2024-10-07 - Channel 5 Belize

No Tolerance for Bullying in Belize

This past Saturday, a family in Belize took to social media to shine a light on the troubling issue of bullying among our youth. They shared a heartbreaking story about a Saint John’s College student who suffered a broken hip in an incident where he was allegedly bullied. This comes on the heels of another disturbing case from mid-June, where a fourteen-year-old boy was followed home and assaulted by his peers. We decided to dig deeper into the pervasive problem of bullying and its profound impact on the young people of Belize. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the full story.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

A bully is someone who repeatedly causes pain to others, whether through physical harm, hurtful words, or mean behavior. According to a recent report by UNESCO, over thirty percent of students worldwide have experienced bullying. This troubling trend has devastating effects on a young person’s academic performance, physical well-being, and mental health. Mental Health Counselor Aimee Jex explains how these impacts can follow victims into adulthood.

Aimee Jex, Mental Health Councilor

“This is a trauma that you can develop, anything that happens throughout your life can impact you. So let’s say you are someone who around ten, eleven, twelve, your peers started teasing you, bullying you, excluding you, you start feeling maybe less than enough, maybe you don’t, Realize your own worth. Maybe your self-esteem gets hampered, so as you grow up into adulthood, you’re you don’t see your full potential. You might not be confident in the things you want to achieve, and so you don’t get to be the person that you could be because you have these limitations that you carry on throughout your life.”

Many bullying victims come from marginalized or vulnerable communities, making them easy targets for verbal or physical attacks. Back in mid-June, a video surfaced on social media showing a fourteen-year-old high school student in Santa Cruz Village being followed home and harassed by several peers. This alarming incident prompted police intervention, leading to the aggressors being taken into custody. Thankfully, the victim and his family managed to move past the ordeal in a peaceful manner.

Paul Lopez
What do you say to bullies?”

Jose Amador, Bullying Victim (File: June16th, 2024)
“I will take the apology they have given, because everybody makes mistakes. So I will take their apology.”

Paul Lopez
“And what do you say to individuals that have been bullied before. What do you say to them to deal with it?”

Jose Amador

“Please don’t be afraid to tell your family members, your parents, talk to your family members, the teachers, but talk about it.”

In 1989, world leaders created the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which seeks to ensure the special protection of children under the age of eighteen years. In 1990, Belize became the fifth country in the world to ratify the CRC, pledging to protect the survival and developmental rights of children.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education (File: June 20th, 2024)

“Of course the ministry’s position is that we have zero tolerance for bullying. We are working with the management, the principals, the teachers, to address this matter. We do not want the students in any of our educational institutions to experience any form of bullying. Schools must just be a safe space for students. So, we are absolutely looking at that issue very closely.”

On Saturday, the family of Dominick Alvarado, a student at Saint John’s College, took to social media to highlight the serious issue of bullying in Belize. They shared that Dominick had suffered a broken hip in an alleged bullying incident, leaving him bedridden. We reached out to the President of Saint John’s College, Mirtha Peralta, to understand how the school is handling the situation. While she confirmed that an internal investigation is underway, the specifics of any disciplinary action against the accused remain unclear. ACP Hilberto Romero details how the police respond to instances of bullying.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“If Injuries were inflicted on him, then an investigation will be carried out and those responsible will be charged. And the bullying part, then that will also be investigated.”

Paul Lopez

“So it could be tantamount to a criminal act?”

Hilberto Romero

“Yes, once this person received injuries. Yes.”

To get a broader perspective on how schools typically handle bullying, we spoke with Kadijah Marin, the Vice Principal of Academic Affairs at Edward P. York High School.

Kadijah Marin, Vice Principal of Academic Affairs, Edward P. York

“So if a student comes in and makes a report, we have them record an incident report. about whatever happened. Thereafter, we launched an investigation to find out what the details of the case are and who the culprits may be. And then from there, according to our student handbook, we have consequences based on the severity of the case. So it could range from something as simple as name calling, to hazing, or to internet interactions, or cyber bullying. We take all of those cases seriously and they’re outlined in our 100th Federal Clearing.”

Marin explained that the punishment vary depending on the severity of the case. Students may receive demerits, detentions, suspensions and in some instances, outright expulsion. Jex explains that there are several reasons that someone may exhibit bullying behaviors, ranging from stressful living situations, a lack of correction, or an inability to regulate emotions.

Aimee Jex

“You also have those people in the middle who might just be bullies because that’s how they see it as a solution. You did something bad to me and now in response, I will do something worse to you and other people will notice and you will feel ashamed. So that a shame I felt, I will make you feel it ten times or one hundred times and it’s a solution that they have because you know as people we have emotions And maybe we may not know how to regulate those emotions. We don’t know how to deal with our anger We don’t know how to deal with our sadness. We don’t know how to deal with our grief and in that we end up hurting other people.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Flowayne ‘Shaniki” Colon Says She Was Robbed During Instagram Live

In a shocking incident, a Belize City woman was allegedly robbed while live on social media from inside her home. Thirty-three-year-old Flowayne Colon reported to the police that during an Instagram live session, a man dressed in a battle uniform broke into her home, tied her up, and stole her belongings. Colon, an adult content creator with over a million Instagram followers, suspects the intruder was after her valuable, monetized social media accounts. Here’s News Five’s Paul Lopez with the story.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Flowayne Colon, also known as Shaniki Hernandez, says she was robbed inside her home while going live on Instagram.

Flowayne Colon, Burglary Victim

“Basically I mih just deh pan my bed and there was a situation I was going through depression, and I bring my family come live with me. So, my family live downstairs and I live upstairs alone. I in my room live on Instagram and another page and I hear the door, when I hear the door open, I know something wrong, because my family deh can’t go upstairs. My family know what I the do upstairs.”

She alleges that the individual was wearing a battle dress uniform, like those worn by members of the GI3.

Flowayne Colon

“I mih think dah my friend. I mih shocked and scared but I think dah one of my friend the mess with me or play with me. Then he tie me up and gagged me with one of my clothes then like I told you I think it was one of my friend messed with me. Then he just starts rough me up and tell me not to look at his face. That is when I realized that something wrong.”

Colon managed to free herself after the intruder left and quickly realized that two of her phones were missing. She emphasized that these phones are extremely valuable due to the monetized social media accounts they hold. Colon’s Instagram page, under the name “Shaniki Hernandez,” boasts one point two million followers, where she creates adult content.

Flowayne Colon

“He told me count from one to twenty. It is just weird. I thought it was a friend. Throughout the entire ordeal I thought it was a friend messing with me. When I look up I see my live phones, because I mih deh pan Instagram and next site and then I realize he stole my phones.”

She went to the police to make a report. But this morning before we spoke with Colon, she published a social media video giving what sounded like a different account of the same situation.

Flowayne Colon

“A guy was passing on his bicycle. I was live on my verandah. He was passing on his bicycle and I was like hey weh the go on. UI dah like weh the go on. I don’t know him from Adams. We don’t know him. We dah like weh the gon on pull up. I don’t know him, but he came to my house.”

Well, this afternoon Colon told us that she was referencing a similar incident that occurred three weeks ago in which she was able to retrieve her phones.

Flowayne Colon

“So what happened, this person stole my phone three weeks ago. It is the same person. They are not after my money. I have a lot of valuable items. They don’t want nothing. It is my social media information and everything that they want. All of my online information they want.”

Paul Lopez

“Why would they want this? What value is there to that?”

Flowayne Colon

“It is a lot of money. It is worth more than everything else. That is how I make a living.”

Colon made a report to the police and later requested no court action and that her statement be withdrawn. She says that she fears the culprit would return to harm her. We asked the police about her report today.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“We are following up on that report. Investigators is following up on footage and other evidence. That is the information e have that two cellphones were stolen. We have no suspect at this time.”

Reporter

“Did she mention that he was dressed in GI3 clothing?

ACP Hilberto Romero

“No, I am not aware of that detail of that report. No.”

Colon has been receiving a mixture of support and criticism on social media.

Paul Lopez

“One of the people, how did this individual manage to get inside your home? I know the first time you hail up a lee friend. But the second time, how did that even happen?”

Flowayne Colon

“I was live at the same time so they were looking at me live.”

Paul Lopez

“How does this entire ordeal have you feeling?”

Flowayne Colon

“I love my country. I love Belize. But I have to leave my country in a few hours.”

Paul Lopez for News Five.

Burglar Makes Off with Firearms in Corozal Town

A home was burglarized on Friday night in Corozal Town. The culprit made off with two firearms. Police are now looking for clues to identify the suspect. ACP Hilberto Romero says its two more firearms on the streets for the police to be concerned about.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On Friday October twenty-fourth. Renick Chavaria reported that his house was broken into in Corozal Town. He left his house secure and upon return his house was broken into. He left his two firearms a nine millimeter pistol and a .223 rifle. We have no suspects at this time for this burglary. It is of concern to us because that is two more firearm on the streets.”

Lord’s Bank Burglary Suspect Identified and Wanted by Police

In another burglary, this time in Lord’s Bank, a woman was injured by the culprit. Police are now looking for an individual identified as Phillip Guzman for questioning in connection with the incident. ACP Hilberto Romero told us more.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On the fifth day of October 2024, Ladyville police responded to an aggravated burglary report at carnation street in Lord’s Bank. Upon their arrival Shania Jerguson reported that she was at home when she noticed someone was inside her house. There was a struggle with the male person. He then inflicted injuries to Jerguson with a knife and some scratches. Thereafter the male person fled from the area as Jerguson ran on the streets to ask for help. An investigation was carried out and Phillip Guzman is wanted for aggravated assault.”

Minister of Health Explains Resignations

Concerns have been raised about the departure of several key staffers, including the Drug Inspectorate, at the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Over the weekend, News Five was informed that a few employees had moved on to the private sector. We reached out to Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard who told us, “We have no chief pharmacists but Miss Samira who has been acting in the position and still is. Doctor Samouge who is the Drug Inspectorate resign to go work in the private sector. Doctor Fidel Cuellar resigned to work in the private sector. Miss Agassi Finnegan was seconded to us to address some legal matters but had always said she will go practice her profession in her law firm. So she is now a private attorney at law, As an update we had no resignations in July, one male RN in August who went to the private sector, and one RN in September who’s contract ended and did not renew so essentially not a resignation”.

Facebook Post Questions Government’s Role in Stake Bank Intervention

Today, a Facebook page called Belize Marine Life posted an intriguing update titled “Stealing Stake Bank.” The author posed a provocative question: which Minister promised approval for this and why? While the post didn’t give names, it referred to two key parcels of land. The first is a sixteen-acre section, part of the Stake Bank port project, described as the heart of a much larger development. This area is surrounded by twenty-three acres owned by Michael Feinstein, which is currently tied up in court. The post revealed that confidential emails, sent before the receivership, showed a proposed thirty-acre expansion in the sale to MSC Cruises. This expansion goes beyond the sixteen-acre port project and the twenty-three acres owned by Feinstein. The author suggested that this expansion was planned without Feinstein’s knowledge, highlighting how OPSA, the Honduran interest, and the bank were not only trying to take control of the project but also planning to enlarge it without his involvement. The post hinted at a, “backroom deal” that would have been impossible without political assurances, and questioned the cost and recipients of these assurances. Prime Minister John Briceño addressed the issue on “Open Your Eyes” today, stating that the government is simply trying to act as an honest broker in this situation.

Isani Cayetano

“There’s also a lawsuit before the court regarding the compulsory acquisition of the twenty-three acres of land, and the owner is essentially saying that he wants a particular sum for the overall twenty-three acres of land, and, of course, he wants one dollar and twenty-five cents, if I’m not mistaken, in perpetuity.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“So, you think he’s serious to sell?”

Isani Cayetano

“Well, I’m not sure where he stands on that. He has placed that on the record that that’s what he’s asking for. I am asking you, where does your administration stand on that outside of what is taking place before the court?”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Well, first of all, when there are issues with court, you have to be careful what you say. I don’t want to prejudice the case in any way whatsoever. All we’ve been trying to do is to be an honest broker. Here is a massive investment. It’s becoming an eyesore because nothing is happening there. And the longer we take to settle this, the worse it’s going to get. As it is, I think they’ve already had almost three acres of erosion. It washed away, because nobody’s there to, to put in the seawalls and to put in the seawalls and to protect it and so forth, I’ve been told. I’ve not been there. I’ve been there only once with one of the local investors when he went to show me and you could see it’s a massive investment. So in all of these buildings, if you don’t take care of it, rust is going to get in. It’s going to go to nothing. I think we as a responsible government, it’s a huge investment, if it was two people fighting over a way smaller investment of course, we’re not going to get involved. But remember, successive governments have said that this project is in the national interest of Belize. When it came to – and this started out way back under the PUP, the Musa government, when they came with a plan to say, well, we want to purchase this because we want to do this cruise port, which was very, it’s still very important. And we agreed to it. The UDP government, in two occasions, came to the House, passed legislation saying that Belize was going to support this because it’s in the national interest. Fast forward to our time now, here’s a dispute over a project that successive governments have said is in the national interest of Belize. We got involved as honest brokers, trying to find a compromise between the two groups. But what – well, they, they can’t come to an agreement. I don’t want to prejudice or give my – how I feel about it, but they can’t come to a compromise. So know, here comes the investors that really have the money and they’re the ones that put up the money, most of the money, come to us, “Well we can’t come to an agreement.” Now we have MSC, one of the largest cruise lines. And also they do containers. They move containers – the largest company to move containers around the world. They have over two hundred thousand people working. They’re saying, “Well, now, we’d be interested, but we don’t want to get into this mess. The only way we’d be interested is if this mess is settled, and we buy over then.” So that the only way we can do that is by compulsorily acquiring land. In Cabinet, we had a long discussion, and the agreement was that the government and people of Belize must be protected from any lawsuits, that if there’s any lawsuits, tax payers will not pay a single dollar, a single dime.”

Isani Cayetano

“A sort of indemnity.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I’m coming to the point. So based on that, we decided we want an indemnity, and not only the indemnity, but we also need a deposit of about seven million dollars in the name of the Government of Belize at the Atlantic Bank. So once we felt that we – and we went through the indemnity. We had our lawyers going back and forth to ensure that it’s a solid indemnity. We said, okay, we are going to pro proceed. We put out the notice basically to tell the owner come, we want to acquire it, can we come to an agreement? Same terms. So obviously it’s not happening. Now they went to court again and we have to wait to see what the court is going to say on this matter and at the same time, well we’re hoping now MSC and met with them here. Albino and two other top people from MSC and said they’re excited. They came for the first time to Belize. And they flew by helicopter and look at the Blue Hole, the reef, the country. They’re excited. And there he says, “you guys are one of the most beautiful countries. We want in.” We spoke to them about the Port of Belize and they say, “well, we’re prepared to do this and also consider investing in the container portion of the port. So, exciting things are coming but we need to get things done. We need to solve these problems to be able to go to the next point.”

PM Says Mexico Pledges Increased Power Supply to Belize

Prime Minister John Briceño has returned from the historic swearing-in of Mexico’s first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum. One of their discussions centered around Mexico’s power supply to Belize. Briceño highlighted that Belize is already consuming the amount of energy in 2024 that was projected for 2028, thanks to our economic growth and the increased need for cooling appliances during long heat waves. President Sheinbaum assured Briceño that she would uphold the gentleman’s agreement made with her predecessor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to maintain the current power supply to Belize. However, their conversation took an interesting turn, exploring the possibility of Belize purchasing power from ships that sell electricity. This could not only help us meet our energy shortfalls but also open opportunities for Belize to buy and sell power.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“There’s a group in Belize now that they’ve been talking to another company outside of Belize that they have these ships that have, that have, um, these huge plants. So, they’re saying that they can contract this. They have already signed an agreement with this group, and they can bring the board. But the board produces 80 megawatts. We can’t use it. A good thing about the agreement that we have with CFE, we can buy and we can sell. So our idea was to go to them and pitch the idea. Listen, it will be far easier for Belize to bring the ship to Belize. We use what we need and then we send over the rest to you. At a very small margin to pay for the expenses. And they were quite excited because, like us. Quintana Roo depends pretty much solely on tourism. Last year they had over eighteen million visitors, so they can’t afford the blackouts just like us. So we had a very good meeting. We set up a team that would comprise people from BEL, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, I think PUC to meet with their technical people to start to work on how we can, how we can do this.”

Belize Looks to Buy Power Outside of Mexico Arrangement

Belize is also exploring options beyond our northern border for additional electricity supply, as our consumption has exceeded projections by four years. The Prime Minister mentioned another potential agreement to secure more electricity for Belize. This comes after a recent discussion he had with a company outside of Mexico.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I spoke the day before on the same Tuesday night. I met this young man from the Garza family. They are going to be providing the electricity for the four seasons. And their plan is to, well, they just want to meet you because it’s a big investment. I’m talking about the possibility of maybe they could sell. So I explained to him, you have Caye Chapel, Caye Caulker and San Pedro, or Ambergris Caye. and with submarine cables, you can easily do that. And again I said, but look at Mexico. Listen, we have this agreement. And they were planning to come like around December, but now they want to fast track probably sometime this month or early next month to come and look at Belize, because a part of their investments are so they build transmission lines, especially in the north where you have a lot of private producers of electricity and they need to get on the transmission line to distribute. I said, well, right now the transmission line that we have, in the next few years we’re going to max it out. We need to build another transmission line. And the media says, you know, that’s something we do. You could come and look and maybe we can build the transmission line and then we lease it out as opposed to BEL or government putting the money in. So there’s a lot of opportunities, a lot of excitement about Belize. So we’re working on the issues of energy.”

PM Briceño Says Elections Will Not be Called Before January

One of the hot topics on the morning show was the P.U.P.’s readiness for the upcoming election whenever Prime Minister John Briceño decides to call it. While he acknowledged that there’s still plenty of work to be done, the PM expressed confidence that his party will perform well when the time comes. He also hinted that the elections won’t be held before January first but stopped short of revealing exactly when he’ll make the big announcement.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We don’t have National Party Council meetings by WhatsApp. We have it in person. And we had over three hundred people. And it was very good, and people are energized. They’ve seen the work that we’ve been doing, and the work, I mean, and yes, there’s always, you know, we need more streets, we need more roads, you know. We need expansion, water, schools, all of that is there. But they have seen the tremendous work that we have done as a government. So they’re very excited and pumped up. They left everyone calling elections, no. But we have a lot of work to do. I’m very excited about the team that, that we have in place. And I believe that we’re going to do very well. And that whenever we call elections, people are seeing the work, they’re feeling the work. But all of us always want more, always want better. And that’s the way it should be.”

Yet Another Fatal Motorcycle Accident

There is yet another motorcycle accident fatality to report on. On Sunday night, Christian Baizar was riding his motorbike on the Philip Goldson Highway when he was allegedly rear-ended by Ford Explorer. At the time, Gustavo Cardinez was the driver of the Explorer. Unfortunately, Baizar succumbed to the injuries he sustained. ACP Hilberto Romero told us more.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division
“On Sunday the sixth day of 2024 around eight p.m., police responded to a fatal road traffic accident on the Phillip Goldson Highway. Upon their arrival they saw a motorcycle with damages and a Ford Explorer with damages as well. The driver was identified as Gustavo Cardinez and the person driving the motroycle was identified as Christian Baizar. Christian Baizar was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. An investigation was carried out and Gustavo Cardinez is custody pending charges reference this fatal road traffic accident. The information is that the pickup hit the motorcycle from behind causing this fatal injury to Baizar.”