News: Commentary: Program to include Belizeans living in the Diaspora

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Tuesday, September 07, 2010

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Commentary: Program to include Belizeans living in the Diaspora

By Wellington C Ramos

Recently Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wilfred Seddie Elrington, initiated a program to involve Belizeans living in the Diaspora to participate and get involved in their country’s affairs. The foreign minister is aware of the vital role Belizeans living abroad play in the development of their beloved country Belize.

Born in Dangriga Town, the cultural capital of Belize, Wellington Ramos has an M.A. in Urban Studies from Long Island University

Belizeans who live in the United States have met on several occasions with this foreign minister who has been visiting the United States many times since his election. Some of the concerns of the Belizeans living abroad are: obtaining lots and lands, housing programs, getting passports on time, having access to their embassy and consular representatives in the United States, proxy voting, dual citizenship rights, investing in the Belizean economy and getting access to documents from Belize.

He also commended Belizeans who live abroad for sending their remittances to their loved ones in Belize to assist their families and help boost their country’s economy.

When the Foreign Minister first took office, his top priority was to negotiate with the country of Guatemala, the procedures for an attempt to resolve this old territorial dispute between Guatemala and Belize. The people and government of Belize are now awaiting the Guatemalan Congress to pass a resolution in order to put the question of sending this dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Once this is approved by the governments of the two countries, the question will then be put to the people in a Referendum for final passage and then proceed to the ICJ.

I have observed that since he completed his first task with the Guatemalan issue, he has stepped up his activities in the area of foreign trade to bring investments into Belize to revitalize the Belizean economy. In addition, he has also reached out to the Belizean community living in the United States to get involved in their country’s affairs to assist the government with its efforts to build the economy of Belize.

The Foreign Minister of Belize is also Belize’s attorney general and the government is experiencing a series of litigation brought forward by members of the previous government in an attempt to stop or stall this new government’s policy initiatives.

This coming Saturday, September 27, 2009, the Mission of Belize to the United Nations along with other Belizean organizations, will be hosting the Belize Independence Dance and the Foreign Minister will be present. This will be a good opportunity for Belizeans in the Diaspora to meet with him and get a first hand report as to what is currently taking place in their country.

Our Foreign Minister should be commended for the outstanding work he has done since assuming this post. Many Belizeans are amazed at how he can accomplish so much in such a short space of time knowing what he inherited at the time he assumed the office of Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Bringing investors to Belize is good for the economy to provide jobs for our people.

Honesty and integrity are two of the most important qualities this Foreign Minister possesses. He is a true Belizean and could be described as a Belizean nationalist. You can trust him to negotiate on behalf of Belize and Belizeans. I can assure you that this government under this Foreign Minister will not sign any agreement that is not in the best interest of Belize and the Belizean people.

The government of Belize cannot prevail without our continued support. They have made this clear on several occasions and this is why they are seeking our support because they are aware of the vast amount of human resources we possess. It is now time for the Belizeans who live in the Diaspora to step up and demand of their Belizean representatives what they deserve as Belizean citizens.

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