Neal Says Recording Was Part of ‘Greater Conversation’

Turning to the voice behind the now infamous recording, this evening Eldred Neal stopped by our office for an extended sit-down, during which he attempts to explain his position.  For context, the P.S.U. President prefaced the conversation by explaining how the trio, including himself, former N.T.U.C.B. President Marvin Mora and Belize Water Services Union President Lorelei Westby came about to discussing their issue with the Garifuna people.

Eldred Neal, President, Public Service Union

“I gave Marvin a ride and we went up to Buttonwood Bay and we stopped off and sat in the back of the pan expecting that his colleagues would have come over and they didn’t.  Lorelei came over later and we went into the conversation about why with this function, this particular number of individuals continue the behavior in which they are behaving, and that’s the content of the conversation.”

Isani Cayetano

“Having listened intently to what was said…”

Eldred Neal

“Edited.”

Eldred Neal

Isani Cayetano

“…for whatever it is.  Having listened intently to what was said, you were making generalizations upfront by referring to the broader Garifuna community, not necessarily, maybe, those specific persons who are either members of the union you preside over or people on the Council of Management.  I think that’s where the displeasure, for lack of a better word, comes from, the fact that you were speaking in broad terms and not necessarily to these specific individuals.  Can you comment to that?”

Eldred Neal

“And I am pleased with your choice of words as a displeasure because at least the sensationalism that has been added to it, clearly you’re not there, it is a displeasure for the assumed generalization as you suggest.  But if you look at what was said and you fix that to the letter that was written and the statement that they wrote to, then you would hear exactly what you heard.  Take it in content, amplify that by an entire conversation of over an hour or two, it was obviously a discussion and information sharing and thought provoking, speaking openly about certain issues that one was not satisfied with.  And again, broadly speaking to matters practiced by individuals and I really want to get that across to the public.”