Dear Editor,
In the editorial of May 23, Mayor Danny exclaims, “Everything is perfect here.” Perfect? Where? I live in San Pedro, an under-paved, crime-troubled, litter-covered, animal-torturing, service-impaired, broken-bridged community on Ambergris Caye.
This island supports San Pedro and Belize with thousands of tax dollars, yet sees slow improvements for those who live here and pay. Our taxi drivers replace costly shock absorbers when the roads are like an obstacle course. Our neighbors also pay to repair golf carts which take the bumps hard, not to mention feeling back pain. Our friends replace bicycles and cell phones as thieves help themselves. We wonder who our police officers are as they sit behind windshields after we/I begged at a Town Meeting that they walk among us to develop relationships in the business and neighborhood communities.
When I walk and ride around I see bottles, Styrofoam, and cardboard every few feet, on sand, dirt or pavement. As I approach the largest business, I plunge into more ruts and puddles while encountering more trash around the beverage plant. Our animals, from dogs to crocodiles, suffer at the hands of ignorant torturers who aren’t traceable or accountable. The “great” servers are not the ones who pass my table not noticing that my beverage is half-full or empty. Tourists and residents north of The Barry Bowen Bridge must have sighed on the first announced day of repair, May 15, when nothing had begun to remedy the dilapidated artery over Boca del Rio.
No, I am not re-locating to Placencia, though their efforts with service enhancement, connecting neighborhood policing, and controlling litter, are commendable. The people with whom I live here are what make San Pedro my pleasant home – not perfect people, but certainly honest about what we have and what we need to improve to keep enjoying and building our lives. We “stakeholders” don’t expect perfection, just awareness and a continuation of the improvements our leaders have been busy accomplishing.
Perfectly perplexed,
L. C. Anderson
Realistic Resilient Resident
