National leaders reflect on 25 yrs. of independence
On Thursday, official ceremonies commemorating Belize’s twenty-fifth Independence took place in simultaneous events across the country. In the old capital, Prime Minister Said Musa, National Hero George Price, Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow and other parliamentary officials were joined by a host of diplomatic representatives, including the President of Panama Martin Torrijos, at the Memorial Park for an open air tribute to the country’s historic milestone. During the occasion, Torrijos presented one of Panama’s highest honours to Price. At the same time, Torrijos received the Order of Belize on behalf of his late father, Omar Torrijos. In his address to the gathering, Prime Minister Musa called on Belizeans to see hope on the nation’s horizon.
Said Musa, Prime Minister of Belize
?Yes our nation has grown significantly these past twenty-five years. Independence has indeed brought more development and growth to Belize. Admittedly, that growth has been uneven and today about a third of our people are classified as poor. That is why I said in the State of the Nation Address on Monday that ?Freedom from want for those living at the margins of society is still our great challenge.? Our goal now is to build a fairer, gentler society–a society of social justice, where the fruits of development are spread more equitably with opportunity for all to work and prosper in a secure future. In conferring on Omar Torrijos, posthumously, the Order of Belize, let us, like Omar, look beyond the horizon, beyond the immediate troubles and strife. And I must say that today is neither the day, nor the place to engage in political recriminations. Let us look beyond and discern a brighter day, a better future, confident that, in the words of another great leader of our region, Un mundo mejor es possible–a better world is possible. On this day, which has been declared a day of peace by the United Nations, we all know that a better world is possible, but that possibility can only be realized if we are united as Belizeans to work together for that better future.?
For Leader of the Opposition, the poetry, promise, and patriotism of the September celebrations are tempered by the challenges facing Belize.
Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
?As we pay tribute to those that worked for Independence and the sun crowned achievement that in the end is still so clearly is, we know this, there is no way our ceremony can be merely an orgy of self congratulation. Twenty-five years on, we must still plan to finally secure and make good on the auguries of that first Independence Day. And in order effectively to do this we must reflect on the defects and the merits of where we currently are. For surely, if all were well with our world, the twenty-fifth anniversary of our Independence would not be a time to wondering if our economy will in fact collapse under the massive meltdown of our external debt. We would not be undergoing the trauma of yet another public inquiry into official corruption and we would not be lamenting the disappearance of standards from elected leaders, the creation of a governance culture in which anything goes and considerations of honesty are dismissed as restrictions only for the timid. I speak of these things so that I may urge us all to grasp the nettle with all the first twenty-five years of our independence has served to confirm the greatness of our potential. But time is never on the side of mortals, and what a tragedy if after the next twenty-five years it would still be said of us that only that our potential remains great.?
When Belize City Mayor Zenaida Moya took her turn at the microphone, she reminded residents to be vigilant in ensuring democracy.
Zenaida Moya, Mayor of Belize City
?But while there is much to celebrate, there is certainly much to contemplate. Twenty-five years are behind us and they have not been all good. Now another twenty-five years are before us. The stakes are higher and the challenges are greater. So let us not sit contented with what we have accomplished, rather, let us stand inspired by what we have achieved and what remains to be achieved. Our city expects better, our country deserves better, our people fresh from March first polls are demanding better. And herein lies our hope, that this young nation, which has progressed tremendously over the past twenty-five years, will make even greater progress in the next twenty-five years.?
