Price conferred with Order of CARICOM
In Belize he has already been bestowed with the nation’s highest honour, that of National Hero. Today George Price stood front and centre on the regional stage where he was conferred with the Order of CARICOM, the most prestigious recognition that regional body has to offer. The ceremony, which formed part of the opening of the CARICOM Summit in Barbados, has only recently been completed. Here is what it looked like.
Announcer
“Membership of this prestigious order is reserved exclusively for CARICOM nationals who have made outstanding contributions to the political, cultural and social development of the community, and therefore to the quality of life of the peoples of the Caribbean. Members of the Order of the Caribbean Community, are CARICOM nationals who have strengthened and enhanced the Caribbean identity within the community and in the diaspora, and who have projected the excellence of Caribbean people on the world scene.”
Tony Cave, Orator
“Right Honourable George Price. His passion for the Caribbean cradled the Central American state of Belize into the arms of the community. His hemispheric vision of a closer relationship with the United States of America, Mexico and Central America, predated globalisation and NAFTA, but embraced the spirit of regional economic viability. His commitment to regionalism nurtured the Caribbean spirit in Belize and widened the Caribbean space in the international arena. He is the acknowledged Father of the Nation of Belize.”
“Born on January fifteenth, 1919 into a family that would have constituted a full cricket team, George was the third of eleven children. When he miraculously survived demolition by a crashing wall at his boarding school during the 1931 hurricane, his father was prophetic in his opinion that George’s life was spared for a higher calling. It seemed certain that this higher calling was to be associated with his studies in theology at the University of Rome, but it was torpedoed by the intervention of World War II.”
“His entry into politics in 1944 followed a path: political journeyman, leader in the anti-colonial struggles, founding member of the People’s United Party, Mayor of Belize, member of the Executive Council, Premier, Prime Minister, who guided his nation to independence, and currently Senior Minister of Government and revered statesman. After leading the PUP to an unprecedented nine of eleven electoral victories, George Price stepped aside as party leader in 1996, passing his mantle to Said Musa, who led the party to a landslide victory at the polls in 1998.”
“When in the early 1950’s George Price was a voice against the creation of a West Indies Federation, before a formal guarantee of independence for the individual states, he became one of the few outliers. History would absolve him when indeed the issue of independence was at the root of the dissolution of the federation.”
“When in 1958 the British authorities attempted to erode his populism and his popularity with charges of sedition, George Price, like the biblical David, fought back. The charges turned out to be a storm in a teacup, contributing further to his surging image and influence.”
“When in the early 1960’s George Price advocated moving the capital city from Belize to Belmopan, he was viewed as a dreamer and spoiler. Today, Belmopan, protected from vagaries of natural disaster to which the rest of the country is exposed, not only houses the seat of government, but is developing into a thriving city.”
“Then there is the Guatemala territorial claim, his nemesis, which has haunted his entire career, severely testing his diplomatic options, but never his hemispheric design. Preoccupation with external relations was a constant from the beginning of George Price’s political life. He envisioned an orientation to external entities that was much more complex than the colonial relationship with Britain and the regional relationship with the Anglophone Caribbean. Closer relationships with the United States, Mexico and Central American countries figured prominently as well in his calculations of the many-sided relationships that promised to increased Belize’s economic development and geo-political options.”
“In short, Price conceived a nationalism that was more hemispheric than simply post-imperial in which the future of Belize was to be cast. He understood, perhaps better than any other Caribbean leaders of his time, the potential which resided in strong hemispheric relations. In a sense, he was ahead of his time.”
“The celebrated writer Aldous Huxley once said, “If the world had two ends, Belize would have been one of them.” George Price changed the country from backwardness to a stage where it is capable of performing a strategic role in the efforts of Central America and the Caribbean Community to expand and to strengthen their relations.”
“Intertwined in his political quest is a soul that expresses itself in poetry and prose, equally committed to the cause of a self-relying people. His collection of poetry and plays is quiet astonishing and would be of great worth as an anthology, if only we could persuade him to break with his modesty.”
“George Price was anti-federation, but never anti-Caribbean. A twist of faith delivered the political platform rather than the pulpit as his instrument of service to the people of Belize and the region. His commitment to the principles of Christian democracy, nationalism and design for a region as an oasis of peace remains unequivocal.”
“Today we honour the dream, the attributes and the achievements of this outstanding, this unique Caribbean man. For his immeasurable contribution to the development of the Caribbean region, the Caribbean Community salutes its distinguished son, the Right Honourable George Price, by conferring upon him the Order of the Caribbean Community.”
George Price
“Many thanks for the award. I like to think that the honour of the Caribbean Community is also an honour for the people of Belize. CARICOM has had much importance in the history of Belize. The regional services and its bank have been and are of great help. CARICOM led the international struggle that attained our political independence. This won support of the Commonwealth, the Non Aligned Movement and the United Nations. We continue to need this support in maintaining our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Belize took CARICOM into Central America and laid part of the groundwork for the Association for Caribbean States. Formidable economic and financial forces stride across the globe. In the developing nations many people experience hard and difficult times. We must continue to struggle for an equitable share in global benefits. We ask God to bless CARICOM as we say again, many, many, thanks to all.”
Other recipients this evening of the Order of CARICOM were PAHO director, Sir George Alleyne and Calypsonian, the Mighty Sparrow. Representing Belize at the CARICOM Summit is Prime Minister Said Musa. Today he was among those heads of government in Bridgetown who signed the document creating the Caribbean Court of Justice. Although we have agreed to eventually accept the court’s jurisdiction, it will be some time before the court will replace the Privy Council as Belize’s final court of appeal.
