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Might sound harsh, but for those who earned a fraction of their average take-home pay this week, there's no arguing with empty pocket syndrome:….

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"Did you guys make any money this week?"

Crowd
"No, no money."

Jules Vasquez Reporting
No money and no smiling faces, in fact, it was a room full of serious faces, anxious because in the first week of the BTB's zoning plan, they didn't make what they should have. But the zoning isn't the issue:

Tom Greenwood, President FECTAB
"I remain convince that the zoning idea is an excellent idea because we saw at terminal 4, sex, drugs and all that being offered I mean I personally heard an offer for little boys, if you want."

So Zoning is not the problem, the Fort Street Tourism Village is - they say the village is keeping their visitors inside

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"Our guest already book with us for the months or days before, they cannot find us because the inside doors at FSTV have no EXIT and if the doors mark no exit then there are 3 or 2 security guards right in front of the door with guns, now if our guests that are book cannot get out of FSTV how will the people that are trying to see the beautiful city of Belize or meet the taxi guys or the hair braiders, how will they exit, they will have no interest to exit any door."

Tom Greenwood, President FECTAB
"We now see evidence that yes people are now coming ashore but now it is the FSTV that are holding the guests hostage because they are not suppose to tell people that you can't exit here and you can't exit there."

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"We are the outsiders of tourism village, open the gates, if you want the zoning to work you have to open those doors and those gates."

Tom Greenwood, President FECTAB
"That tourism village must not hold people hostage, guests want to come outside, let them come outside as they will. The BTB has put up a zoning plan, I see it as an excellent plan, it's working except that as brother Yoni said unfortunately its working for FSTV, so open the gates and let my people go!"

Dramatic, but in this room, to this angry audience, not overplayed:

Tour Operator
"I will tell you what ladies and gentlemen, we need to eat and we don't need any more excuses, we have identify the problem and we will deal with it whether or not BTB wants. At this time we are being reasonable."

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"But our minds bug us to know that something is wrong, we are right next to the tourism village, we are seeing the dollar flying in our face and we can't catch it, something is wrong, it's like when you see aquarium, the fish are right next to you but you can't touch the water and you can't get wet and you can't touch the fish, there is a big log between you and that fish, so we are seeing everything going on, we see the vans going full, we are seeing everything but we cannot touch it. This is the last press conference we will have after this we picket BTB, we will picket wherever we have to. This is the last press conference."

Tom Greenwood, President FECTAB
"We need to take this to the next level, the next level I suggest folks is the 2 o' clock meeting at house of culture today and the next level after that if it don't happen, then we will haul out our placards and everything and take that there. And then it can go to various levels."

"FSTV, you got to get your act together boss because guess what, you can't hold back a category 5 hurricane ok."

And those at the center of the storm are the hair braiders who are protesting a major, major downturn in earnings:

Ruth Smith - President Of Hair Braiders
"We are here because we are not making any money. The area that BTB located us is Mirab parking lot, not even Mirab customers were using this parking lot. I have a situation, it was Wednesday, 4 ships, one of my co-workers made BZ$26, and the 62 played the same night in lottery."

Shakira Petillo, Made $26.00 Wednesday
"I made the $26.00, a day like with 4 ships, I would usually go home with US$160.00 in my pocket and I made BZ$26.00 on Wednesday."

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"The people need to understand that $26.00 - that's it for the week, that's it. If a vendor only sell $30.00 that's it for the week it's not like you have Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays, Tuesdays, what you make on Wednesdays that's it."

The press conference turned pep rally was supposed to be followed up by a pre-scheduled "week-one post-mortem" meeting this afternoon with the tourism board. The operators had promised to take their fiery demands into that meeting but it was postponed at the last minute. It will now be held early next week before the cruise days.

As for the Fort Street Tourism Village, Director of Operations James Nisbet says nothing has changed with the security provisions - and that the armed security is for Diamonds International. He says guests continue to go outside at their leisure - and that the village management has facilitated the BTB as best it can by placing dispatcher booths inside the village to funnel guests out.