"

lrom A LlLLle 8oom ln an unpalnLed 8ulldlng

by ?asser Musa,
19 SepLember 2014

Address aL lordyce Memorlal Chapel,
Landlvar Campus, SL. !ohn's College, 8ellze ClLy, 8ellze

!! #$%&' () *$+,-$%. /.0$1$.0$.2$










#

lf tbe post bos ootbloq to soy to tbe pteseot, blstoty moy qo oo sleeploq ooJlstotbeJ lo tbe closet wbete
tbe system keeps lts olJ Jlsqolses. - Lduardo Caleano

lf yoo woot to qo polckly, qo olooe. lf yoo woot to qo fot, qo toqetbet. - Afrlcan proverb

A Spanlsh expedlLlon seLLlng ouL from ?ucaLn Lo CheLumal ln 1331, faces flerce Maya
reslsLance from leader nachankan who announced Lhe LrlbuLe he would pay would be
Lurkeys ln Lhe shape of spears and corn ln Lhe shape of arrows.

owerful 8rlLlsh of Lhe 8ay ln 1787 began Lo pass laws, whlch resulLed ln Lhem ownlng four-
flfLhs of all Lhe land. 1hls seLLlemenL was 86 Afrlcan, [usL Lwo years afLer Lhe lnfamous SL.
Ceorge's Caye baLLle, a dlsLorLed flgure slnce no one counLed Lhe lndlgenous Maya on Lhe
reglsLer, and Lhe maln reason Lhey counLed Afrlcans was LhaL Lhey were sLlll enslaved
asseLs.

ln Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury Lhe mahogany lords band Lhelr slaves from culLlvaLlng Lhls land, a
hlsLorlcal Afrlcan LradlLlon, and lnsLead sLrucLured Lhe economy on explolLaLlon and
exLracLlon feedlng Lhe headquarLers of Lhe 8rlLlsh Lmplre 3200 mlles away.

My young broLhers Lhls ls a land of sLruggle and reslsLance Lo oppresslon. 1he 8rlLlsh were
consLanLly ln fear of revolLs and escapes. Cne such revolL ln 1773 lasLed flve monLhs and
was only suppressed wlLh help from a 8rlLlsh naval force from !amalca. ln 1820 Lhe 8rlLlsh
reporLed Lwo Slave 1owns - long formed ln Lhe MounLalns Lo Lhe norLhward of Lhe Slbun."

Cn Lhe whlLe paper lL says LhaL slavery was flnally abollshed ln 1838, buL who sLlll owned
Lhe land, and who conLrolled Lhe power and wealLh of Lhe economlc sysLem LhaL had been
esLabllshed and enLrenched by emplre?

lL ls lmporLanL for us Lo look Lo our reslsLance herlLage as a wellsprlng of a naLlon movlng
forward. Look Lo !oseph ChaLoyer, Lhe Carlfuna paramounL chlef who defended hls people
Lo Lhe deaLh agalnsL Lhe Spanlsh, Lhe lrench, and Lhe Lngllsh. lmporLanL Lo undersLand
Marcus Canul, Lhe lcalche leader who foughL a fearless sLruggle agalnsL 8rlLlsh aggresslon,
and explolLaLlon ln Lhe norLh of Lhls land we now call home.

We enLered Lhe 20
Lh
cenLury a backwaLer colonlal ouLposL. 1he greaL poeL, acLlvlsL and
freedom flghLer Samuel Paynes rose up ln rloL agalnsL Lhe ollgarchy and challenged us Lo
Lake responslblllLy for our land, Lo Arlse, Lo drlve back Lhe LyranLs so LhaL freedom's noon
could be posslble.
1he seeds of naLlonal dellverance havlng been sown would sprouL wlLh Lhe aglLaLlon of Lhe
workers leaders llke Cllfford 8eLson and AnLonlo Soberanls ln Lhe 1940s.
$

8uL Lhe full bloom of our llberaLlon sLaLed ln 1930 when Ceorge rlce, a graduaLe of SL.
!ohn's College, [olned forces wlLh Lelgh 8lchardson and hllllp Coldson and oLhers around a
small mahogany Lable aL #3 lcksLock SLreeL, 8ellze ClLy Lo crysLallze a real pollLlcal naLlonal
consclousness - seLLlng ouL a clear desLlny - self- governmenL and 8ellzean lndependence.

ln Lhe 1970s we 8ellzeans used dlplomacy Lo convlnce Lhe world LhaL Lhls small naLlon ln
Lhe hurrlcane zone deserved lLs freedom wlLh full soverelgnLy and LerrlLorlal lnLegrlLy. And
from a llLLle room ln an unpalnLed bulldlng ln 8elmopan, a small Leam led Lhe
lnLernaLlonallzaLlon process courLlng poeLs, generals, revoluLlonarles, dlplomaLs, world
leaders and frlendly brokers from Afrlca Lo Carlcom, Cuba Lo anama.

So young broLhers l come Lo ask LhaL we noL bend, or beLray Lhe legacy of our ancesLors. l
call on all of you Lo recognlze our new appolnLmenL wlLh hlsLory, Lo reflecL on and own
1981 - Lhe process, Lhe sLruggle, Lhe opposlLlon, Lhe unfounded CuaLemalan clalm ln order
Lo undersLand Lhe Lrue asplraLlon of Lhe 8ellzean people.

lasL forward Lo SepLember 21, 2014. We wlll march unlformed Lhls Sunday as an S!C famlly,
noL because we have Lo, buL because Lhe [ourney ls sLlll on.

1he laLher of our lndependence Ceorge rlce always sald, weve come o looq woy, bot we
stlll bove o looq woy to qo. lL ls no colncldence LhaL ln our currenL Pouse of Lhe people's
8epresenLaLlves we have 30 men and 1 woman. 1haL ls perhaps Lhe mosL exLreme
absurdlLy of our [ourney 33 years on, buL lL ls real. lL speaks loud, and lL means LhaL aL 33
we musL sLlll reslsL, flghL, and sLruggle.

lndependence ls noL [usL an ldea or a dream deferred.

lL ls a sLaLe of mlnd and consclence LhaL musL flnd acLlon.

lndependence can be creaLlve experlence. LeL us Lhlnk abouL how we can make lL so.

Pappy blrLhday beloved!

"#$$% &'()*+#% Belize!