May 5 is an important day in Mexico’s history. It is the anniversary of the day that the Mexican forces defeated the French army in 1862- paving their way towards independence. At the time, the French army was considered to be the best in the world. The victory was unexpected to say the least.
On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, the 148th anniversary of Mexico’s great battle, the
Belize City Emergency Management Organization (CEMO) held a summit to develop strategies to combat Belize’s greatest concern, violent crimes. The hope of the more than 120 participants of the summit is that this date goes down in Belize’s history as well.
The summit hosted a wide cross section of participants. There were educators, parents, judges, religious leaders, police officers, youth representatives, humanitarians, politicians, the unemployed, members of the media and more. The day started with speeches and presentations by Michael Young, Chairman of the Crimes Control Council, Mayor Zenaida Moya-Flowers, Chair of CEMO, Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security and Crispin Jefferies, Commissioner of Police.
Those presentations were followed by discussion on ways to tackle violent crimes. That discussion was led by a panel including Pastor Howell Longsworth, former Police Sergeant Gilbert Tablada, Yolanda Schakron of Belizean for Justice, Jermaine McDougal of Youth for the Future, Michelle Irving on Gender Based Violence, Musical Ambassador Moses Levy, Senator Godwin Hulse and Deputy Mayor Phillip Willoughby. The discussion was moderated by MBE Ruben Campos SR.
The discussion was blunt and informative. Filled with excellent presentations; however, the substantive part of the summit came when the participants separated into sub-committees. The sub-committees were tasked with developing ideas to help alleviate crime and violence. There were the Educational Development Committee, Police and Legal Review Committee, Public Reform and Accountability Committee, Social Reform Committee, Economic Committee, Youth Development Committee, Prison Review Committee, Community Enhancement Committee, Religious Support Committee and the Family Development Committee.
Individuals chose the committee they wanted to join. The participants were passionate in their discussions. After almost two hours they presented their ideas to each other. Mayor Moya-Flowers emphasized that the summit was just the start. The sub-committees were to elect a chairperson and secretary. They were also responsible to set a timeline for implementation of their recommendations. They are to keep in touch as they work on their action plan. In the near future there will be a public task force meeting to report on the status of the Action Plans.
It is not yet known what, if any, effect the summit and subsequent actions will have on crime. However, the turn out at the summit on Wednesday proved that there are serious people who are serious about fighting crime. The task force is growing and soon it will be attacking from all angles.
