Thirteen Belizean patriots honoured at the Bliss
As I speak, the annual tribute to Belizean Patriots is getting underway at Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. This year, thirteen Belizeans will be honoured for their contributions to the country. Eight will receive Meritorious Service Awards for community service, public service, education, bravery, and trade unionism; three will be bestowed with the Order of Distinction; one person, Right Honourable Manuel Esquivel, will receive the Order of Belize, while the top award, the Order of the National Hero, will be given posthumously to Phillip S.W. Goldson. Goldson passed away in 2001, but the impact he had on our country lives on. Tonight we bring you a story aired in 2001 chronicling the life of this nationalist giant.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
Many Belizean men and women have had a hand in shaping Belize’s early history from settlement to independence. Among them, the name of Philip Goldson appears prominently.
But who is this politician who has perhaps become more famous for his patriotism than his politics? Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson was born in Belize City on July twenty-fifth, 1923 to Peter Edward Goldson and his wife Florence Babb. He married Hadie Jones on Election Day, April twenty-eighth, 1954 and fathered six children. Goldson, who is now seventy-eight, has had a long and illustrious career, both inside and outside of government.
He started as a journalist in 1941 when he joined the British Honduras Civil Service. He wrote numerous articles for The Belize Billboard, the foremost newspaper of the time, which championed the cause of Belizean workers and the unemployed. It was perhaps through this medium that he became involved in the trade union movement as national organiser and later General Secretary of the General Workers Union.
Goldson was one of the founding members of the People’s United Party in 1950. In 1951, he was convicted of seditious intentions along with Leigh Richardson and served twelve months in prison. It seemed as if imprisonment fuelled his political flame, as in 1954 he won a seat on the British Honduras Legislative Council.
Determined to stand firm in a disagreement with the P.U.P., he resigned from that party and later formed the National Independence Party. As leader in 1956, he was the opposition’s lone voice in the House from 1961 to 1974. He resigned from the United Democratic Party in 1991 when he refused to accept the Maritime Areas Bill.
The Albert Division has been his political stronghold since 1965, a seat which he never lost, retiring from politics after the 1993-1998 term with the United Democratic Party. Ann-Marie Williams for News Five.
While Phillip Goldson receives his award posthumously, twelve other Belizeans will be honoured as patriots at tonight’s ceremony. George Frazer, a long time union activist and educator will receive the Meritorious Service Award. It would take the length of this newscast to list all that Frazer has done on behalf of the people of Belize, but News Five spoke to Frazer and he says he feels honoured to be recognized for his contribution to society.
George Frazer, Recipient, Meritorious Service Award
“I see it as an honour, I am humbled by it and the recognition given. I know I have given over forty years of my service to my country in terms of education as a teacher both at primary and secondary. I have done a lot in trade unions for over thirty-five years in the fore front and fighting for better conditions for all workers and especially for teachers. I have served on many boards, many, many boards. I have represented our country in at least thirty-seven countries in trade union and education matters.”
Jose Sanchez
“Most people know your face for being at the forefront of just about every march and protest in support of teachers and the N.T.U.C.B. If you can answer the question “How many more miles of march do you have left in you?”
George Frazer
“Well, officially I am slated to retie next year; by June next year. But my love for country, my love for freedom and social justice will go on until God calls me home; until I can’t go further. That’s the bottom line.”
Also receiving the Meritorious Service Award tonight is Zebedee Pitterson of Sunny and Tan Bakery.
