Belizean-Americans urged to vote Kerry
With all the recent political happenings in Belize one can be excused for not getting involved in anyone else’s politics…but if you watch TV, listen to radio or pick up a newspaper it’s an event pretty hard to avoid. I’m talking about the U.S. election and the fact—perhaps I should say hope–that by this time tomorrow the world’s only superpower will have chosen its leader for the next four years. Tonight, as the votes are tallied, there is one man in Belize who will be paying especially close attention. His name is Jewel G. Smith; two weeks ago, he purchased full-page ads in local newspapers urging Belizeans to tell their U.S. relatives to cast their ballots for John Kerry. Today the Mississippi Democrat, who’s lived here for twenty years, told me why Belizeans should care who wins up north.
Jewel G. Smith, Democrat
?There are so many Belizeans in the United States and it affects them as much as it does to people in the US because the people working there that are from Belize, they send money back for their children, their mothers, their fathers, their relatives that helps Belize a lot. Here locally since I had that in the paper, we?ve had so many people here who called me and ask me ?How can I vote in Belize?? I said if you are an American who is qualified and is registered in the US, you can go to the Embassy anytime between one and four any day and you can vote absentee, give it back to them and they will send it in. I had a lot of the Belizean people. I also paid for phone calls to the US for Belizeans here to talk to their relatives. That?s how strong I believe in it.?
My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father and myself. All of them never did vote all the way for Democrats, some counts varied off, so we disown them so to speak. Oh no we don?t, you know everybody have their own personal believe. But if we don?t win, it?s another day here in paradise for me.?
Viewers should note that tonight our regular schedule will be pre-empted by coverage of the U.S. elections beginning immediately after this newscast.
