Exactly 1 year ago, the Belize National Teachers Union went on the first-day of its historic 11-day strike against the Barrow Administration. It was the union's firm and unyielding call for good governance which forced GOB to agree to its demands for things such as the Senate Hearings on Immigration, the signing of the UNCAC, the accession to the 13th Senator, and the reactivation of the Integrity Commission.
They single-handedly managed to do what no other anti-government groups could do; which is, to force the hand of the Prime Minister to do what he had sworn against. And so, today, the union launched a documentary on the 11-day strike. It's simply called "Eleven Days", and it was produced by Krem Television.
We attended its launch, where the producer, Evan "Mose" Hyde, told all gathered that he was attempting to capture a part of modern history with as much attention to detail as possible.
Here's what he and the current President had to say:
Hon. Elena Smith, President, BNTU
"For 11 long days we fought for betterment for our country and people. Good governance was the pillar on which we stood and on which we will continue to stand. We were able to achieve what no other group has achieved and that alone is a great achievement that we should all be proud of."
Evan "Mose" Hyde, Producer - BNTU Documentary
"I feel like it is important and this is the serious part of the documentary: reason one, very important. Anytime our people stand up and whenever we have these protests where people show courage, maybe we could remember it and say yeah we remember then, but we don't have it archived in such a way that the next generation could able to experience it, could hear it and its not somebody else saying what happened. I went there like I know exactly how I will do this documentary and we will produce this documentary and when we done we are going half - half, BNTU for your fundraiser to help out their cause and we could end up pay one or two bills at the Zinc Fence. That is what you called we are not leaving nothing in the dark. That is how this documentary happen."
"Listen, it doesn't matter to me if anybody in the government like it. I don't expect them to. But it matters to me so deeply because I am so like a complete fan of the courage of the BNTU membership. Straight. And I have so much respect for what it took for you to stand up for 11 days in a time when we have a problem to stand up for just 15 minutes. You all stand up for 11 days."
The documentary can be purchased from any of the BNTU branches countrywide for $20 dollars. As you heard, Hyde is hoping that you will buy the DVD so that the proceeds can be split evenly between the BNTU, for their union's activities, and KREM.
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