By: Mike Rudon Jr.
A couple months ago Mr. Barrow stood in front of his supporters at a UDP Convention and hollered about some magic which he claimed was still here, or there…or somewhere! Who knows? Well on Sunday thousands of Belizeans from every corner of this great nation assembled in Dangriga to tell the Prime Minister just what he could do with his particular magic and where he could store it for safekeeping. I don't know where the Prime Minister was, though I've been told that he and his darling wife are in Mexico again, but wherever he was and whatever he was doing…he got the message. There's no mistaking that message, buddy.
The thing is, the Convention wasn't even a PUP-organized thing, so to speak. Things didn't fall into place because of the twin marvels of money and machinery. It's no big secret that the Party doesn't have money to throw around…we're in Opposition, Jack. So Sunday wasn't a PUP thing, it was a PEOPLE thing. It was about common Belizeans just like me and you standing up and saying – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! It was about common Belizeans just like me and you telling Mr. Barrow that he was given a chance to run things but he's run things dry.
The thing is…Sunday's showing wasn't even a celebration. Hell, there's nothing in Belize right now to smile about, much less celebrate. It was just something that needed to be done, something that the people needed to say…something that both the Government and the PUP needed to hear. Far more than a celebration, I think it was instead a humbling experience for the Party Leader and the men and woman on the Party's National Executive who have committed to serve…at least I believe it was. I hope it was. See, our Party lost big time in 2008 and I will go on record here to say that I believe it needed to happen. The Party had lost its way and the people did what they had to do. Back then the message they sent was to the PUP. It was a devastating, hurtful comeuppance, but it was what it was, and we would do well never to forget that.
Truth be told, this morning I sat down determined to rub Sunday's massive showing in the face of the Prime Minister who seems oblivious to the fact that things have gone wrong, very wrong…and it is all his fault. Mr. Barrow deserves to be told that he should shove his magic where the sun don't shine, but as I write this, I realize that there is an underlying message, and one that is much more important. About the only time I've ever seen a crowd this large and this determined was way back in 1998, just before the UDP was kicked to the curb. That was a massive showing of Belizeans from all over this country telling the UDP that they had been judged and found wanting and that the day of reckoning was at hand.
I had just gotten involved in politics back then and was awestruck at the numbers, but more so by absolute focus of the people. I went home that evening still reeling from the euphoria and I'll never forget what my father told me then. He claimed that even more than being carried away on the showing of support, it was essential that the Party realize, respect and be humbled by the massive swell of confidence. Here were thousands upon thousands of Belizeans essentially putting their faith in the PUP…saying we believe in you! We believe that you will make our lives better! We believe that you will serve us faithfully! We believe that you will always do the right thing for the people and the nation! My father said that evening that such a trust MUST NEVER be betrayed …
The PUP did betray that trust and paid the ultimate political price. In 2008 the people of Belize put their faith and confidence in Mr. Barrow and the United Democratic Party, just as they had done for the PUP…asking only that the trust not be betrayed.
Fast-forward to today, and the realization that after a loss the likes of 2008 the PUP could have been excused for falling to pieces, or being relegated to at the very least two terms in the political doldrums. But that is not where we are today, is it? Just a little longer than two years at the helm and Mr. Barrow and the UDP have undone years of development in the making. Our economy is stagnant…our people have been impoverished and have become desperate…our citizens are dying in the streets and in their homes. There are no answers from the government, much less any hope offered.
In just a little after two years this UDP administration has wronged the Belizean people to the extent that the writing is already etched on the wall…in the blood and suffering of our people. In just a little over two years, the people have seen change within the People's United Party which has given them hope…not promises like Mr. Barrow offered at ten for a shilling…but real hope. The PUP must never lose its way again. We must never again lose sight of what is important. Nobody does it quite like the Father of the Nation, who years ago made me a believer in 'clarity of thought, economy of words.' You the people are our masters, he said on Sunday. 'We are here to serve you!'
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Source: The Belize Times
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