Former Mayor Lawrence
Omeir
 Bluefields,
RAAS, Nov. 19-It was a
nice cool evening in the city of Bluefields when we past by the former Mayor of
Bluefields (Lawrence Omeir) little store in down town Bluefields and requested
an interview with him to obtain his views on the past election and what he had
done for the city during his years as mayor. Raindrops were falling very slowly
as the casino in front his store was rolling the dice. Reggae music of Owen
Gray, the artists to visit Bluefields January 1, 2002 was playing in the background.
The former mayor and former candidate for deputy seem a bit
on the down side. We knew this from talks of the people on the street. The
former mayor ran and lost his bid to represent the people of the RAAS in the
national congress. He lost his bid to a total stranger from the Pacific and is
still trying to comprehend how his people could make such a huge mistake.
Following is our interview with the former mayor.
Pulse: Mr. Mayor, What was it like being the Mayor of
Bluefields, tell us about your experience during your campaign for deputy for
the Yatama party.
A. Greetings to all, it’s nice to be
interviewed by our own people. My experiences being mayor of this city was a
good one, a challenge. There are a lot of things that need to be done for our
community. Our work is not complete. We did not get the cooperation from our
people but we continue to stride to do the best we can. We made a lot of
friendship with foreign organizations, and embassies. We did not get support
from our central government even though we were from the same party.
I feel proud for what I have accomplished. I believe
I did more than any other Mayor has done for this city. I build streets and
created a lot of programs. I was focusing more on the youths. As a young man, I
had a lot of playing facilities and that is what I worked on mostly. We build a
little stadium with help from the French embassy. This project cost over
$41,000.00 US dollars. The Japanese also helped us. There are a lot of things we
did on our own because the central government did not help us. So, I encourage
all you young people to work hard.
Pulse: About a month ago we saw an ambulance that
came in to Bluefields and was delivered to the fire department. We understand
that the ambulance came because of your efforts. However, when the ambulance
came you were already out of office. What can you tell us about this?
A. When I was Mayor, in 1999 I made a trip to
Alabama and met with Mayor Whitman. He was campaigning for re-election and I
went along with him. He promised to help me with anything that we needed in
Bluefields. He said he would try to help us out. I saw the need for an ambulance
in Bluefields. When I came back I wrote several letters to different people in
the US including one that was addressed to him. He replied saying that yes, he
had an ambulance for Bluefields.
When I left office in January, February, the
ambulance arrived in Bluefields. I believed this was something for the
Bluefields people, for the Mayor’s office. We heard a lot of confusion that
the current Mayor is responsible for getting it or the church is. I would like
to clarify this. I suggested to Mayor Whitman that we needed an ambulance in
Bluefields.
Giving the ambulance to the fire department was a
good choice. It was the ideal place to give it to because they are always there
for us. When you look at it closely, the hospital does have an ambulance but
they only carry their own people and not the sick. So, giving the ambulance to
the fire department was a good choice. I hope that Mayor Arana does not loose
the contact I have established with Mayor Whitman because he said he would be
willing to assist in different projects that Bluefields may have.
The contact I’ve made abroad was for the benefit of Bluefields and we
should keep them strong because it is the only way for us to help Bluefields
since our central government does not help us.
Pulse: Concerning the past election, you were
running on the Yatama ticket and you had the support of many in the community.
There are talks that the Bluefields people were confused by people who
campaigned against you, can you tell us why you believe the people made a
mistake by voting for someone from the Pacific and not someone from the region
to represent them in the National Assembly?
A. I felt good during the campaign; it was
like one person running against two giants. I felt happy and good because I had
a lot of support. We campaigned a lot. We did well. There are people in this
community who are confusing our people and telling them lies and unfortunately
our people believed it. I’ve always believed that Black people would vote for
Black people but we discovered that is not so.
Mr. Rayfield Hodgson and Orel Chollette went on the
Radio and told our people that whatever vote was going to me would go to the
Sandinista party and you know that is a lie. Brother Ray, really I don’t want
to place the name brother in front because he is a hypocrite. He lied to our
people and he lied to the church. I think we need to reflect and be careful. We
have lost the battle but the war is not over yet. We should not give up.
I feel a little down, my batteries are a little bit discharge but we will
overcome what they did.
Our communities consist of six ethnic groups but the
Liberal party took people from the pacific to run with the support of Rayfield
Hodgson and Orel Chollette. We have to come together to overcome what they are
trying to do to us. We have to sit down and analyze the past elections and see
what we are going to do about it because we are loosing grounds. They are not
taking us into consideration. We cannot allow them to do as they pleased. We
need to come together. This is Bluefields, our grandparents founded this place
and we need to rescue it for our children and grandchildren.
Pulse: As for the people who voted for the candidates of
the Caribbean coast, in this case for you. What kind of hopes can you give to
them?
A. I
am really thankful to the people of the communities. They don’t know me, they
heard of me over the radio yet they voted for me and that was great. I will pay
a visit to them in December and personally thank them. The Bluefields people who
did not vote for me are not traitors they were just confused and it’s
shameful. We cannot blame them, they made a mistake and I hope they will see it
later on. I do commend the people of the communities. I will thank them
personally in December.
Pulse: You mentioned Orel and Rayfield making dirty
campaign against you without any reason. What do you think then is the reason
for Orel to make dirty campaign against you, we understand that he was born in
Nicaragua but lost his nationality and is now a US citizen.
A. It’s hard to tell what his reasons are. He
comes to Bluefields very often, he has a lot of influence over people, the little
dollars he brings around buys people and that’s what he did. He influenced a
lot of people and they believed what he said. (that our vote was going to the
Sandinista) and that was wrong. Come on! We are in Bluefields, the Atlantic
coast belongs to the coast people. I don’t know how they bought out Orel. He
is a young guy, I believe maybe around 33 years old and he is making a mess of
everything and confusing people. I think someone has to have a real talk with
Rayfield and Orel.
Orel is a US citizens and has no right to come here and get
involved in politics. There’s even rumors that at one time he was going to run
for deputy but I don’t know what kind of game they played on him. He is
probably trying to get even and he did it on one of his own countrymen. I
don’t think that is right. I would like for Mr. Orel to reflect and clear
things up. He is not hurting Lawrence Omeir. He is hurting the community of
Bluefields, the region of Bluefields. Brother Ray is doing the same. He is
fooling the people, they believe in him. The trust they have in him, he should
used it positively. Let’s give our people some happiness. They have suffered
and need a lot and by fooling them we are not going anywhere. So let’s try and
clear things up with Ray and Orel and get our people back on track.
Pulse: When you were mayor of Bluefields did you left a
water project in place?
A. Yes, I left a project for sewer and drinking
water. The Canadian government gave us five million dollars to do the study for
the project. The Spanish and Japanese government is also helping out with this.
The total cost for the project is about twenty nine million dollars and that
money is on the way. The water will come from Escomfra Creek. They will run
pipelines and create a dam. The project started about two to three years ago and
they said it would take five to six years to be completed. We hope no one try to
take credit for this project. The Canadian government came to us with the
project and we accepted it. The Canadians has an office here in Bluefields if
anyone is interested in seeing the progress of the project. We have another
project to build a new garbage site. This project is being finance by the
Japanese government. I believe within one to two years these projects should be
completed and hopefully they will make our home a better place for our people
and for tourism.
Pulse: There
is a group of people from Bluefields living in the U.S. who are joining hands to
help the coast with anything possible. In this case we have the SLC group who
are trying to bring down Owen Gray for January 1, 2002 to celebrate the New
Year. What can you tell these people, should they continue with this program and
what can you do help them out?
A. I believe we have to support any type of progress
or tourism coming to the Caribbean coast. We have to come to together, as Bob
Marley said “together as one.” I believe we have to support the entertainers
like Owen Gray who are coming here to Bluefields. We have to open the way for
them. We need to appreciate them. I will help with whatever I can. I have
contacts here in Bluefields and will help. So, don’t hesitate to ask me for
help, sometime we make mistakes by not communicating but if we come together we
will succeed. A lot of people are talking about Owen Gray and if he comes here
it will be a successful entertainment and we will make much of it.
Pulse: Did you attended the first Bring Back The Culture
Festival that was put on by SLC with Yvonne Curtis and Ray Mondo, did you see
the performance and what is your opinion about it?
A. To
be frank, I was surprised and happy to see something that has never been seen in
Bluefields. I felt so proud to know that we can do something like that. We are
not supposed to stay back. We can do our own thing. Let’s not listen to people
who are saying we can’t do this and that. It was a number one performance and
I hope it continue being an every year event. We are now looking toward new
people coming in every year to entertain us. We listen to these artists year in
and year out and whenever they come around to perform it will be great. People
were crying during the event. It was well organized, let’s keep it up.
Continue to bring the artists and let’s talk to them. You will never fail.
Let’s get sponsors to help us out with this. It’s great to have these
international artists here in our city and we will support them.
Pulse: Christmas is near, and the people in the North
have suffered greatly with the flooding caused by bad weather, how can the
Caribbean community help?
A. The North has suffered greatly and we should help
them out. They are our people and I have not seen any campaign to help them out.
No leader from this area has initiated anything to help the people out. We
should try to help raise money to buy food and clothes for those people. To the
people of New York, Washington and Miami especially relatives, we need to get
help to those people. They need food, medicine, money and clothes. Let’s try
to help them out. Remember, today for me tomorrow for you. If we can help them
out it will be a blessing for us and for them who will receive it. The need is
great so let’s help before it is too late.
Pulse: Mr. Mayor it was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you for
your time. | 