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Hi Chiclero! written by: Howard A. Frankson

/ Twocanview LLC / 4 Comments

Reprinted with the permission of Howard A. Frankson 
Editor’s note: 
Howard Frankson provides a well  written historical journey of the Chicle industry in colonial British Honduras (Belize); he introduces us to the people, the cultures, the lifestyles and how artificial gum extinguished the trade and the ethnology.  He interconnects global warming, droughts and today’s refugee crisis at the US border and maybe  a deeper prognostication for Belize. 
Howard Frankson

Howard A. Frankson

My grandfather was not a fully-fledged Chiclero, but as a well-rounded farmer, hunter and bush ranger, he was immersed in their world and often represented them in their transactions with city folk and corporations. He would go with them to their camps in the forest, carrying ‘provision’ to maintain them through the season. In all this he was a quiet man, calm and unassuming, known to the world as “Boss Jim”. His wife, my grandmother, was the real power behind the scene, strong and assertive, she was the well-known matriarch “Miss Night”, and bore with combative composure, the weight of her large family on her small frame. At his farm in St. Paul’s Bank on the Belize Old River, or at his home on Cleghorn Street in downtown Belize City, where I lived as a child, while my father was completing his house in the suburbs, blocks of chicle stacked to the joists and attracted neighborhood kids by the dozen. The all-powerful company behind the industry is Wrigley, and their tasty products were called “Chiclets”. Chicle is the sap of the Sapodilla tree that was exported for the manufacture of chewing gum before the advent of artificial gum. Which supplanted tree sap gum and denied Belize a lucrative source of income. Processed in the forest, the sap was dehydrated by boiling, and formed into blocks of about forty pounds in weight. Appearing very much like the blocks of rock-salt that ranchers put out for their cattle, though more oblong or rectangular. Almost tasteless, we kids enjoyed slicing off chunks of chicle and chewing it for hours. My grandmother used to add sweetened condensed milk to the treat to make it more palatable. The sapodilla trees are long-lived giants of the forest, and to this day can be recognized by the patterns of crisscross scars carved into their trunks from repeated bleeding. The tree is a prime hardwood, which takes many years to mature, and so cultivating it was not an option. So the chicleros went into the forest, hunting out their locations and marking them for repeated visitation. Though the wood was of high value, their sap was worth much more, and the trees were never removed from the forest. The chiclero was a special breed of man who lived his life in the forest. Visiting towns and villages only as needed to refresh his stores, his ‘provision’, and collect his hard-earned pittance. As can be imagined, on such occasions groups chicleros gathered round tubs of rum to celebrate renewed acquaintance and exchange feats of daring, and exploits in the forest.

wrigleys

These men were not often large in stature, but wiry and strong, displaying scars of past misadventure in the forested interior of colonial British Honduras. They never dreamed, nor imagined the political intrigue that would one day transform their homeland into Belize from colonial British Honduras. And in the process, outgrow their wild and free nature. In the forest they would encounter jaguar, cayman, and snakes so large that they resembled the trunks of fallen trees in the undergrowth. They hunted tapir, known as mountain cow, deer, peccary, and wild birds beyond number. Beautiful creatures that today face extinction caused by excessive human intervention and increasing dislocation as their forest homes are cleared to make way for civilization. These men lived off the land and required little from the communities they avoided. A little sugar and salt, boots for their feet, working men’s clothes, a machete and scabbard. Shells for their shotguns, and rope to tie their bundles. They required a huge metal pot for concentrating their chicle, and wooden frames in which to mold it. All else they acquired from nature, and never took more than they needed. Strong men of honor, they lived by their wits and self-rule, and respected the law of the jungle, And woe be unto any man who would enter their forest and claim prizes for the sake of a trophy. The spoils of the forest were intended for man’s consumption, but only in as much as he needed.

The chiclero’s range was unlimited, he roamed wherever the sapodilla tree led him. Sleeping wherever night found him. Content in his role, a cog in a wheel he could never have recognized if it hit him. His produce traveled thousands of miles to satisfy the whims of a pampered metropolitan agglomeration. Which would eventually formulate its own rendition of the gum they chewed in distant contemplation of the little man who strove in fetid conditions, to make a life for his wife and his children. The chiclero was never anointed or remembered, but in his way, along with many other tradesmen around the world, built the foundation of an empire that spanned the globe. The British Empire was grounded in the sweat of small men who aspired only to fill the needs of each new day. To see their children grow and prosper, was all the incentive they needed to venture into the unforgiving jungle over and over, until the forest became so familiar, it represented home, and all they cared for. The chicleros were primarily descendants of the ancient Mayan Empire that occupied southern Mexico and northern Central America up to the year nine hundred AD when a great drought it is believed, subdued them. A people who mapped the stars and studied the solar system. Who created the long-count and three-hundred-and-sixty day calendars that foretold the passing of time with such impressive accuracy that they did not require a leap year to maintain their precision. The chiclero’s ancestry also included the descendants of African slaves who cohabited with the Maya in the seamless symmetry of life in the interior. In northern areas of the sub-continent, the assimilation has been so complete that not a visible trace remains of the Africans who once labored, side by side with the Maya, in service to European overlords.

chiclero

In the years before the introduction of artificial gum, chicle was a primary commodity, and one of Belize’s chief exports. Belize, British Honduras, was an insignificant colonial outpost of the British Empire. The only English-speaking enclave in Central America, for years administered by Jamaica. Which was the most advanced of all the empire’s territories in the New World. Jamaica, and the city of Port Royal in particular, foreshadowed the development of North America, and was the launch site for expeditions to the various outposts of empire. While Belize, with a population under a hundred thousand, and in square miles more than twice the size of Jamaica, was an empty land whose great attraction was the incomparable figured mahogany extracted from her forests. Along with the mahogany came other hardwoods like pine, redwood, and zericote. It is believed that the indigenous Indians, while indentured to the service of the invaders, used to chew the sap of the sapodilla, and their oppressors appropriated the habit for their own distraction. Thereby introducing chewing gum to a receptive market, eager for dalliance in puny occupation. The Wrigley Corporation was once a big player in the administration of Belize. Along with the Belize Estate & Produce Company, BEC, they dominated the colony. BEC played a dominant role in every aspect of the colony’s daily ritual. The company exported the colony’s output and imported its consumer necessities. It held vast swaths of its territory through appropriation or lease and determined the course of its economic diversity. British colonial rule gave Belize security, and British Common Law ensured stability. In comparison, its Spanish colonial, republican neighbors live constantly in the throes of destabilizing revolution, and prided themselves in punitive machismo. Strutting bantams in a disheveled farmyard, dominated by an insecure plutocracy, from which its indigenous peasantry fled at the first opportunity.

In the years before artificial gum, when chicle had great value, the chicleros lived in or near the forest, and their lives were simple, rustic and ordered. Their children earned little education and so usually followed in the career steps of their elders. Their wives were the daughters of other chicleros, and their ambition, and that of their children, seldom excluded life the forest. When they were not bleeding sap from the sapodilla trees, they cultivated small plots or ‘milpa’. The ‘milpa’ were of corn, the staple crop of the Maya in the region, and they kept a few chickens and ducks. They had several dogs which accompanied them when hunting or visiting the sapodilla trees for bleeding chicle. A proficient chiclero usually had about a dozen trees in his region and complemented his production by venturing farther afield on occasion. These occasional ventures lasted several weeks, even months, and required much forethought and preparation. The heavy boiling pots were strategically positioned in convenient locations throughout the forest. Though a chiclero may have kept a small milpa, he was not a milpero by definition. A milpero’s corn fields were more extensive, he was domesticated in comparison to the chiclero, and slept with at least a thatched roof over his head, though adventures into the jungle were not uncommon. The milpero’s kids had educational opportunities, and many migrated to the cities. With the introduction of artificial gum, the chiclero’s lifestyle was extinguished, and with increasing commercialization of farming, the milpero’s too would soon follow.

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Across the border in Guatemala, the milpas of yesteryear are today being consumed by a severe drought brought about by global warming. And as a consequence of excessive deforestation, which reduces the evaporation necessary for cloud formation. A predictable cycle of declination in the most impoverished communities lacking the technology to adjust to the changing climatic dynamics that foretell devastation. As the milpas burn, the milperos and their families flee, largely north through Mexico to America. Where tradition holds that the wealthiest nation on earth will afford them succor. But that was before a new administration that considering them less than equal confined them to cages on the border. Even though they may have had relatives in the country willing to support them. These relatives were not informed of their plight, or of their arrival. Nor of where they were being kept like animals. Families were divided, with the children kept separately. Children as young as six months old, deprived of their mothers, and kept in cages in filthy conditions with poor sanitation. Deprived of a proper diet or health care facilities. A fat-cat republican congressman observed in all his opulent obesity, that they were lucky to be where they were, as where they had come from was even worse. Yet, a girl-child refugee apprehended at the border when asked why she fled said simply, “food doesn’t grow there anymore”. She had had no choice but to flee the burning milpas, only to be caught in a cage along with thousands of others. Desperate human beings denied their dignity and forced to grovel for scraps at the tables of the rich. All in a place that once beckoned them with false hope and promise: “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free……” To whom did those words refer? And now, a picture of a father and his daughter drowned in the Rio Grande has gone viral for all to see the desperation that drives these people to flee the climatic conditions in Central America that those in Washington fail to accept as pertinent reality.

border crossingdrought

In my early years in British Honduras, in the years of the chiclero and the milpero, Belize was a smaller place, warmer and more intimate. Everyone knew his neighbor, and every neighborhood was a community. Where children frolicked freely, and the adults gathered frequently to exchange pleasantries, favors and gossip. The complicity of independence was a distant ambition visited most frequently by politicians. in the interim, they argued for internal self-governance and the right to determine our own future. And even after independence, the simplicity of existence was interrupted only by the certainty of hurricanes, which hit the country frequently, and Belize City every thirty years without fail. After the ‘sixty-one hurricane, Hattie, the administrative capital was moved inland to Belmopan. While the commercial capital remained in Belize City with the seaport and harbor. While still in Belize City, my father was the most senior civil servant in government, and after he retired, and became Director of US Peace Corps, we acquired a large parcel of land in the country with the intention of propagating citrus. To assist in its early development, we hired neighboring residents and complimented their income by encouraging them to cultivate their milpas on our land not designated for citrus. These milperos proved industrious, strong men of great integrity, and it was easy to imagine their predecessors hunting for sapodilla trees in the forest and bleeding them of their gum. Gathering round a fire, just as we did on the farm, and spinning wild tales of misadventure.

making chicle

One tale in particular, is of a wily chiclero who had done exceedingly well and bought himself a bicycle which he took into the forest. He propped it up on what he took to be a fallen tree on the forest floor and went in search of sapodilla trees to bleed for their chicle. But the log on which he propped his bike turned out to be a snake, locally known as ‘wowla’. A boa constrictor of great length and girth, the largest snake in Central America, and one of the heaviest in the world. Constrictors are slow and not venomous, but their mere size makes them intimidating. Chicleros are used to encountering such creatures in the wild, but what good would a tale be if it did not provide drama and suspense? And death by slow constriction must be raw, painful and horrifying;  so the chiclero in the tale ran screaming from the forest, and lost his hard earned bicycle in a place where it served no purpose. The moral of the tale being that one should never take such modern devices into the primitive jungle. Such tales, repeated often, gain an air of truth in the retelling. But no one could realistically imagine a chiclero being scared in the forest. He was born into its dark places and knew every one of its creatures and their habits. Hi chiclero, your time has passed, but your glory days will remain in folklore, fact and fiction. Small men of great stature, who knew no fear and paid no tribute to lord or master. Bra Ananci, were he not a spider, could well have been a chiclero, riding Bra Tiger’s back into the jungle, where his feats, though implausible, are recounted as for historic remembrance.

braananci.jpg

Howard A. Frankson — Belize

Hey America! by: Howard Frankson

/ Twocanview LLC

 

Howard Frankson

Re-shared with the permission of Howard Frankson. 

An urgent message regarding global warming and rising temperatures. 

 My grandfather was a gentle-man, whom everyone called “Boss Jim”, a successful farmer, rancher, and chiclero, who never spent his time procrastinating about the supernatural, or wondering about things beyond his control. Yet one night while he lay dreaming, something or someone came a-calling, and prompted him to start muttering in his sleep, saying “ghost? ghost?” and then shouting: “Oh hell, ghost!” Startled from his sleep he awoke my grandmother, who was a practical woman, brooked no-nonsense, and was called “Miss Night” for her jet-black tresses that flowed down her shoulders, reminding everyone of the phrase “Black-as-midnight”. She was no gentle-woman though and brooked no nonsense from her husband or any of her five surviving children. It was not uncommon for women in rural Belize, then known as British Honduras, to have many children, and lose one or two in or around childbirth. And a primary ambition of youth growing into adulthood in colonial British Honduras was the urge to migrate to the United States of America, then simply called “America”. America and Great Britain were, and still are, inseparable friends, and neither us or them, could have imagined a Donald Trump ever assuming the presidency of that northern country, with his policy of “America first”, which in effect translates as “America alone”; misrepresenting the words of the Statue-of-Liberty which say: “give me your tired, your poor, your hungry, yearning to be free.” Donald Trump cares not a whit for the fortunes of others. And even though no American bank will advance him credit, in his son’s own words: “they receive all they need from Eastern European sources”; namely Russia. Through Deutsche Bank. The assets of Russian oligarchs support his questionable endeavors and give them access to American markets, in which to launder their dirty money. “It is no wonder”, the press says, “that he never questions, or objects to, (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s adventures on the global stage”.

Speaking recently, someone said pointedly that “Trump seems to suck all the oxygen from any room he enters into”, in which statement I agree wholeheartedly, and wish we could shift our deliberations to other subjects, which are crying out for attention. Such as “Global Warming”, which is not a new topic, but it generally does not receive the attention it deserves. In February, twenty-twelve, Valeria Espinoza posted a blog on Belize hosting a workshop for scientists from the region who were studying the effects of climate change on small island states. Though Belize is not considered a “Small Island State”, we do have many small islands that are affected equally with our mainland by global warming. The purpose of that workshop was for scientists to share their findings on the effects of the global phenomenon, and how it was impacting small economies like Belize’s. While Belize, in nineteen ninety-two, became a signatory to the United Nations convention on climate change, and as a party to that convention, the country reports on steps taken to implement necessary controls of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the country has stated that it does not want to follow in the unsustainable footsteps of the developed countries in their use of fossil fuels, and in the way they utilize their land resources. So, we are saying, “Hey America, yes, we want to aspire to your ultimate goals, but we’ll do it with a much greater understanding of what is required”. And, “it is generally accepted that the major industrialized nations like yourself, are the culprits of the phenomenon — this global phenomenon called climate change.” In fact, Belize is contributing less than one-thousandth of a percentage point to global emissions of greenhouse gases, and is in fact, absorbing more than we emit. “So we are one of the good guys in the convention; but unfortunately, we are one of those countries that are suffering the most from climate change. Being a low-lying state, we face problems of erosion and sea-level rise. Climate change is warming our seas, and affecting our coral reefs. It has caused pine bark infestation that is decimated our pine ridge forests. And it is producing outbreaks of dengue in the country, so in fact, we are facing the worst part of climate change, though we are not doing anything to contribute to it. So, we might say, the international community has a moral obligation to assist Belize in overcoming climate change.” The United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change was entered into force on March twenty-first, nineteen ninety-four.

Here is a simple definition of global warming: And yes Mr, Trump, it is really happening. Over the past fifty years, the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts say the trend is accelerating: All but one of the hottest years in NASA’s a hundred and thirty-four-year record have occurred since the year two thousand. Climate change deniers, like Donald Trump and his scientific cronies, have argued that there was been a pause or a slowdown. in rising global temperatures, but several studies, including a twenty-fifteen paper published in the journal “Science”, have disproved this claim, and scientists say that unless we curb global warming emissions, average US temperatures could rise by up to ten degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels to produce electricity is the largest single source of heat-trapping air-pollutants, producing about two billion tons of CO2 every year. Coal-burning power plants are by far the biggest polluters and the second-largest source of carbon pollution is the transportation sector, generating between one and two-thirds billion tons of CO2 emissions each year. Curbing dangerous climate change requires deep cuts in emissions, as well as applying alternatives to fossil fuel in industries worldwide. Hey, America, the good news is that thanks in part to new energy-efficient technology, and the use of cleaner fuels, we have started a turnaround in CO2 emissions in the United States, actually decreasing from twenty-0-five to twenty-fourteen. And scientists continue to develop new ways to modernize power plants, generate cleaner electricity, and burn less gasoline while we are driving. The challenge, to be sure, is to put these innovations to good use and have them adopted universally.

Scientists agree that the Earth’s rising temperatures are fueling longer, more intensive, heat waves, droughts; heavier, unscheduled rainfall; and more destructive hurricanes. In twenty-fifteen for example, scientists said that an ongoing drought in California — the worst water shortage in that state in twelve hundred years — had been intensified by over twenty percent by global warming. They say that the odds of similar droughts occurring in the future had doubled over the past century. And in twenty-sixteen, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, announced that it is now possible to state confidently that certain weather events, like soaring heat waves, can be attributed directly to climate change. Ocean temperatures on the Earth are also getting warmer. This means that tropical storms, like those that frequent Belize, can accumulate more energy. So global warming could turn a category three storm into a more dangerous category four. In fact, scientists have found that the frequency of North Atlantic hurricanes has been increasing since the early eighties. As is the number of storms that reach categories four and five. In twenty-O-five, hurricane Katrina, the costliest hurricane in American history, hit New Orleans, and the second most expensive, Hurricane Sandy, hit the East Coast in twenty-twelve. The impact of global warming is being felt across the globe. Extreme heatwaves have caused tens of thousands of deaths around the world in recent years, and at our current pace, some experts say, will cause sea-levels to rise several meters over the coming fifty to a hundred years. Each year, scientists learn more about the consequences of global warming, and many agree that environmental, economic, and health concerns are likely to increase if current trends continue.

Melting glaciers, early snow melt, and severe drought will cause more dramatic water shortages and increase the risk of wildfires in Western America. Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in Florida, Belize, and in other low-lying areas such as the Gulf-Of-Mexico, and some Caribbean Islands, including Bermuda and The Bahamas. Forests, farms, and agricultural projects will face troubling new challenges, heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding: All catastrophic factors that will damage, destroy, or displace agricultural projects, fisheries, and industry. Destruction of habitats, such as coral reefs and Alpine meadows, could drive many plant and animal species to extinction. Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks could become more frequent due to increased growth of pollen-producing plants, higher levels of air pollution, and the spread of contagions, and conditions favorable to pathogens and disease-carrying mosquitoes. In recent years, China has taken the lead in global warming pollution, by producing about twenty-eight percent of CO2 emissions. And Donald Trump’s United States comes in second. Despite only having just four percent of the Earth’s population, it produces an astonishing sixteen percent of all global emissions, as much as the European Union and India combined. The United States has taken tentative steps to reduce global warming. But in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, it needs to do a lot more — together with other countries — to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, and to start using cleaner energy alternatives.

In twenty-fifteen, the US Environmental Protection Agency pledged to reduce by nearly a third, CO2 emissions from power plants, by twenty-thirty through its ‘Clean Power Plan’ initiative. But under the Trump administration, the EPA proposed repealing this plan to curb climate change. And similarly, while under the Obama administration, the US Department Of Transportation, DOT, proposed CO2 pollution and fuel economy standards intended to cut emissions into the twenty-twenties, but under the Trump administration, the DOT is working to roll back those clean vehicle safeguards that protect the climate and our health. Fortunately, state and industry leaders recognize that clean transportation must remain a priority if we are to address climate change and protect public health. Regional efforts are helping to boost the electric car market, which saw a substantial increase in sales between twenty-sixteen and seventeen, and Wind Power employment grew by thirty-two percent, while solar-power jobs increased by twenty-five percent. Globally, at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris, a hundred and ninety-five countries, including the United States, at the time, agreed on pollution emission reduction provisions, with a goal of preventing the average global temperature from rising more than one-and-a-half degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial age average. As scientists believe we must remain below a two-degree increase to avoid catastrophic climate change impacts.

And while in twenty-seventeen, President Trump announced that his country was withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement to eliminate “harmful and unnecessary policies, such as the Climate Action Plan”, the American people are forging ahead without him. Through initiatives like the US Climate Alliance and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, America is still participating. And Climate Mayors, state, business, and local political leaders have pledged to honor and uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement. More than twenty-five cities in seventeen states, with populations totaling more than five million, have adopted resolutions that will enable them to produce a hundred percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power. Additionally, a new initiative from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has registered in Alabama to run for the presidency in upcoming elections, gives the urban sector of this movement a boost. He is asking mayors from the most populous cities in the country to share their plans for making their buildings and transportation systems run more cleanly and efficiently. The twenty cities that show the greatest potential for curbing dangerous CO2 pollution that’s driving climate change will share in a technical assistance fund provided by his philanthropies and partners. Individual efforts at curbing climate change can be achieved by making conserving energy a part of the daily routine. When shopping for refrigerators, washers, and dryers in America, or throughout the English-speaking Caribbean, choosing products with the US government’s “Energy Star” label that meet a higher standard for energy efficiency than the minimum federal requirements, can make an appreciable difference if a sufficient number of residents undertake to look for cars with the highest gas mileage and lowest emissions.

Howard A. Frankson — Belize

 

 

Dear Teenage Girls….by: Kiah Pastor

/ Twocanview LLC / 2 Comments

 

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Kiah Pastor

Dear Teenage Girls of Belize,

There are a couple tragedies currently in the media that has hit close to home therefore I’d like to speak on one. There was a situation that occurred where a 13 year old female sent nude photos to a man and he then threatened to expose them if she did not have sex with him. Well she ended up having sex with him twice.

We live in a Society where men glorify women and their bodies but there is a very fine line between being human and appreciating a woman’s natural physique and then just being out right disrespectful. In Belize, most cases it’s being disrespectful. But as a child having your body go through changes, you’re left some what confused. Why should I as a teenager not show off my newly developed breasts if they’re so many older and more developed women on social media also showing off their bodies and getting glorified by not only men but other females as well. Do you see my point? Nudity has become a part of pop culture. Nudity has become art. Nudity has been accepted in every case EXCEPT when it has been shared against your will. The amount of guys I’ve seen preaching about “having self respect” and telling girls to stop sending nudes to young boys are the same guys I recall have asked me to send them a nude when I was between the ages of 12-16.

Almost every male will vow they’ll never associate themselves with younger girls but they’re so many of them who love it! It’s the idea of being with a female who doesn’t have a set of boundaries mostly because they don’t know what the boundaries should be. The idea of not being with a female you need to break all sorts of walls to get through to because she hasn’t been scarred by other men in order to build those walls up in the first place. And lastly it’s the idea of having a body that hasn’t been touched. The inferior feeling of taking it all away. Men love dominance.

Now let me redirect my energy. It’s not solely the men of our society’s fault but also the women. We should work hard as women to be advocates of true self confidence and self love. We should be more willing to reach out to the younger girls around us and be a big sister figure to them and be there to advise them so they don’t need to figure it all out on their own. This is very hard because there’s a lot of adult women themselves who don’t have self respect nor show true value of themselves as women but that’s okay! You don’t need to be in that space forever! You don’t need to be vulnerable to these men. You don’t need to use sex to feel powerful and you don’t need to showcase your body to get attention. You do what you’re confident with not what you feel is pleasing to others. Where do you think promiscuous women are stemmed from? Sexual acts that occur in early stages of life. Let’s make an effort to be the best examples to younger girls and to show them how they should react when put in compromising positions! You’re not alone!

From a young woman building herself back up,
Kiah Lisani Pastor 💓

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A storm is brewing …. by: Aria Lightfoot

/ Twocanview LLC / 1 Comment

Storm-Brewing-

Belize is facing an approaching tropical storm, possibly a small hurricane, and one cannot ignore the cosmic correlation of recent events involving Mason. Mason was introduced to the Belizean public as an expert or specialist offering services to aid the National Emergency Management Organization. Two weeks after the murder of Llewelyn Lucas, there have been a plethora of fallouts, accusations, restructuring, investigations with even more pending. In some poetic sense, Belize system is definitely under National Emergency Management Re-Organization of government – courtesy of William Mason.

Mason’s identity is still unknown. He has a Belize birth certificate with the name William Mason and Guyanese passport with the name Ramesh Oulette. My Guyanese friend informs me that Oulette is not a traditional Guyanese last name. A little bit of research on the name Oulette indicates that the name is French Canadian in origin. It is possible his mother could have been French Canadian but Mason’s true identity is essential in getting to the bottom of this mystery.

william mason

Danny Mason’s true identity is extremely important because he may be linked to other crimes in Belize and worldwide. The aliases circulating are Danny Mason, Thomas Tharakan, Jagdeep Chahal (picture does not look like him), Raj Oulette, Ted Oulette, Danny Ferguson, Danny Oulette, Ramesh Oulette and Ramesh Singh. As I browsed RipOff Report online comments, I found it interesting that several people in Belize, as early as 2014, were reporting his presence in Belize. There are reports of Mason in South Africa, Thailand and South America scamming people, using similar tactics he did in Belize, befriending unsuspecting victims and stealing their money. A friend confided that Mason, known to her as Danny Oulette, attempted to extort her aunt. Her aunt had to get the police involved and remove “Danny” from her land. She claims this was a few years ago and they thought he had left Belize and headed back to Canada.

This case has exposed a dangerous weakness in Belize’s identification system (maybe Guyana and Canada too) and a flagrant loophole indicating a lack of necessary checks and balances. Mason operated unfettered because he flashed money, made sizeable donations, was able to obtain fraudulent identity documents, gun licenses, property, status and access. All this with the admitted knowledge of the then Minister of Police and key police officers. The aftershock of this has yet to quantified. Mason’s operations have called every Belizean identity into question. He exposed Belize as a place that facilitates international criminals for the right price and with the knowledge of relevant authorities. The case highlights the ease to wash illicit funds through donations and investments; a revelation that could have dire consequences for Belize. Belize could face international repercussions such as de-risking and heightened security for all Belizean citizens worldwide. Whether or not the P.M. realizes this, there will be keen international monitoring of this case especially since Mason littered the world with victims. Mason could be wanted for serious crimes worldwide, even other murders. How Belize proceeds handling this will be vital.

The Prime Minister has done the necessary initial steps to cure some of the problems but there are so much more to be done. The PM must create the necessary legal checks and balances to ensure this level of abuse never again occurs. Mason may be the most sensational case, but criminals have entered and abused Belize’s lax system too many times. The PM has elevated credible people in the right places, but I urge him to also formulate a bipartisan team to assist those new leaders to correct the deficiencies in the system.

The P.M. must recognize that he represents the last vestiges of politicians whose personal service and reputation is the key to their political life. The new breed of politicians enters public life for personal and financial enrichment. They lack service and empathy for their country and people, they lack purpose and they lack a moral compass. The laws in Belize that originated from the days when handshakes sealed deals, does not align with this new era of politicians and criminals.

Currently, the Belizean people turn to Hon. Dean Barrow to solve problems, to hold his cabinet accountable and to fight on behalf of the nation of Belize. That is a difficult task to ask any one person to do. The current system does not create perpetuity and it is not conducive to promote proper development and not responsive to identify, analyze and eradicate corruption. I have heard many people echo that their support of UDP begins and ends with the current Prime Minister. What will happen to Belize when he retires? Belize system seemed to be designed for strong and principled leadership. A leadership game of Russian Roulette.Write-off

The electorate has grown in sophistication and knowledge due to the unprecedented access to information. People are understanding that leadership defines their identity, success, and generation’s future and they are growing weary of abuse. To forge a prosperous future for our children and children’s children, the laws and constitution must reflect a system of limits and accountability.

And Belize this is not over yet. It has been reported that a prominent CEO of the Government of Belize and former Director of immigration was denied access to the United States and her visa cancelled. Countries battling terrorism are likely very concerned about their own vulnerability when criminals can mask their identities in countries like Belize, Canada and Guyana. A red flag has been raised warning of a storm brewing.

Where does the truth lie? by Aria Lightfoot

/ Twocanview LLC / 6 Comments

John McAfee

 

John McAfee gave an interview to the wire. Please see link here: McAfee Claims Innocence.  http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/11/threatlevel_1112_mcafee

So who is telling the truth Belizeans?

The alleged drug crazed McAfee with a thirst for attention and who previously vowed to bring the name of Belize down or the  powerful   alleged “rights violating” GSU ?  It is an interesting development in our small country  of Belize.  Power games being played.

Now here is what I don’t get. Why does McAfee still want to remain in Belize? He  claims he is deathly afraid of being killed and he stated that even the Prime Minister is out to get him…but yet he remains in Belize because Belize is “the nicest place on earth”?  He claims the murder of his neighbor was a case of mistaken identity.  However, how many mistaken identities happen in the home of the deceased?  I could understand a street assassination of mistaken identity but Faull was killed in his home with a single gun shot to his head.   Anyone see the inconsistencies here? And when does a suspect get to decide whether he will speak to the police?  He has been shamelessly wielding his special privileges and highlighting our corrupt system in our faces.

The media, namely Love FM seems reluctant to report the news of this event. Patrick Jones Facebook page which is normally a daily page of carnage and bloodshed was mum.  What is up with their silence? Is Love FM intimidated? and if they are…maybe they should stop reporting news.

The international media is all over it. NBC, Wall Street Journal and several internet blogs has picked up the news.  They seem to know more information than Belizeans. Vidal had no problem fingering McAfee as the suspect…late rumblings have changed it to a “person of interest”.   Would McAfee be crazy enough to create this stir himself? Is he being set up?  Games Games and more Games.  We cannot live in  country with two sets of laws. One where we enforce  strict compliance upon the poor and then look the other way for the rich. We will send our country in anarchy and Guatemala is happily waiting to take it over if we do.

 

Salima Barrow takes on Cancer…

/ Twocanview LLC

Salima Barrow

Young Salima Barrow was apprehensive as she witnessed her mother , Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow, go thru the fight of her life. She wanted to do something to honor her mother and wanted to raise funds while raising Cancer Awareness. I spoke to 7 year old Salima tonight and she is excited to be able to contribute in some way. She said she wanted to do something “a long long long time ago, from she was 3 but her mommy would not let her”. She made me smile.  I am sure in her mind,  her mother must have been battling Cancer for as long as she can remember. Children have simple yet powerful ways of articulating their feelings.    Salima is only 7 and time is relative for her. A year of missed events with her mom must have felt like forever.  Salima knows the importance of raising funds to help with the life saving treatments for kids with Cancer.  Salima is a young lady with a plan to raise “lots of  money”  for cancer. She also wants to meet the kids affected by cancer.  When I was a child myself , I witnessed too many of my own family members afflicted, so I wholeheartedly embrace and endorse her drive.   Please assist Salima, along with a few of her friends,(Haley, Abigail & Gianni) and the generous sponsorship of Bowen and Bowen,  in a worthwhile fund raising event to help fund the Children’s Cancer Wing. I have pledged $100.00 and hope you can donate  or support her initiative by attending the event and purchasing a few drinks.  Remember,  Cancer is a disease that does not discriminate.  Salima’s class from Hummingbird Elementary School will also be having a similar event on November 30, 2012.

AL

October – What it means to me! Reprinted with the permission of Kim Simplis Barrow

/ Twocanview LLC / 1 Comment

 

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow

 

October is a month that will always have a special significance to me. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and everyone will be talking about it; cancer survivors will say thank you Jesus, families and friends of victims will say a prayer in memoriam, and the rest of the world will remain hopeful for a cure. All around the world it will be a sea of pink. Many will remember the infamous cancer and the fear that it evokes in the hearts and souls of women and men all over the world.  This is the month that we most remember to offer support to families enduring this battle and organizations that are trying to find a cure for this awful disease. So we purchase items, support cancer groups, donate and attend fundraisers, give talks, walk for a day, run for miles … and yes, at the same time hoping and praying that we never have an encounter with this deadliest of foes.

Breast cancer is a sneaky, insidious devil. It hides wherever it can and when you least expect, it wreaks havoc on the life of the woman or man it has claimed as “its own”, their family and their friends. It can take over your life, ruling your health like a dictator. However, it is important to remember we have come far and today we know much more about this disease than ever before, making us better prepared to do battle. We know that our only recipe for a successful outcome is to prepare for combat – lace up your boxing gloves and fight with all you’ve got.

Unfortunately, many people don’t realize the presence of cancer and often such late diagnoses cause the kind of pain that lives for an eternity.  Today we are more aware and educated: early detection, yearly mammograms and breast self exams are keys to winning this battle! We also know that some people manifest no physical signs—something I know all too well having lived a healthy lifestyle by eating well and exercising daily.

My cancer journey began on October 22nd, 2011, when I felt a lump during an official trip abroad. Upon my return home, October 28th, I went to the doctor, got a mammogram, and tissue was sent for biopsy.  On November 3rd, I heard the devastating words: “you have cancer”. This disease has consumed my life for an entire year and for the next 5 years I’ll be on medications—for cancer and my heart complications. It has zapped me of my energy, my good health, and my time… but not my LIFE!

It may seem strange, but cancer has given me my greatest gift: it has reminded me of the fragility and brevity of life; that we all need to live everyday to its fullest. The thought that I was slowly dying—and yes we are all going to die one day, but just knowing that I was actually staring death in the face, makes me appreciate and enjoy every minute of every single day. This disease has taught me how to cope with fear; strengthened my faith in God; has emboldened my spirit and restored my faith in humanity. I now know that the only day that really matters is today! Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is but a dream … there is just today!

Over the past year, people saw me bare my soul and lose my hair–those of us with my kind of hair go to the hairdresser at least once a week because we are obsessed with our hair and making it look good. It was not easy and as soon as mine started falling out, I went to my hairdresser and shaved it off. I wanted to lose it completely on MY terms! I was still in control and it was going to affect me the way I wanted it to. I must say I loved being bald. With my daughter’s thumbs up and Dean’s unending support, I never wore a wig. For once I felt free! It was wonderful and comforting to see how people reacted when my most true self was showing. The real me: open, honest and bare to the bones. I saw my soul during this journey …This dreadful disease taught me to love myself and its imperfections, to appreciate me—all of me—for me.

I also know that this is not my final chapter! I will keep on fighting until I have rid my body of cancer’s existence. This is not my final nemesis. Today, I think cancer knows exactly who it’s fighting … It knows I have faith, spirit, courage, hope, and that I fight with all I have. Cancer surely picked on the wrong one!

 

Kim Simplis Barrow

October 1st, 2012

 

Women are we failing our children? by Aria Lightfoot

/ Twocanview LLC / 7 Comments

Hi Readers,

I took a pretty long hiatus off the blog to find the time to breathe and create some balance in my life. This summer I got involved with the Obama campaign then got a full time demanding job, full time Grad School program and full time mom.  It has been hectic may be an understatement.  Thank goodness for Faye who continued writing without complaining.  Each time I attempted to write, sleep won the battle. Writing at times can be mentally exhausting, and writing about issues that move you can be emotionally draining.

I have been following the Belize news and issues during my hiatus and even trying to incite discussions to evaluate how people are thinking on some issues.  One of the good things about written discussions is no matter how heated it becomes, it gives one the opportunity to go back and read the words and thoughts of others. It allows one to even examine arguments after tempers have cooled.

On a more serious note and the purpose why I have ended my hiatus is to continue discussing the issues facing Belize and dominating the news cycle lately, namely sexual assault.  Sexual Assault has become a desensitized public issue.  Each victim story is being headlined for a day worth of news, while the victims’ entire lives are permanently ruined. The scary aspect of sexual assault is when it affects our children.

Jasmine ‘s murder is still relatively recent in my mind. To many, her death is already a fading memory.  She became a child martyr who symbolized a fed up society ready to exact justice.  The outraged public has now returned to their daily lives and anger meters reduced to a mere whimper. All the different groups who were motivated to action have become inactive.

And while Jasmine’s accused killer awaits trial, I can’t help but think – how many predators can a small country of Belize have?   Lets examine what is happening in the Jewel that lately seems synonymous with sex crimes.

An 11-year-old child is raped. The doctor certified her rape. The child is found in the presence of the accused. The accused, not a family member of the child, admits to being in the presence of the child. The child tells the court that she is raped by the accused.  A jury of mostly women allowed this predator to walk amidst their own children.   How could a predator walk away from a case with such seemingly strong definitive evidence?

Another little two year old is dead after her tiny body is violently brutalized and raped, possibly a family member. How could a mother not identify her two year old being raped? Except for Mose Hyde who expressed utter and bitter disgust for what happened to this baby, nothing much else.  No candle vigils, speeches, outrage…nothing!

In the midst of it all, a well respected Pastor Willacy, pastor, principal and counselor with daughters himself, admits to a sordid affair with a child he teaches, counsels and pastors to.   The prevailing rumor is that this was not his first affair with a student.  A well-known secret is what I was told.

During all these assaults on our children an irritating pattern is emerging in Belize as it appears to me. It seems Belize has homegrown quite a few insecure competing women who measure their worth by the men in their lives.  Why do I say this you ask?  Apart from the women quarreling endlessly over the same man messing with both of them, lets relate it to the victims I have mentioned.  Pastor Willacy made an interesting claim to the child.  He told the child her own mother was jealous of her youthfulness.  Is he on to something?  Are older women jealous of these young teenagers, forgetting they are mere children?

I am no psychologist, but I know men enjoy these nonsense competitions, where women will fight and quarrel for a man while he enjoys the company of both women.  (I want my sweetheart and my wife to be friends). Women tear each other apart and argue base on what position they play in a man’s life.  It is this same stupidity that a predator enjoys.   He targets the youthful underage girl with supple breast and young curves and a fit body and that negatively affects the self-esteem of the older, sagging breasts, child barren women. In a “man shortage, man sharing society”, instead of seeing the predator for who he is; a manipulative dangerous predator; many women begin to do what Belize men have culturally taught them to do.  Blame the other women, in this case, blame the female child!  The man walks away blameless or the forgiveness comes quickly as he makes her feel special, after each consistent indiscretion.

When I listen to women bicker about men, I use to find it comical, now I find it troubling.  When I read some of these women statements defending Willacy and blaming his 16-year-old child victim, it was quite disgusting and disturbing.  How can any woman, who was once 16-years old ever think any 16 year old can be sophisticated enough to trick a 50 year old plus man?

After children are abused, our society continues the assault by blaming them for being victims.  I have been in court with a woman who blamed her own seven year old daughter for the predatory acts her boyfriend unleashed on her own child.  She preferred to have a man in her bed that gets up middle of the night to rape her child, than to get rid of him and have him prosecuted.  She chastised her daughter for bringing the matter to court.  I have never been more disgusted.

I implore the women in Belize to start looking out for our young women.  When you see a young teenager girl going astray, instead of labeling her a whore, bitch, sketel, quoting Bible to her etc.  Before you dismiss her pain, reach out and find out what pain was inflicted upon her. It may give you some deep insight to the type of predator who may have her life in shambles.   What ever happened to the society where we use to look out for each other?

Positively Change a Child’s Life! Restore Belize!

/ Twocanview LLC / 1 Comment

Hi Readers,

I came across this and I love this idea.  This allows you to effectively make a positive change in child’s life.  Many times circumstances and not ability prevent children from achieving. My only suggestion is that Restore Belize  should have the children,  who are involved in the program, engage in community service efforts such as clean-up and beautification campaigns, hospital visits, help feed the poor  and youth group engaging in positive changes etc.

Please my friends..Please adopt a child.

 

ADOPT-A-STUDENT

Dear Friends,

RESTORE Belize, has recently launched its Adopt-a-Student Programme. The goal of the “Adopt-a-Student” Programme is to engage the wider community in providing Belizean children with the necessary financial and social support to make it successfully through secondary school. International studies indicate that education is one of the greatest mitigating factors against violence. Unfortunately, school participation in Belize has been identified as one of the greatest current social needs in Belize, with nearly 50% of our school-aged population not attending high school.

The “Adopt-a-Student” Programme allows each donor the flexibility to choose the level of giving with which he/she is comfortable. It also allows you to pool together with other friends/family/co-workers to cover all the expenses of a Belizean child. A full description and a detailed breakdown of the cost of educating a Belizean child for one academic year are attached. The Adoption Process works as follows:

The Adoption Process works as follows:

1. Mrs. Tina Cuellar-Augustus, our Human Development Programme Officer, will be the primary liaison officer throughout the adoption period.

2. RESTORE Belize will suggest to you a child that currently is in need of adoption and provide the estimated cost of adoption for the year, with invoices or payment requests provided by the school and an “Adopt-A-Student” Sponsorship Commitment Form for your signature.

3. You can then decide whether you will cover the full cost of the child’s education, including tuition, fees, books, uniform, shoes and incidental expenses. Alternatively, you may choose to cover a particular portion of the education expense (only tuition and fees, or only books) or make a fixed contribution to the overall cost. In the latter two cases, RESTORE Belize will seek complementary funding to ensure that the child’s full educational costs are met.

4. Furthermore, you can choose the time frame of your commitment, whether it is for one year only or until the child completes his/her secondary education. You may choose to adopt for an initial period of one year with the option to renew at the end of the year.

5. You would then advise RESTORE Belize of your chosen level of commitment by completing, signing and submitting the “Adopt-A-Student” Sponsorship Commitment Form.

6. You may then deposit the amount into our “I Am Belize Scholarship” Account and advise us when the payment has been made, or make a payment directly to RESTORE Belize.

7. RESTORE Belize will then make the necessary payments to the school and send you copies of the receipts received from the schools, bookstores, or other service provider, once the required amounts have been paid. Please note that it sometimes takes a couple of months to complete the payments, especially for the books, which may not all be available at the start of the school year.

8. You will receive mid and end of semester reports on the child (children) you have adopted.

9. You may also chose to become more involved socially with the child by becoming a mentor for him/her, through which you can serve as a positive role model for the student, by engaging with him/her in various social activities and providing general guidance based on the student’s needs. You will be able to indicate your interest in mentorship on the Sponsorship Commitment Form.

Thank you for your consideration this request. We hope that you will partner with us to support our Belizean children. Please contact us if you are interested in joining this programme as a student sponsor.

Warm regards,

Luwani F. Cayetano luwani@restorebelize.gov.bz<mailto:luwani@restorebelize.gov.bz>
Resource Mobilization Coordinator

See Flyer RESTOREBelizeAdoptaStudent