Scouts learn respect for the flag
If you’re one of those people who circles the round-a-bout at the Pallotti junction on your way to work or school, you no doubt glance up at the flag waving in the wind. But do you know how it gets there every morning before you do? It’s not the City Council who puts it there, but some very dedicated children. Janelle Chanona got up a little early this morning to see how it’s done.
Q: “Was it hard for you to remember what you had to do when raising the flag, like how you had to hold the flag and stuff like that?”
Christopher Hernandez, 8 Belize St. Joseph Troop
“No.”
Q: “How do you remember it?”
Christopher Hernandez
“Cause sometimes when I go sleep, I dream about it cause I’m afraid I forget it.”
Every day at dawn, at least two members of the Scout Association of Belize give up some extra sleep in order to fulfill what they see as part of their scout promise to God, country and fellow man when they raise the Belizean flag. Scout Martin Pariente takes pride in performing his duty.
Q: “How do you feel when you’re raising the flag? Do you feel anything when you’re raising the flag?”
Martin Pariente, 8 Belize St. Joseph Troop
“No, I just feel like I’m proud of the flag and our country.”
Q: “And when you have to salute the flag, do you think other people should be standing at attention?”
Martin Pariente
“Yes. And I think they should be very grateful and respect the flag because we had to fight for our freedom and justice, for independence.”
Fostering that respect for our country is only one of the four basic principles scouts learn. According to Rafael Delvalle, Acting Belize District Commissioner for the association, flag ethics is one of the first things a young scout learns.
Rafael Delvalle, Acting Belize District Commissioner
“Most people don’t know about it because very few people are scouts. And I think some kind of education has to be done concerning the flag. I’ve seen it quite often, you have these different companies that raise the flag and they have them flying and they have them flying until they almost look like dish rag before they take them down and replace them, which is a disrespect for the flag.”
Q: “What do you think Belizeans should be doing when the flag is being raised?”
Rafael Delvalle
“Well it’s not what I think, it’s what they should be doing. Whenever, for scouts especially, or any military person in uniform, they should be saluting the flag whenever it’s being raised or lowered. For a Belizean, a natural Belizean who isn’t in any kind of uniform, they should stand up at attention with their right hand across their chest, where their heart is and if they are wearing their hat or any kind of headdress, they should take it off.”
Hats off to the boys and girls of the Scout Association of Belize who are up around five every morning to perform this important duty while the rest of us are still in bed. Janelle Chanona for News Five.
The scouts are also responsible for lowering of the flag at dusk. Members of the B.D.F. raised and lowered the flag until last November when the government asked the Scout Association to take over the honors. Those scouts who take care of the flag for a whole month receive a badge.
