Where the
hell is the Minister of Health and where the hell is the Prime Minister when
our beloved children are losing their lives senselessly at the hands of those
who are to be our sanctuary and safe haven in times of medical need? The
Minister of Health was never afraid to show his face when he was boasting about
this or that piece of new equipment HE managed to provide to some hospital or
the other, but when the sh@# hit the fan, he scurried for shelter. Our Prime
Minister seems to be an absolute waste of time, better suited to eloquent prose
and dramatic expression than any real decisive action. This is no laughing
matter. Imagine the anguish of the parents who had to say goodbye to their two
year old son over the weekend as they laid him to rest. Their horror story
should be ringing all over this country. Their son had something struck in his
throat obstructing his airway, and the desperate parents did what any parent
would do. They ran to the hospital for help. They got no help. Instead, they
were met by medical personnel who seemed to have no idea what to do. The doctor
on duty apparently wanted to administer drips to the child…imagine,
administering drips to a child who has something stuck in his throat. It makes
absolutely no sense. Then when they finally did get the sense, they didn’t have
the doctor on duty or the piece of equipment available to perform a relatively
simple procedure of clearing the obstruction from the airway. The primary team
at the Western Regional Hospital failed, and failed miserably; because of that,
a child is dead. This is not the first case of senseless death; this is not the
first evidence that the public health system is in complete chaos. How far have
we come when mothers are afraid to have their babies in our public hospitals
and prefer midwives or heading across our borders? How far have we come when
parents are afraid to take their children to public hospitals for fear that a
simple procedure may turn deadly?
The
Hippocratic Oath & the Bottom Line
A few years
ago a family member received a huge gash on his arm which ripped open a vein
and tissues. He was taken to the Western Regional Hospital but they could do
nothing for him there. He was advised to seek medical attention at UHS
immediately because he was literally bleeding to death and required surgery to
repair torn tissue. He was rushed to UHS that very night (bleeding to death,
remember) and was told that an amount of money, I believe it was $3000, was
needed before doctors could even look at him. The family explained that it was
night and they had the money but no access to the bank at that time. The
response was the same. As the young man sat there bleeding to death, no one
would attend to him. It was not until a Good Samaritan with a ‘big’ name faxed
in a blank purchase order verifying that he would pay for any treatment that
the doctors and nurses sprang into action. There is something fundamentally
wrong with this. This morning I believe I heard the same story about the same
institution on the airwaves. What it boils down to is you can be taken to this
institution on the brink of death, and if your pocket isn’t wadded with cash or
if your credit card isn’t the platinum type, your bloody carcass will be left
outside to rot. That’s the grim reality. Whatever happened to the preservation
of life?
The Grim
Reality
Things in
Belize are practically worse than they have ever been. Every day we hear
stories of businesses big and small closing down; of banks and lending
institutions foreclosing on homes; of hotels and restaurants closing their
doors; of workers losing their jobs because under the UDP, the economy has stagnated.
Listen, the Prime Minister should not be allowed to hide behind the bullsh#@
façade of ‘Oh, it’s a global thing!’ That doesn’t help us. In every country in
the world which is going through this economic crisis, there is word everyday
about stimulus packages, incentives and other moves to ensure that people don’t
suffer; that businesses stay open so that workers can continue to earn wages
and the economy continues to roll. But not in Belize! The Prime Minister has
done not one thing to offset the economic crunch. It seems he has decided to
just roll with the tide. Not one incentive or stimulus package or tax relief or
anything! In fact, in this time of crisis what the Prime Minister did was to
pay his ex-wife $1.3million dollars in legal fees. So while Belizeans are
suffering, the Prime Minister can be building a huge expansion on his seafront
palace, his wife is a social butterfly, his ex-wife is making beaucoup bucks at
our expense, his son is drinking $400 bottles of Moet & Chandon on the
weekends and his brother is all set to take up a post on the Court of Appeals.
It is indeed a good time for the Barrow family.
A luxury or
a right?
A friend and
I were talking this morning and she was telling me a story which touched me
deeply. See, a friend of hers had just finished relating a tale of how her
young teenage daughter would not be returning to high school because they
simply couldn’t afford it. Now the first reaction is – hell, that child has a
right to education…they have to afford it no matter what. But there’s a
different reality in town today. See, the girl has a mother who makes about $75
a week cleaning a home at odd times when she’s not caring for her own family.
The father works for a sanitation company and makes about $150 a week. Just do
the math and you’ll realize that as sad as the situation is…that girl will not
be going to high school. Her educational days are done. And this is not an
isolated case. School starts in a couple weeks, and the fact of the matter is
that there are many, many children who won’t be returning. Things haad out ya
for the poor folks. That is why I have to get so pissed off when Lois makes
$1.3 million of taxpayer dollars in a year, and when I see the princeling
drinking $400 bottles of Moet & Chandon like it’s water. See, that $1.3
million would have given hundreds of children the opportunity to go to school
and make something of themselves; each of those bottles of Moet & Chandon
could have paid the tuition fees for a child who will not be able to pursue her
education…! For the Barrows, a pricey bottle of champagne is an everyday thing.
For a child born in a poor home, her education has now become a luxury she
cannot afford.
All hail our
Acting Prime Minister
Those
issues, like the child who won’t be returning to school, are what should be
occupying the mind of the little runt Minister of Education. He should be
consumed with thoughts of how he can ensure that each and every child be given
an opportunity to pursue higher learning. He should be focused on finding funding
to implement a countrywide school feeding programme so that poor children have
at least one nutritious meal to eat. The Minister should lie awake at night
coming up with ways to provide resources to schools which are sorely in need of
assistance. But that’s not what the Minister is doing! In fact, I challenge
anybody to name one education project Faber has initiated, one program he has
implemented; one thing he has done to enhance education. I challenge anybody!
Even the $300 he promised to secondary school students has flopped, and now
that school is re-opening, parents are panicking because the promised
assistance has not materialized. Patrick Faber does not have his mind on
education. See, he prefers to profile. He loves to jump up and down in the House
and pontificate like his mentor the Prime Minister, but now the people are
demanding actions and he is coming up short, no pun intended. Instead of the
Minister dealing with education issues, he prefers to call in to the talk shows
and bash any who oppose the UDP policies or practices. Just lately, as school
is ready to reopen, the Minister is busy trying to push some bogus UDP
amendments down our throats. He is concerned about dual citizenship, while he
should be concerned about our children and their education. The results of his
neglect are showing, as schools are closing their doors and our children scored
a record low in the PSE this year.
How Say You
After Consultation #3?
As I write
this, three consultations have been carried out – in Belize City, Cayo and in
Orange Walk. Many people have spoken out against the proposed UDP amendments,
and especially the amendment regarding dual citizenship. If you’ve been keeping
track, so far exactly 7 persons have supported the dual citizenship amendment –
two in Belize City, 4 in Cayo and 1 in Orange Walk. When will the Prime
Minister get the sense? The people don’t want this, and they are saying it loud
and clear. And the thing is, with each consultation the people are becoming
more vocal and angrier and the reason is simple. People are starving out here
on the streets. People cannot send their kids to school. People are losing
their land and their homes. People are losing their lives on the streets every
day. People are losing hope. And you know what? Instead of our government
fighting to enact policies which will alleviate or solve even one of these
issues, they are fighting an all out war for a couple bogus amendments.
Everybody knows that the AG amendment is geared so that the PM can name his
ex-wife AG. Hell, he’s named her just about everything else. Everybody suspects
that the dual citizenship amendment is geared to protect UDP members currently
in the House and a few UDP cronies who aspire to the House. Barrow would do
well to back off pushing these amendments, because the conditions out here are
bad, and people can only take so much before they snap.
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