It is refreshing that finally our patriotic celebrations appear to have risen above the tangle of partisan politics. True, there were veiled barbs within some of the speeches but on the whole everyone was able to mention the name of a patriot thought to represent the opposing political party, though it may have stuck in throat of some of the older politicians. This is the way any long standing dispute, including wars, rebellions and other traumatic events must finally be dealt with so that new generations are not burdened with the malice of the old. The popular appeal, especially for the young, of the Carnival and J’ouvert, is probably linked to their non-partisan nature. Going forward it will be useful to remember that events evolve and the particular format of any celebration can and must change to meet new realities. Indeed, Carnival is a relatively new phenomenon, having been introduced along with trucks carrying generators to blast music by Henry Young in the 1970s. Both these innovations were naturally met with opposition from the Old Guard at the time.
Another uplifting feature of several of the speeches was the mention of the work of a number of Belizeans to make life better for other Belizeans. A danger of actually naming persons is that inevitably many equally deserving individuals will be omitted. However, the idea that patriotism comes in many flavours, including service in one’s salaried work and volunteer efforts, is a valuable addition to the discussion.
The time is now ripe for a serious historical treatment of the achievements of Simon Lamb, whose efforts led to the annual celebration of the Tenth of September and whose work can be viewed as a precursor to the later independence movement. Certainly Lamb’s purpose in spearheading the People’s Committee was not to honour the Colonial authorities but rather in his own words, “to further the political interest of the people of British Honduras.” Simon Lamb was born in 1833, a scant five years before the abolition of slavery in Belize, the son of former slaves who had gained their freedom only shortly before his birth. Being of humble origin he obviously did not enjoy the opportunity to obtain much formal education nor did he have any significant financial resources, which makes his achievements even more remarkable. Simon Lamb was small in stature and apparently quiet and unassuming but his dedication to making a mark for his people prevailed.
The choice of the Tenth of September as the identifying rallying banner of the People’s Committee must be viewed within this context. The natural inference is that Simon Lamb and his associates were making a statement that having taken part of the Battle of St. George’s Caye the former slaves and descendents of slaves had a valid claim to equal rights in the new country that emerged. That Simon Lamb chose a relatively non-confrontational approach in making this claim does not demonstrate undue deference but rather an understanding of the political realities of the time. He actually achieved his aim of having his yearly celebrations being formally recognised in time for the Centenary, or one hundred year anniversary of the event. It would be instructive if a historian could research the documents associated with the People’s Committee to find out more about the motives and mission of Simon Lamb and his associates.
Unfortunately, over the years, the original political purpose for celebrating the Tenth became muted and ironically it was even viewed by some as a celebration of colonial rule. Fortunately, the significance of the Tenth is once more recognised for what it was – the stirrings of a people laying a claim to their country.
I hope that the committee that was commissioned to produce a modern history of Belize will include information from original sources so that Belizeans can trace for themselves the threads that have produced the modern fabric of Belize rather than read only the opinions of an individual author on any particular issue. The sooner such a text book becomes available the better grounded and more mature will our Belizean patriotism be.
