We broke the news on Monday that the medical staff working the night shift at the Southern Regional Hospital came under threat of physical harm when relatives of victims of a road traffic accident barged into the triage area and attempted to enter the Emergency Department. It is an incident that’s eerily reminiscent of what took place at the San Ignacio Community Hospital several weeks ago when family and friends of the now deceased David Galindo stormed the facility and demanded prompt medical attention for their loved one. In a release from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, both incidents are described as, quote, continuous aggressive and threatening behavior by the public towards medical staff, which cannot be countenanced, end quote. Earlier today, we caught up with Minister Kevin Bernard in Punta Gorda where we sought a comment from him on the latest incident.
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness
“It’s quite an unfortunate situation. I’m very much appalled at what is happening and the recent trend of events that’s happening. It started in San Ignacio where, as you know, that was very uncalled for. We had the situation in Corozal, minor issues there, but then what happened in the Southern Regional Hospital, again… You see, Belizeans, and people need to understand that yes, there might be an emergency but you must respect our medical officers. We must respect our health professionals, they have a job to do to protect their patients, to ensure that, for example, at that moment, there was a pregnant woman. There were two pregnant women, there was one approaching the emergency room, they had the issue of the people that had that accident, terrible accident. And so, but you cannot just barge into facilities like this. We must respect the rules, hospitals also have certain regulations, it’s about patient safety, patient security and the sanity of the persons that are in there, because remember, we have to look at infection control. All of these things have a key factor to play, especially when you are not the patient. So you have to ensure that people understand, you just can’t go into a hospital just like that. You can cause other infections to other persons who are there with other issues. So we have to, and I am calling out those persons who did this, they are wrong and we are already looking at other measures that we are going to be putting in place and I have said to my colleagues in Cabinet, if we have to come to the House and make laws to put further restrictions and to put penalties to persons who do these types of things then we may have to do so. Belizeans need to learn to respect the rules.”
News Five was contacted by a source at the Southern Regional Hospital. The person explained that in the early hours of this morning, two individuals were involved in a traffic accident four miles outside of Dangriga. The incident prompted an urgent response from local medical staff. The person explained that nurses on duty at the time heard the vehicle’s horn and immediately recognized the situation as an emergency. They swiftly opened the front door and came out with a hospital bed to assist the patients, who were then secured inside the facility. The door was locked to prevent other people from gathering in the area. Despite these precautions, attempts were made to force entry through another door and window. The police were contacted after midnight and arrived at the emergency room after two a.m. Due to the severity of their injuries, the patients needed to be transferred to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The nurse and driver left without security escort. Meanwhile, threats were made against the staff by individuals attempting to gain access to the emergency room. There were three female nurses and two doctors on duty at the time. Although security personnel were present, they were unarmed, necessitating the call to the police. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams was informed of the incident this morning and has pledged to investigate the matter. Adding to the challenges faced, it was noted that the emergency room’s security camera was not operational at the time of the incident.
Lobster season begins in four days. Hundreds of traps and shades have been set out at sea ahead of July first, to meet the early demand for lobster tails. This open season demand is primarily driven by the annual lobster fests. Earlier this week, we took you to San Pedro and Caye Caulker for an inside look at what goes into planning their lobster fests and why fisherfolks are becoming more conscious about the importance of sustainable lobster fishing practices. Today, the Belize Tourism Board took a team of reporters to Placencia to speak with residents who have been making Placencia Lobster Fest a reality since 1998. We will have extensive coverage for you in Friday night’s newscast. Tonight, we hear from Village Chairman Warren Garbutt about the activities planned for July fifth to the seventh.
Warren Garbutt
Warren Garbutt, Chairman, Placencia Village
“Lobster Fest requires a lot of planning and we have been planning for a few months. Just after the last one started we started planning. It requires a lot of set up. The Lobster fest grounds where we are is transformed the week before Lobster fest weekend. There is a lot of effort that goes into it in terms of organizing along with the BTIA Placencia Chapter. However, vendors that come out they start preparing weeks before as well because it is a very well attended event and they have to be ready for a high demand of lobster that weekend.”
On Wednesday night, political aspirant Cyril Garcia shared his disappointment with the People’s United Party’s decision to turn down his application to challenge Doctor Louis Zabaneh in Dangriga. Garcia anticipated an opportunity to face the sitting area representative and become the next standard bearer for that constituency. Instead of accepting the challenge, the P.U.P. sent him a letter informing him that his application had been rejected. The secretary general then asked Garcia to support Doctor Zabaneh’s candidacy without giving him a reason for the decision taken. Earlier today, News Five spoke with the incumbent area representative who sought to outline the process being used to determine the eligibility of all applicants.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Area Representative, Dangriga
“The People’s United Party has a very clear process to vet aspirants and I have great trust for the people in those committees and they followed their procedures. One of the number one criteria is that you need to be a member of the party, an active member, in fact, for that, aspiring to that position. The gentleman has never been an active member of the party. His mom, Aunt Lily, may have been, but none of the children have ever participated actively in the party. So it would be clear that that criteria is something that everybody would appreciate and understand. We expect that the people who are applying would have demonstrated their commitment and their hard work over the years to serve the party and, of course, then get the opportunity to serve.
Isani Cayetano
“How would you respond to a criticism about your party where they are essentially saying they’re not making sufficient room for young politicians to come into the fray?”
Louis Zabaneh
“Well, I think that is something said in ignorance, meaning that the facts would bear out otherwise.”
Isani Cayetano
“Now, essentially, you’re going to be endorsed for a second term as the standard bearer for the People’s United Party in Dangriga. What is that looking like for you?”
Louis Zabaneh
“Well yes, our executive will be meeting this weekend and we’ll be setting a date very early in July so that we can prepare that activity and get everybody geared up. But then that reminds me to say that when I had applied to enter the fray, we had a convention, it was myself and five others. I recall that when I applied, I had to send in recommendation letters. In the case of recommendation letters, you find people in the community, elders. In my case, I had the great opportunity for former Mayor Cassian Nunez, may she rest in peace, former minister Silvia Flores and both of them, in their own hand, wrote their letters and signed it themselves.”
So what becomes of Cyril Garcia’s political future? It’s a question that we asked him in light of the unfavorable news he received last Friday. Aside from launching a signature petition, Garcia says that it’s far from over for him.
Cyril Garcia
Cyril Garcia, Political Aspirant, P.U.P.
“This is certainly not the end for my ambitions. Currently I have about over four hundred registered voters who have signed a petition, I’m talking going around, me and my team getting registered voters to sign a petition and we’re going to get as many as possible and I want to know if the leaders of the People’s United Party will seriously ignore the voices of the Dangriga people. I think what Dangriga really and truly needs is an area representative who will engage with the people and find out exactly what Dangriga truly needs. And when it comes to the powers that be, I think they should really carefully reconsider what they are doing. General elections are near and Dangriga will speak. Personally for me, I was raised in a home where it was all about service, serving others, putting others above self and that’s how I was raised. So living in Dangriga and seeing what has been happening over the couple of years, how our people are treated and ignored, this is one of the main reasons I was moved to do what I am doing. So I wanna ask the people of Dangriga to really look at the two individuals.”
Domingo Valerio has been teaching for over three decades in Stann Creek District. As a resident of Georgetown Village, the career educator has also had his eyes on the Stann Creek West constituency. But, unlike other hopefuls who at least had an opportunity to submit an application, he was denied from the onset. That’s what he told News Five earlier today, that he was forced to sit out the 2020 general elections when his bid to challenge Area Representative Rodwell Ferguson was rejected. He attempted once more to run against Ferguson in a convention but was told upfront that there would not be a convention to elect a new standard bearer. Here’s Valerio’s story.
On the phone: Domingo Valerio, Political Aspirant
“This election that went, I applied and they rejected so I went back and I told them that I was going to contest because so many people had already been requesting a change. Since I have taught in Stann Creek West for thirty-three years, I thought I could do the job with the assistance of the people who are requesting a change. So when I applied, I went to the party chairman in Independence, Mr. Emilio Zab, gave him my application. He said, “What is this?” I told him, “open it.” He opened it and stated that Mr. Rodwell Ferguson will not be contested. He immediately called the [secretary] general and placed him on speaker so that… and he said, “Yes, this is what we planned. Mr. Rodwell will not be contested due to [the fact that] he has no challenge against Mr. Williams.” So I do not sit with that, I went all the way to the party office in Belize City on Queen Street. I spoke with Collet Montejo and I explained to him and he said, have I hit the ground? I told him yes, I hit the ground and that is why I am interested because people are requesting my presence to represent them. He said well all the way from the top has decided that there will be no convention against Mr. Rodwell because they came to the ground and they have done their due diligence and they found out that the people are happy with honorable Rodwell, whereby that’s not true. We had a back-and-forth, myself with Mr. Collet Montejo, but I left there with my application and my application fee because they did not want to take it. They said if I applied and they have decided, then my thousand dollars is non-refundable and the application form will just be on the table. That’s the end of my discussion with Mr. Collet Montejo.”
Isani Cayetano
“So you received a letter subsequent to that informing you that your application would not have been accepted?”
Domingo Valerio
“No, they did not give me any letter. It is Mr. Montejo who just immediately told me that and t hen the party chairman, Mr. Emilio Zabaneh, told me that in Independence. There was no follow up with a letter.”
Isani Cayetano
“This comes along with the fact that there was an open call, essentially, for anyone interested in running in any of the thirty-one constituencies to offer their names.”
Domingo Valerio
“Exactly.”
Isani Cayetano
“So what’s your feeling? Do you feel hard done by the People’s United Party?”
Domingo Valerio
“It’s a biasness, I would say, and I feel that I would have done the best if they had given me the challenge to contest honorable Rodwell because one convention, let the people speak and I would be satisfied.”
The People’s United Party has written to Cyril Garcia rejecting his application to run against Dangriga Area Representative, Doctor Louis Zabaneh in a convention to elect a new standard bearer for that constituency. On Friday, Garcia, who also goes by the name Cyril Uruwei, received a letter from Secretary General Linsford Castillo informing him that, quote, after careful review and deliberation, the decision was made not to approve your application. Instead, you are asked to support an endorsement of the incumbent at a convention which will be scheduled on a date and at a time and venue to be announced, end quote. News Five spoke with Garcia at Independence Hall following the submission of his application on May twenty-fourth. Here’s what he had to say about the sitting area rep and his belief that there is a faction within the P.U.P. that was working against him.
Cyril “Uruwei” Garcia
Cyril “Uruwei” Garcia, Political Aspirant, P.U.P.
“I go around, I move around, I ask people, I always ask, how yoh feel about Dangriga? How yoh feel about the current area rep? And we don’t get no good news about the current area rep Louis Zabaneh and he has two Ph.D.’s, he’s written a book and what’s coming out of the people’s mouths is that he’s not at their level. He appears to be all the way up there and we are the ones crawling on the ground. There’s a few, there’s a handful in the executive in the PUP party who have prematurely endorsed Louis Zabaneh. That is not democracy, it’s premature. We don’t accept it, we reject it and we want a fair chance. We want the people of Dangriga to choose who will represent them, who will talk for them, who will go and ask on their behalf, right. So that’s all we ask, a fair convention. I want to appeal to PM Briceño, you put out a statement stating that anyone can apply within the thirty-one constituencies. Here I am applying and I am appealing to PM Briceno to practice democracy. Be a man of your word. This is your opportunity to show Dangriga that you are a man of your word, that you are honest, you’re truthful and you’re gonna give us a convention. As a matter of fact, we’re demanding a convention.”
This afternoon, News Five spoke with Cyril Garcia who says he’s disappointed with the outcome his application.
Cyril “Uruwei” Garcia, Political Aspirant, P.U.P.
“My reaction was, you know, it was a fifty-fifty that I was expecting the type of response that I got, but if I should choose one word, it‘s disappointing because it came without any kind of reason whatsoever. To me, it was quickly drafted up and said, “here.” You know, so, to say the least, I was disappointed.
Isani Cayetano
“Now when we spoke with you on the day of your application being submitted, you kind of alluded to the fact that you wanted this to be a very clean and open process under the tenets of democracy. What made you feel as though perhaps there was something working against you?”
Cyril Garcia
“To be honest, I’ve been going around talking to different people and I have advisors, people who counsel me, people who advise me and I have learned over the couple of weeks that we are, our people, Belizeans, we think within a certain frame of politics and it’s hard to see outside of that. So, as I am going around and talking to different people, I am learning more and more and what I’ve been seeing and hearing the most is that the information that is being given is that you have one set of rules and people tend to make calculations within a certain boundary, nobody seems to want to get out of the box and challenge the powers that be.”
There are roughly a hundred registered and unregistered women fishers in Belize. A progressively challenging industry, coupled with climate change factors, have compounded their chances of making their livelihood profitable. Now, through the formation of the Women in Fisheries Association, these ladies hope to be able to access more and better opportunities to advance their lives. For the past two days, the newly formed association has been meeting in Hopkins Village to discuss all the prevailing factors. News Five’s Marion Ali filed the following report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Over seventy women from eleven fishing communities across Belize completed the 7th annual Women in Fisheries Forum today. The event which took place in Hopkins Village, saw for the first time the selection of a president of the newly formed Women in Fisheries Association. Ralnah Lamb-Lewis, the Assistant Country Director for Marine at Wildlife Conservation Society told News Five that the fisher women are looking for inclusion in an industry that has become ever more challenging.
Ralnah Lamb-Lewis
Ralnah Lamb-Lewis, Assistant Country Director, Marine at Willdlife Conservation Society
“The women who are involved in the various activities along the fisheries value chain, whether it’s processing value added, marketing. They want their voices to be heard. They want to be a part of the decision-making body that is involved when it comes to management decisions regarding fisheries, as well as decisions that impact their livelihoods. So that is one of the main things that they want to look at. And as an association, they’ll be able to advocate on their behalf, basically, for their membership as well as ensure that they are able to receive investments that benefit them and their households and their communities.”
As the association’s first president, Paula Jacobs-Williams will seek to push for better opportunities that have been non-existent for women to advance in the fisheries sector.
Paula Jacobs-Williams
Paula Jacobs-Williams, President, Women in Fisheries Association
“Right now, D.F.C. di give the fishers dehn wa lotta problem, so we want to – we hope we could get together, as women in fisheries, and we could find a way that’s easier that we could get a loan or a grant. You could just go in and not have a lot of signing and need somebody fi back we up, you understand me? And then for the future girls, then we want something like a retirement scheme. I want to see that for wi future girls and fisheries ladies, that we have some kind of retirement scheme, even if we have to open like a cooperative, maybe a credit union somewhat. So at the end of it, we are insured that once I say I’m retiring this year, I could have some kind of benefit at the end of the retirement.”
A representative from the D.F.C was present to assure the women fishers that they would have access to financing at slightly cheaper rates than other loan programs, with no collateral requirements. During her two-year term, Jacobs-Williams will endeavor to have a cooperative formed that could assist the women fishers and their groups to package and market their marine products locally and abroad. That realization would come in the face of a few challenges the women are currently facing. Olga Colon is a nineteen-year-old fisherwoman from Barranco Village who has been accompanying her father at sea for as long as she can remember. She says the conditions keep getting tougher, and she would welcome the new opportunities.
Olga Colon
Olga Colon, Young Fisherwoman
“As we all know, the sun just di get worse and we have to stay more protected and it’s harder fi deh outta sea with the sun just di blast for your skin. And we have skiff, we don’t have the canopy pahn we boat soh we get it real bad. I just have to put in more work out at sea and go further out. Right now fish nuh deh bout that much but I personally di hope fi eventually get me a land by the coast soh I could have easier access to the sea.”
Organizations such as the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a Canada-based organization deal with climate-change issues. Colon and these women are relying on these NGOs to maximize their opportunities. National Coordinator, Gisele Borland says they are here to assist. And at least two groups from Belize would also be eligible for grant funding.
Gisele Borland
Gisele Borland, National Coordinator, International Institute for Sustainable Development
“One of the things that I.I.S.D. is doing is that we’re trying to have communities tell us what would be the best things for them to adopt because Belize is very unique. What might work for Africa or Fiji might not work for Belize. So it’s best that communities tell us what would be the best solution for their climate change issues, and then we listen to them and we try to see how we can work through those issues.”
Marion Ali
“The support would come in what form then?”
Gisele Borland
“We have – the I.I.S.D. has an innovation fund that we will be issuing soon in July and we’re hoping to launch in September, where different women group and underrepresented groups can write into us a proposal, and then we will fund a nature-based solution for adaptation project that they have within their communities.”
Present all the way from across the Caribbean Sea was the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance. President Adrian Laroda told News Five that their attendance was more of an information and fact-finding exchange. He said that although Belize and the Bahamas are geographically distant, we share some commonalities.
Adrian Laroda
Adrian Laroda, President, Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance
“Admittedly, we don’t have a lot of women as managers of the fishery sector in the Bahamas, but they’re more in the processing side, but they can take the message back. And there’s lessons to be learned from this particularly in this age where there is greater focus now on women’s rights and gender and youth. While we are separated geographically, the similarities are there. It’s important for them to have unity, even when there’s disagreement, there’s disbarment, it’s important to be unified.”
One of the major events of the two-day Women in Fisheries Forum in Hopkins was the endorsement of Paula Jacobs-Williams of Punta Negra as President for the next two years. She told News Five that she intends to lobby on behalf of all the women fisherfolk, primarily where they face difficulty in marketing their catch. Interestingly, the number of licensed commercial women fisherfolk across Belize account for only three percent of the total number of fisherfolks in the country. But women who are engaged in fisheries-related activities play a big role within the sector. And these roles that women engage in play a huge part in the communities where they live, according to the Assistant Country Director of Marine at Wildlife Conservation Society, Ralnah Lamb-Lewis.
Ralnah Lamb-Lewis
Ralnah Lamb-Lewis, Assistant Country Director, Marine at Willdlife Conservation Society
“You have a lot of women who are involved in processing. If you go to the cooperative, if you go to the fish markets within the coastal communities, and then you have the women who basically are involved in preparing the trips, managing the finances. So all of that additional activities the value added part. Those involved in seaweed.”
Marion Ali
“You’re looking for better markets?”
Paula Jacobs-Williams
Paula Jacobs-Williams, President, Women in Fisheries Association
“Marketing and then packaging and stuff like that. So we could like, join, like what I say, like a coop, so each of us could start a pack and we could sell like what you call import and export because we could make some – like for example, we have – in Punta Negra we have the lake, we have freshwater fish some people go for the fresh water and some want the salt water.”
Marion Ali
“Is it only fish that you do?”
Paula Jacobs-Williams
“We do fish, we do conchs, we do lobster, shrimps all the others, and then we could always package it.”
