By Jamil Matar
It is not my inclination to champion causes or to embark on crusades in these articles; I prefer to offer an opinion and move on. The principal objective of my contributions is to interest readers with some of my experiences: some humorous, some satirical. What is happening these days here in OW, however, is neither amusing nor satirical; it is downright alarming. I mean to go from being one of the last districts to see a manifestation of Covid-19, to being the head of the class is a serious matter indeed.
What peeves many people is the infantile reaction of some partisan operators on social media, who, in their eagerness to disparage this Government, unthinkingly attempt to justify border jumping. They employ the rationale that people have to survive one way or another so they will do anything to put food on the table, since assistance from GOB is not in the offering. They need to be reminded that when the municipality of San Pedro was placed under quarantine, there was little sympathy on FB for our fellow citizens who were taking a licking: trapped and with no means of earning a living. In spite of the admonitions from the health professionals, here in OW we continued our chronic practice of encouraging jumpers with purchases of the big white and purple onions, the leafy lettuce, the one-foot carrots, and the big juicy lemons. Now the entire darn market is locked down, and there is a possibility that our entire district may be shut off, all because some of us were unable to resist the temptation of quick money. So who will now buy your choice veggies now, Mr. Fayuquero?
I have openly expressed in the past that the authorities lifted the night curfew too soon, and opened bars as if we were all thirsty, like the famous Sutherland, for spirits. I know that to close down OW during the sugar crop would significantly inconvenience cane farmers, but the crop is over now, so the least we need is to reinstate the 8pm- 5am curfew. This way no one should be about at night, since it is my understanding that this is when contraband peaks.
As I mentioned above, I am not on any crusade. Personally, I avoid going out of my house unless necessary. It would seem that to some of my fellow Orangewalkeños, neither jail time nor does the fine for not wearing masks scare them. Let us see if curfew violation gives them pause for reflection.
Shifting gears to satire now. I was listening to the Senate debate earlier this week and must confess that I am in harmony with what the biggest man in the meeting said; crime and poverty did not suddenly erupt in 2008 when the UDP won the elections. These societal scourges have been a fixture in the Belizean landscape for decades now. Maybe they have escalated some, but to keep intoning that during 1998-2008 PUP spending binge, everything in Belize smelled like roses is a colossal falsehood. The PUP’s 2020 platform to pillage our country once more features the same recycled deceptions of free education, free health care, and free land for all. Do these fantastic promises bring back the memories of the “Contract with the People” manifestos of both 1998 and 2003? Think about it: what did those illusory pledges in their two contracts get us? The sale of BTL, BEL, WASA, IMMARBE, the Port, the Airport, and most of our national lands to cronies for pittances.
I do not wish ill for my country, not even in jest, but if that “octopus” gets his tentacles around two telecommunication companies, two shipping ports and two banks, many of us will look back at these Covid-19 days with nostalgia. After that, when Orangewalkeños jump the border, it will be to join the caravan to head for the border farther up north, not to cross back into the hell-hole our country will end up as!
