Another book on Belizean History has been added to the vast collection of existing works that celebrate and narrate Belize's social, cultural and
economic shifts since the days of Colonialism.
But American writer Ted Cox takes a turn from the traditional topics discussed in Belizean History by highlighting the history of sports in Belize. His
book is entitled "When British Honduras Became Belize: A Peace Corps Memoir: 1971 -1973" and Cox is on a countrywide tour to market his book. Now,
history, let alone Belizean History, is a problematic topic and even more so when a non-Belizean is involved. But Cox says he simply wanted to
contribute to Belize's History by documenting his experiences as a peace corps volunteer in Belize.
Ted Cox, Writer
"Years ago when I was in Belize, I just liked taking pictures, I had a darkroom. So I had taken hundreds of pictures and they were pretty much just put
in a scrapped book. Also at the time I kept a work log and letters home to my mom, saved all those letters, so I got them back. So all of this stuff is
just sitting and I knew about 4 years ago. If I didn't do something with it, about another 10 - 15 years, I'm going to be too old to deal with it and
it would have been lost. There was a chronicle period that was actually lost. There was things I pointed out in sports and the early form of a sports
council. We didn't have a sports council, but I was kind of stepping into those shoes in just one sport. That was not going to be written by anybody
else."
Giovanni Pinelo - Research & Education Officer, NICH
"When British Honduras became Belize is an interesting text. It brings out quite the historical back drop of Belize in the early 1970's. Again, it's
from the perspective of a peace corp volunteer. But the focus in general, particularly is on athletics, the building up of athleticism in Belize when
there appear to be a slump. In having an overview of the text and the various events that went on, there are key citizens in Belize that we often times
neglect to mention when it comes to sporting events."
The book will be available in libraries and book stores countrywide.
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