Activist, Patrick Menzies, attempts a shutdown of schools

Patrick Menzies

Patrick Menzies is a community activist who has aligned himself with the Hispanic evangelical churches in Belize. And using that platform, he has now launched a move for a national shutdown, lobbying parents to pull their children out of classrooms. For Menzies, it’s all about the national gender policy and now the proposed amendments to the criminal code. Menzies once walked in tandem with the Evangelical Association of Belize and organizations like Belize Action, but he’s now basically out on a limb doing his own thing. The reason is that the more mainstream churches are willing to negotiate, debate and discuss to reach a reasonable compromise. For Menzies, there is no compromise. He wants the gender police dead and done with. Which brings us to Menzies’ national shutdown…getting parents all over the country to pull their kids out of school until government folds. It got underway on October fifteenth, but not much has been said because it is a little far-fetched, to say the least. But today in the village of Paraiso in the Corozal district, Menzies actually got about a dozen parents to agree. They went to the government school to do the deed, and that’s when Police had to be called in.

Via Phone: Asst. Supt. Daniel Arzu, Deputy O.C., Corozal Formation

“What really happened is that the principal of the Paraiso Government School called us in saying that parents were there to take their children out because they were protesting against the gender policy sessions that the school is providing the students. So we visited…about a dozen parents or a little more, and as well present was Mr. Patrick Menzies and I spoke to Mr. Menzies and the parents informing them that the students are in the classroom and the teachers are the guardians and they are in the care of the teachers and therefore it would not be wise for them to actually go inside the classrooms and get the children out. So that is very much what they understood so that matter was settled and defused and at noon the children were released and that was the end of the day for them…given the fact that the staff had a meeting subsequently. They are expected to go back to the classroom tomorrow but some parents believe that they should hold back their children and that is something that we will be looking at and certainly will be visiting the schools within the area to ensure that things like that do not happen.”

Reporter

“Is this a concern because I understand that Mr. Menzies has been visiting other schools trying to advocate for a national shutdown?”

Via Phone: Asst. Supt. Daniel Arzu

“Well certainly it has to be a concern because we want to ensure that things that should not happen…the purpose of the schools is to educate these children and I do not see anybody trying to prevent these children from being educated, or from getting their education.”

According to Assistant Superintendent Arzu, the Police will be looking closely at the situation to see if any offences would be committed by pulling the children out of school. Barring that, they will be examining other options in resolving the situation. In the past week there have been several allegations made against Menzies, that he has been misinforming the Hispanic churches to gain support. We’ll keep following this story.