disabilities represent approximately fifteen percent of our population. Let’s think about that. And their ability to enjoy a standard of living comparable to the rest of society is largely governed by the ability of caregivers to make necessary adjustments and sacrifices, often at high costs and to the detriment of employment opportunities which can prevent socioeconomic growth. The state’s role in providing resources and services to persons with disabilities is globally recognized as a crucial part of any national social protection system. However, the responsibility must be borne by all levels of society. A robust legislative framework governing the rights of persons with disabilities is required to appropriately allocate responsibilities across main actors in the area and close existing gaps in data collection and resource mobilization.”
Recently, the C.E.O. of the Ministry of Home Affairs requested that police officers be included in the gun license audit interviews for the Firearm and Ammunition Control Board. These audits are carried out to investigate the past authority and the procedures involved in the processing of firearm licenses. Today, the Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, was asked whether this request has been put into motion.
Reporter
“Now, sir I believe we saw a memo on April sixteenth, I think the CEO of the ministry was asking for assistance for the guns and ammunitions board. They were wanting assistance from the ministry to make police officers available for interviews. Has this process started as yet?”
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“Interviews for?”
Reporter
“For the gun license audit.”
Kareem Musa
“I’m not aware. I would have to check. I know that the board had a meeting yesterday, so I would have to check with the CEO to see where they are in that process.”
This year marks the fifteenth celebration of the Flowers Bank Village Festival, an annual event honoring the legendary Flowers Bank Fourteen who defended the settlement of British Honduras alongside the British against the Spaniards at Saint George’s Caye. The festival features locally made Belizean cuisine and traditional “old-time” games. This year promises even more excitement as the community aims to share its rich history, from its people to its river. June first is the day, and Flowers Bank Village is the place to be. To understand the festival’s significance to Belize’s history, we traveled to the Belize River Valley to learn more in this week’s look On the Bright Side.
Sabreena Daly, Reporting
On the tenth of September, the country of Belize recognizes the day as a national holiday, where we acknowledge the battle between the Baymen and the Spaniards in 1798. But in Flowers Bank Village, a small community of approximately one hundred and fifty residents, their acknowledgment extends beyond that singular date. These residents are descendants of some of the very men who participated in that historical event. They are called the Flowers Bank Fourteen who, over two centuries ago, broke a tied vote to defend or evacuate Belize, leading to the successful defense in the Battle of St. George’s Caye.
Marylyn Robinson
Marylyn Robinson, Chairperson, Flowers Bank Village
“I believe many people know that the 14 men who took part in the public meeting who voted yes Instead of running away from the Spaniards, that to me is of great significance to this community.”
Marylyn Robinson’s great, great, great grandfather was Adam Flowers, a member of the Flowers Bank Fourteen. She is also the chairperson of the village and shares how important it is for the generations after her to always remember the legacy of their ancestors.
Marylyn Robinson
“I am the great, great, great granddaughter for Adam Flowers. One of the men who was along with the fourteen, I think he was like a priority among them because he also, when it came to running away from the slaves, he was the person who they were fighting along with the judges and people who were helping them to free themselves from the safe. And he came and settled here in Flowers Bank. I’m not sure of the year but it is in the seventeen hundreds. It’s not something that’s done on a regular basis, but at times we do sit down and talk about, you know, what went on, and so we do a little skit or something that we’ll share and get the children. The younger generation is the one we need to understand the importance of these 14 names. Because when we are long gone, we will have to take up that and continue with this legacy.”
Seventy-eight-year-old Lincoln Flowers is the oldest member of the community and also has a deep connection to the Flowers Bank Fourteen through his great-grandfather. Although his knowledge of his ancestor Adam Flowers is limited, his admiration and respect run deeply. He even named his son after Adam to honor and preserve his legacy.
Lincoln Flowers
Lincoln Flowers, Resident, Flowers Bank Village
“Well, that’s my great grandfather. Now, I only heard a little bit about him, so I don’t want to go through the details. What happened, I know that he, in the time when they came here to Belize, there was an issue with others, and so that’s why Belize is still here. I try to keep it up because then I know that he was my great grandfather, my father, father and things like that. So I got my last boy and I made sure that we, the Flowers family, got the Adam flowers back in the village.”
While Flowers Bank’s rich history is rooted in the significant contributions of its people, it also played a pivotal role in one of Belize’s major industries in the seventeenth century.
Sabreena Daly
Sabreena Daly “I’m standing in front of the old Belize River, which once served as a transport route for the very mahogany trees now revered as a national symbol.”
By 1770, the logwood trade had declined, and settlers were harvesting mahogany, the country’s primary export until the 1950s.
Sabreena Daly
“The villagers of this community saved those very same antique tools used during that time. And in their very own museum, those are the items that you will see on display.”
Eleanor Mitchell
Eleanor Mitchell, Resident, Flowers Bank Village
“These items donated from the villagers make up the history of Belize. Like the paddle, what you use to paddle the canoe with. Like me that live across the river, I have to come across, I have to do back and forth if the water higher or lower in a canoe.”
The Flowers Bank Village Museum offers an authentic glimpse into the historical essence of Belize. Thanks to the collaboration with the National Institute for Culture and History, visitors can experience this time capsule and learn from individuals like Elenour Mitchell, who donated an item belonging to her late father, a logwood cutter.
Eleanor Mitchell
“This is a weight. My dad said that they weighed the logwood with it.”
Sabreena Daly
How do you go about weighing a logwood using this?
Eleanor Mitchell
“Well, I can’t tell you because my father never explained all of this, but I have a bigger one to this.The chairman was asking if we have any old antiques that our parents have or grandparents to donate to the museum. So, that’s why I donated this.”
Marylyn Robinson
“I remember from growing up, because I still need to do some research, but they used to use the river, and we know that Belize old river, the old river. And so, I could remember my uncle and some other men from up the river, Willows Bank, coming down with the mahogany trees and using those hooks to make sure that we don’t get away jumping on that one, jumping on the other one, hooking them and pulling them together.”
The rich historical background and cultural heritage of this community are key reasons why they hold the Flowers Bank Village Festival annually.
Marylyn Robinson
“I believe that people have been carrying on with that legacy by celebrating those 14 men annually. I think this year is the 15th annual Flowers Blank Festival. And the main thing is to honor those men; To make sure that people know about them. And I believe in Belize there are lots of people that recognize the importance of this community when it comes to tourism, because tourists come here, they come to look at the monument, they come and they visit the museum, and even Belizeans may not know that that is happening right here in Flowers Bank.”
Robinson says that you can expect activities that are authentically Belizean; from the food to the games.
Marylyn Robinson
“We’re going to be having rice and beans with all those meats and, um, tamales, Flowers Bank tamales, the best tamales in the River Valley. And I’m going to say it loud and clear. And then for games, we have this special game we were supposed to do last year, but the fire burned the Cohune trees and we weren’t able to get cohune. But instead of lime and buckets, since cohune is special to Flowers Bank, we’re going to be having a Cohune and bucket race so people can come out and take part in the Cohune and bucket.”
Elders like Lincoln Flowers believe that this celebration should extend beyond the community. He sees it as a significant piece of history that holds importance for the entire country.
Lincoln Flowers
“I see the benefit I wouldn’t do. If it was not for them, we probably would have a bigger problem. That’s why I tell everybody this thing, this thing that is not only for Flowers Bank people, this for the entire country of Belize. This Flowers Bank day, we shouldn’t say Flowers Bank day, it should be Belize.”
A Belizean man, previously deported from the U.S., is returning to prison after a federal jury in Del Rio found him guilty of illegally re-entering the country.
Francis Kerr, also known as Francis Deon Flowers, 51, was apprehended by border patrol near Eagle Pass on August 22, 2023. Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced his conviction for illegal re-entry.
Kerr was deported in 2009 after serving a 17-year sentence for robbery and assault. Despite his efforts to re-enter the U.S., a trial revealed his criminal history, including two counts of 2nd-degree robbery, four counts of assault with a firearm, and conspiracy to commit robbery, all stemming from his time in Los Angeles.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas announced the case, highlighting the collaboration between Customs and Immigration Services and the U.S. Border Patrol in tackling illegal immigration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Markovits and Joshua Garland prosecuted the case, underscoring that evading deportation orders and re-entering the country illegally will result in severe consequences. Kerr now faces another prison term, reaffirming that violating U.S. laws to escape a criminal past is futile.
June 1st marks the official beginning of the 2024 hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin, which includes the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. This season runs from June 1st to November 30th each year, though tropical cyclones can occasionally form outside this period.
The 2024 forecast predicts above-normal tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin, with expectations of 17 to 25 named storms. Out of these, eight to 13 are anticipated to become hurricanes, and four to seven are likely to reach major hurricane status (Category 3 or stronger). Typically, an average Atlantic season comprises 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
Two main factors are expected to influence the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season:
High likelihood of La Niña: Developing during the peak of the season, this phenomenon is likely to enhance tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin.
Warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures: These temperatures are expected to provide more energy, fueling tropical cyclone development.
What Does this Mean for Belize?
While seasonal predictions indicate the expected activity level of a hurricane season, they do not specify the timing or path of individual hurricanes. Belize, being in a region vulnerable to tropical cyclones, must remain prepared each year regardless of the forecast. Whether one or more of the 17 to 25 named storms predicted this season will impact Belize is uncertain, but preparedness is crucial.
Wildfires continue to burn across Toledo and Cayo districts. With no rains forecasted in these areas, at least for the next few days, residents will continue to remain on high alert. Prime Minister John Briceño says his administration is doing everything it possibly can to put out the fires and assist victims. We spoke with the prime minister following today’s house meeting where he informed reporters that one million dollars have been set aside from government’s five-million-dollar contingency fund to offer immediate relief to fire victims in both districts. P.M. Briceño also touched on the issue of slash and burn, which is believed to be one of the primary causes of these fires. He, like the Area Representative for Toledo East said last week, believes that the method should be done away with and replaced with a safer farming practices. Here is what he told reporters.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I think the first thing we need to accept is that the way we do things ten years ago, twenty years ago can no longer happen. The issue of slash and burn is something of the past. Now in agriculture we have to be using science and technology. I like to use the story of my grandfather who was a hundred and two years old and he was a subsistence farmer. He knew when it was time to fall bush, when it was time to burn and time to plant. But if he was alive today, he would be totally confused because things have changed dramatically. So the first lesson is that we have to understand that we cannot continue the ways of the old. We have to do better. What have we been doing, well we have been doing a lot of work. I need to give credit to our ministers, they have been on the ground not profiling but actually working, mobilizing resources and it is almost like all hands-on deck. All the different ministries that can help, from Human Development, Housing, MIDH, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry. All of us are on board. But at the same time, we quickly realize that this was not a fire like other times so we needed to declare it a national disaster. By doing that we can then access international resources. We have wrote to the IDB and CABIE and both of them have already responded that they are going to assist us. We are using some resources from the contingency fund in the budget. WE have five million dollars aside for emergencies. So in Cabinet we decided we will be using a million dollars. We know that this is not enough, but this is just to get things going in the meantime. But we know that we have to be looking at food, that many of our farmers up to Tuesday, I don’t think we had any houses burning down, but we knew that a lot of them their milpas burn down, some of them their corn houses burn down. So we are working with human development and agriculture to see what is the best way to do something that is sustainable.”
And the losses have only increased since our visit to Toledo last week. According to Andre Perez, the minister responsible for the National Emergency Management Organization, an estimated eight million dollars in losses have been recorded due to forest fires. A total of two hundred and fifty families, or more than one thousand individuals, have been affected. Today, residents in at least three communities in Toledo were out battling fires that posed a threat to their livelihood. Here is more from Minister Perez.
Andre Perez
Andre Perez, NEMO Minister
“Our initial damage assessment report indicates that two hundred and fifty families have been affected by the raging fires and these numbers continue to rise every day. Several hundred acres of farmlands have been destroyed by raging fires. I was told last night; two homes were lost in the Blue Creek area of the Stann Creek district. Today there are still communities at risk to these fires. Last night San Miguel, Silver Creek and Blue Creek were fighting these flames. We have reports as far north as Altun Ha and as far west in Benque Viejo. In the Mountain Pine Ridge, over ten thousand hectares of forest have been affected by wildfires. This is thirty-four thousand acres of land. The initial DANA is showing up to eight million dollars in damages so far. The full impact on agriculture remains unassessed due to the ongoing threat of wildfires and the unrelenting hot and dry weather condition. The full impact will only be understood when we analyses not only the damages but the loses our people have suffered.”
Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow is criticizing the government for its response to this natural disaster. Barrow says that the government has not responded adequately. Here is what he had to say during today’s House meeting as he recounted his recent trip to Toledo where he visited affected families.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“I would like to discuss, bring to the nation’s attention concerns from the people in Toledo district. I had the pleasure of visiting there over the last couple weeks and when I was there the wildfires really reached its peak and there was a state of emergency declared. But what is happening in Toledo east and west brings into sharp focus the failures of the Briceno administration, and I would like to present these faults for corrective measure. We need as a government, as a nation to become policy oriented. We need as a government to anticipate these emergencies and be ready. We know it is dry season, traditionally the farmers across the country are preparing the farm and land for planting crops and to have the type of devastation taking place, it really is devastating not just to the people in Toledo, but to the economy. And the response is the concern Mr. Speaker. We cannot prevent natural disasters. We cannot stop wild fires but we can respond accordingly Mr. speaker and when I visited Trio village in Toledo East, about four families, I have gotten the chance to see their homes completely destroyed. And, the response of the government is completely inadequate.”
