For as many problems as there are on the southside of Belize City – there are thinkers with solutions – some say a curfew will help, others say poverty alleviation, some say more community policing. But having an opinion is easy, it's doing the work that's the tough part. And that's why Perry Sticks Smith stands out; he's planning his second day of healing for this weekend at the Albert Hoy Field on Raccoon street. What's a day of healing? Well it started early this year in the George Street community after the Dean Street Massacre. Sticks plugged into that effort and used it as a model which he's now taking to the Queen Square and Mesopotamia Divisions. He explained:….
Perry Smith, AKA Sticks - Care-taker, Dubu Field
"All those days of healing started from Dean street from the tragic quadruple murder that took place. That community saw that they needed to rebuild their morale, build back up their spirit and show that they aren't like what everybody thinks they are. I was out there and I saw that it is beautiful that it sparked form a tragedy but it was something beautiful that needs to be taken not only on Dean Street because other communities are suffering just like how Dean St. is suffering. In the Lake Constituency, right at St. Martin's we had the second day of healing in April and during that day of healing - Ptita came to me and told me he is with me and wanted to work and that he had a community that we needed to 'buss' next, and that was Dubu Field."
Deon Ras Pitta - Community Activist
"The day of healing is all about how we could heal each other, it's not a me thing and not a Sticks thing - it's a we thing. In order for this to happen all of us have to be involved including the business people, the same people who want to cook and come out, these are the vibes we want to create."
Perry Smith, AKA Sticks
"We showcase the entire day around the community, around the youths - we have a lot of events planned for the youths, football, volleyball, running race, lime and spoon, tug and war, three sack race, needle and thread, May pole but this will be a June pole. The activities of the day is to bring out the community so that they could see that the youths have talent and they want to do something different. "
Deon Ras Pitta
"We want all the communities to interact and bring back how we were raised. This is a 'we' thing Belize."
Perry Smith, AKA Sticks
"But this day here we are not going to serve alcohol, we will serve fruits, juice, water, softdrink but we're not serving alcohol."
Deon Ras Pitta
"Everything will be free, nothing will be for sale. Your entrance fee is good behavior."
The event will be held on Sunday and will run from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm – which is when the candle-light vigil will proceed.
The event is being held at Dubu Field because the namesake Bernard Dubu Thomas epitomizes the community spirit they these activists hope to encourage. Thomas took charge of the neglected field almost 30 years ago – and up-keeping it has become his passion. He explained that he learned football here and wanted to preserve it for others:
Bernard Dubu Thomas - Care-taker Berger Field/Dubu Field
"I found this field when I was a little boy, I learnt football on this field. When this company came to Belize City that named BATRA that is WASA now that was what destroyed this community field. I had said that they better bring back the compound for the younger generation to play on and this is the reason that I became the single caretaker and my own people help me by contributing towards this place. It's all about contribution from the communities. I'm like a self employed care taker, everything that I do on this compound is about me. Whatever I get on the footabll field I get as contributions for gas, lawn mow, it's a hurt from then until now, it's our history."
Dubu also has his own football team that trains on the field.
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