I for you, you for me: UDP Leader Patrick Faber at Garifuna settlement day ceremony

Belize: UPD leader Patrick Faber addressed the nation at the official Garifuna settlement day ceremony. Following is the full remarks by the opposition leader, Patrick Faber, at the official Garifuna settlement day ceremony, 19th November 2021.

History informs us that, following their brutal military defeat and exile from St. Vincent by the British in 1797, the indomitable Garinagu survivors eventually reached the mainland of Honduras.

Against all odds, they survived, pulling together in the words of this year's theme: "I FOR YOU, YOU FOR ME". This century-old Garifuna way, reinforced in the cold crucible of discrimination and racism, together with their excellent seamanship, courage and unstoppable quest for their own, rightful 'place under the sun, inevitably brought the Garinagu northward to the shores of colonial Belize.

Indeed, by 1802 Garifuna Matriarch Gulisi, the very personification of "I for you, you for me", led the first wave of about 150 Garinagu migrants to the sandy shores of Dangriga. She paid a terrible price with the loss of one of her thirteen sons during the voyage by sailing dorey. Yet, with incredible, inspiring boldness Gulisi and her fellow travellers came to Scotchman Town north of Dangriga and finally south to Commerce Bight.

Three decades later, this truly remarkable, extraordinary genesis of the Garinagu presence in colonial Belize was rendered permanent with the November 19th,1823 arrival of Alejo Beni and his followers. Civil War in Honduras and its bloody repercussions for the Garinagu once again put "I for you, you for me" to yet another terrible test.

Like Gulisi before him, bold Beni proved the timeless value of "I for you, you for me" when he looked after his people by leading them to the "promised land" in Belize, first revealed by Gulisi. His two sailing storeys, aboard which there were 28 adults and 12 children, sailed into history and safely landed on the sandy shores near the mouth of River Dangriga.

As the saying goes, the rest is history, one that the late great Thomas Vincent Ramos fully understood. Like matriarch Gulisi and patriarch Beni before him, T.V. Ramos looked after his people. He was undoubtedly a true pioneer of grassroots efforts to safeguard and enhance Garifuna culture in Belize. In this endeavour, he established the famous Carib Development and Sick Aid Society on 18th March 1925, which sought the welfare of all Garinagu. He was. He was undoubtedly the precursor to the modern National Garifuna Council.

This aside, "the persuasive and persevering character of Ramos convinced the colonial authorities to grant a Public and Bank holiday on 19th November 1941" in the Stann Creek District to celebrate the 1823 landing of the Garinagu. By 1977 this became a national holiday, thus bestowing on T.V. Ramos the richly deserved title of: "Father of Garifuna Settlement Day."

Hence, my friends, the unique, exhilarating legacies of the three earliest pioneers and selfless practitioners of "I for you, you for me" underscore how important it is not just to learn from their stellar examples but to APPLY and LIVE UP to this core value. This substantial value transcends all ethnic boundaries, as we must look after each other faithfully and unstintingly to ensure that none falls by the wayside.

There is no escaping the simple fact that we all face the most difficult, most challenging times in this nation's history. Too many are falling by the wayside. These are times which I am sure even Gulisi, Beni and Ramos would have found daunting. We are dying from the relentless Covid 19 Pandemic, with no end yet in sight. We are being crushed by the spiralling cost of putting essential foods on our tables. We keep looking for jobs which we cannot find. We painfully watch closed school doors jeopardize our children's future. We lock ourselves inside our hovels and hope that the murders will pass us by.

The list goes on and on, and unlike Gulisi and Beni, none of us has the option of getting aboard the modern equivalent of sailing storeys and seeking refuge on some foreign, inhospitable shore. No, this is home for the Garinagu, the Kriols, the Mestizos, the Mayas, and every other ethnic group that today joins hands, hearts and souls in saying a resounding SEREMEIN! The Garifuna.

While we immerse ourselves in the countless contributions they have made to Belize's growth as a proud, independent nation, let us not just preach about "I for you, you for me." Especially in these trying times, just like Gulisi, Beni and T.V. Ramos did, let us PRACTICE it every day.

I am convinced that if we selflessly forge a national core value of genuinely looking after the welfare of all, especially the most vulnerable among us, termination of these trying times shall be sooner rather than later. Failing to do so will only serve to prolong the agony.

Therefore, in embracing and thanking our Garifuna sisters and brothers on this, their special day and always, let us truly honour them and our nation as a whole by living up to "I for you, you for me." Let this not be only the Garifuna way forward but a national value and strategy to move our beloved Belize forward.