The Belize Police Department is attempting to mitigate the number of violent crimes through an increase in operations across the country. With the implementation of additional patrols, police are experiencing the depletion of their fuel allowance at an incredible rate. Recently, a police mobile was parked near the police station on Racoon Street, unable to conduct patrols as it had expended its two-hundred-and-fifty gallons per monthly fuel. Today, Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs confirmed that due to the heightened northern operations, the increased use of gas is to be expected.
Kareem Musa
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“Was there an increase in the fuel bill for the department police department, especially because they have a whole lot of patrolling to dwell over communities are getting larger and whatnot. And then we received a report that one mobile was parked behind Raccoon Street police station because the two hundred fifty gallons of fuel that they had received for the month had been exhausted. That is a matter that would have to be answered by the commissioner of police. But in terms of additional resources, certainly with our northern based operation that is taking up a lot of our fuel bill as well. But in terms of the Belize city fuel bill, I believe commissioner would be able to answer that.”
On Thursday, a fire at Price Barracks completely gutted the sleeping quarters of a senior noncommissioned officer. The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical malfunction, as the building has been in poor condition since it was damaged by a hurricane. Colonel Anthony Velasquez, Deputy Commander of the B.D.F. told us that the building was primarily used for storage, no one was injured in the incident.
Colonel Anthony Velasquez
Colonel Anthony Velasquez, Deputy Commander, B.D.F.
“Last night at about eleven p.m. a fire started at the senior noncommissioned officer’s barracks. The fire originated near the room of the force sergeant major who is the senior enlisted person in the Belize Defense Force. The fire was contained and completely out by eleven forty-five and that occurred with the assistance of the Ladyville Fire Service.”
Britney Gordon
“Was anybody injured in the fire?”
Colonel Anthony Velasquez
“No one was injured at all in the fire. No one was in the building at the time. The building is a senior noncommissioned officer barrack that was damaged by a hurricane last year. And repairs haven’t been done completed at this time. No one was actually in the building at the time, and the damage occurred was confined to mostly about two rooms. So the room of the four sergeant major and an adjacent room everything was destroyed in both rooms. And there’s an electrical hazard in the area as well. And also the fire service this morning is conducting their investigation to determine the cause of the fire.”
Britney Gordon
“So the speculation is that it was an electrical fire or is something else?”
Colonel Anthony Velasquez
“That’s the assumption at this point in time until the investigation is over that some sort of electrical fire.”
Britney Gordon
“So you mentioned that this room was the barracks, but in the video we can hear the sound of ammunition going off. Can you talk about that situation?”
Colonel Anthony Velasquez
“From my point of view, it wasn’t ammunition. It was cans of food. That were that were popping open during the fire itself?”
The Association of Protected Areas Management is calling on the relevant authorities to hold irresponsible individuals accountable for starting fires that eventually grow out of control. We spoke with Jose Perez, the Executive Director at APAMO, who says that while some of these fires began through natural causes, some were started because of reckless human behavior. He also noted that a great deal of financial resources will be needed to conduct recovery work in protected areas.
Jose Perez
Jose Perez, Executive Director, APAMO
“I believe that what we have noted that the negligent use of fires by all sectors of the society has contributed significantly to these fires considering that this year the conditions have been extreme, nevertheless we believe that different sectors, the ordinary citizens who visit the Pine Fidge and leaves behind unattended fires, to the agricultural sector, I think has led to some of these fires and because of the extreme conditions has really overwhelmed not only the respective government entities. This year it has actually impacted directly the protected areas and it has really burned our areas. Thankfully for the network we have had three of our members on the frontline but we had two other who were willing and able to support these rangers in particular fighting these fires. The damage has been significant, it has to be assessed, but in the words of Ms. Maria Garcia who is the chairlady of Itzana Society in San Antonio it hurts when you hear these animals growling and crying being burnt and suffocating. And I think indeed this is an opportunity for those agencies responsible for doing the work we do sometimes it takes these events for you to know the work that is being done in silence, the management of these protected areas which are the bloodline for the tourism sector, but it takes these events to know the value of the work these comanagers are doing. So financing is always lacking. We always have a way for getting the work done, but it requires more equipment, it requires more man power, more rangers on the ground. They are the eyes our there. So substantive financing will be required to do recovery.”
She was married to Belize’s National Hero, Philip Goldson and studied law so she could defend him when the government prosecuted him for standing up. On Wednesday, that woman, Hadie Goldson was laid to rest here in Belize City. Today, News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with her eldest child, Philip Goldson Junior, to find out about this woman who, in her own right, was also a hero. Not only did she represent her husband, but she also defended other women who could not afford legal fees. Here’s that report on the life of Hadie Goldson.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Not much has been said publicly about Hadie Goldson, the wife of national hero, Philip Goldson, but she is as much a hero as he was. She was committed to serve those who needed legal representation, including her husband. Hadie Goldson became an attorney because Philip needed someone who could represent him well in court when he came under pressure and prosecution.
Philip Goldson Jr.
Philip Goldson, Jr., Son of Philip and Hadie Golson
“After my parents got married. my mom became aware of my dad’s legal predicament, much more aware of the fact that he was not properly represented in court. And my dad spoke to her about his difficulties getting an attorney. And that triggered my mom’s desire to go to England to study for her law degree. You could say that my dad at the time was part of a group of revolutionaries, challenging the current system that existed then. And for any, groups that are challenging the existing systems, the system will tend to use the laws that are on the books.to beat back those challenges. In Belize, the number of attorneys who were practicing was a very small group, only I would say seven or eight attorneys, and most of that group depended on the system, meaning the government for their income. And so they were reluctant to represent anyone who was challenging the system.”
Philip Goldson Junior says that when his mom went to study law at Lincoln’s Inn in London, she left her four small children with relatives and that upon her return, he could recall the celebration when she became the first woman attorney in Belize. But better than that, she came back to champion her husband’s cause and the women who needed her service.
Philip Goldson, Jr.
“Her being the first woman was not just as the first woman to be called to the Bar, but also someone who also took up cases that were considered too small for the lawyers who were currently practicing at the time. That changed the legal landscape for customers as well as for the legal profession. The court system at the time existed only for men and they had to make adjustments, many adjustments, some big, some small.”
Goldson explained that when his dad wanted to marry his mom, he had converted from Anglican to Catholicism.
Philip Goldson, Jr.
“My dad expressed interest to her mom in meeting her, and my mom said, her mom insisted that before my dad could be, could meet my, mom, he would need to be of the correct religion. My dad grew up Anglican. My mom’s family was Catholic. And so according to my mom, my dad had to become a Catholic person before my, her mom would agree to a meeting.”
Goldson explained that his mom fought for not only her husband, but for women who needed legal services.
Philip Goldson, Jr.
“She was interested in helping women, especially who are not represented by attorneys, at the time that she started practice. It was very difficult for women to get, find attorneys who would represent them, for many cultural reasons mostly because I believe women, the attorneys would feel that women would not be able to compensate them properly, but maybe other reasons.”
Hadie Goldson is survived by four children. Marion Ali for News Five.
Friday May thirty-first is recognized globally as World No Tobacco Day. The day is observed annually to inform the public on the dangers of tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies and what the relevant authorities are doing to combat tobacco use. This year the Ministry of Health and Wellness organized a national tobacco control forum under the theme “protecting children from tobacco industry interference”. News Five’s Paul Lopez was at the forum. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Tabacco use is becoming increasingly popular among a much younger population in Belize.
Dr. Karen Bell
Dr. Karen Bell, PAHO Belize Representative
“Youth thirteen to fifteen years of age, in Belize the prevalence of smoking is about thirteen percent but in the region of the Americas it is only about nine percent.”
That is at least a couple thousand children between the ages of thirteen and fifteen using tobacco.
Dr. Karen Bell
“It is alarming and when we look at the use of cigarettes, smoking cigarettes is about seven point eight percent of the youths thirteen to cigarettes.”
We met Doctor Karen Bell, the PAHO Representative in Belize, at a World No Tobago Day Forum organized by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The forum is particularly geared towards empowering youths to encourage the government to protect their health. One way is through the implementation of higher taxation on tobacco products.
Dr. Karen Bell
“Higher custom duties on the Tobago products. Higher taxes on the sale of Tobago products and this has been proven to decrease the demand for these Tobago products.”
There have been countless no tobacco smoking campaigns over the years targeted at the youth population. These campaigns often seek to bring awareness to the long list of health risks associated with tobacco use. But they are going up against a billion-dollar global industry. According to Doctor Mellisa Diaz Musa, a Tobacco Control Bill has been drafted for Belize.
Dr. Mellisa Diaz Musa
Dr. Mellisa Diaz Musa, Director, Public Health and Wellness
“The bill is a really strong bill. It helps garner and change behavior. It helps to identify the issues, especially the health issues with Tobago control and once approved it will be circulated countrywide. Smoking contributes significantly to ill health. It contributes to chronic respiratory illnesses, emphysema, chronic obstructive disease, strokes, heart disease and of course lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses.”
The National Drug Abuse and Control Council is now placing greater emphasis on new and emerging tobacco products. Esner Vellos is the Director of the council.
Esner Vellos
Esner Vellos, Director, N.D.A.C.C.
“Those new and emerging products are e-cigarettes, hookas, heated tobacco products that are produced in a way that would be more synthetically produced but at the same time they do have nicotine in their products and that is what makes them as equally as harmful as traditional tobacco products. What we at the N.D.A.C.C. tell the younger population is that while the industry may advertise this as cool and they may be cool at the beginning but in the longer run the health impact that product may have in your health system will be much higher.”
And the first negative effects of smoking tobacco may be realized the first time the individual smokes tobacco. According to Vellos, that immediate heart burning sensation is an alarm signal set off by the body. He notes that it is all downhill from there with continuous tobacco use.
Esner Vellos
“And as the time progresses, that smoke will also be filling up your lungs. Over the course of the years that filled up longs will develop tar and that tar is what leads to medical health effects that tobacco has on the individual. So, in a given timeline in less fifteen years you will underground with tobacco consumption.”
N.D.A.C.C. data shows that while there has been a decrease in the use of traditional tobacco products, there has been an increase in the use of new and emerging products that are just as harmful. Even more concerning to the Ministry of Health and Wellness is data that shows an increase in tobacco use among women.
Dr. Mellisa Diaz Musa
“Is there a level of hopelessness that comes with these efforts, because not only do you have tobacco smokers but there is also these new and emerging tobacco sources becoming more popular. I think we look at that as motivation for our team to work harder. Definitely there is hope for us to make a change. Social behavior is very much possible and we know if we start in the school, start earlier we can make a difference when it comes to our non-communicable diseases.”
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.”
