All the time we see them come
Some are smart, some are dumb.
We tell them:
"Come and stay awhile, Rent a house Belizean style.
Never rush, never jump, Or you could rent or buy a rubbish dump."
They often cry...
“Oh no! Not me” They often cry...
"I’ve been around, let them try!
I am too clever, worldly-wise to buy a swamp or collapsing low rise;
I know the law, bring them on"
How often do we hear this song?
"I got money, want to spend; Cash to burn, cash to lend”
“Slow down SLOW DOWN!"
we tell them all, but rarely do they heed our call.
“I know, I know! I have a brain! "
Advice you give is all in vain;
I’m not stupid, been around, I’ve seen it all, there’s no new ground."
Advice you give is all in vain;
I’m not stupid, been around, I’ve seen it all, there’s no new ground."
"Was in Belize, stayed three days, Here’s my plans, be amazed!
Bought some land, has a Creek - going home to sell, be back next week.
Going to build, got so much space,
Belize will have to change its pace; getting old, no time to waste."
"My place will be a real gold mine, I’ll make a fortune wait and see; my plans will work out faultlessly.
I’ll start a business make some money, become a king in the land of milk and honey”
And so they come despite the warning.
Drive a truck down piled high,
then spend all morning at the border checkpoint getting mad thinking that they’re being had.
“How can they charge this much? This stuff’s not new!”As they watch the customs turn the screw.
“My truck is dirty used and old, I DIDN’T BRING ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLES GOLD!”
Credit card reaches max On environment and sales tax.
Their pockets full of hard earned booty now emptied fast on import duty.
So to the ATM they have to dash, when the Customs guy wipes out the last of their hard earned cash.
"It’s just a setback, not too bad - here in Belize so just glad."
So jubilant they went their way,
to the jungle deep where big cats play;
bugs bite and scorpions sting;
the bush’s thorns large scratches bring.
The forest damp where mildew grows;
to rot your ‘lectrics, shoes and clothes;
but they’re not daunted, they are strong
How often have we heard this song?
And oh! What Joy! They find their neighbour can build their house, and do hard labour;
Can chop their bush, can plant their trees -The smartest man in all Belize.
There is nothing that he can’t do, given cash, tools, wood and glue.
"A house by Christmas, won’t take long"
How often have we heard this song?
But cash aplenty, his needs are to start construction, plant seeds...
"A new machete to chop your grass, to build a road so you may pass,
need material, steel, and screws, Cement and block, no time to lose; gimme some dollars, gimme quick, buy me hammer, saw and brick"
He has a cousin, wife and brother’s son, His auntie’s uncle’s sister’s one;
His whole family will lend a hand - to build your house and till your land;
To cook your meals and wash your clothes, to guard your house whilst you doze.
It just takes money, little bit On little bit and bit and bit
But soon those bills are getting large, the money pit’s not free of charge.
"The credit card is getting worn, our new arrivals look forlorn.
All the while demands for cash, are diminishing the money stash.
The materials that came were wrong, the nails too short, the steel too long.
Wondrous neighbour soon forgot, he said he could do the lot."
Excuses and evasions come -the started work was never done.
"Sun too hot, it rain too hard;
Me granny dead, they burn ma yard
Foot painin me, Ma house collapse; car done bruk; licence lapse,
Pickni sick, he very ill, gimme money to buy a pill.
Police ketch me, I done no wrong."
How often do we hear this song?
And soon they meet officialdom,
To Belmopan they must come to show their passport, licence, form - to stay in a land of sun and warm. Your residency they want to thwart, your retirement plans may come to naught.
Immigration take too long; they’ve lost your file, your paper’s gone.
Pay more cash to extend your stay; wait one month or two they say.
"The mall’s not built, the shops are bare of modern goods 'cept Chinese fare.
No bowling alley, cinema, Was it wise to come this far?
The roads are bumpy have big potholes, now the pickup truck is looking old.
There’s no Big Macs or KFC, or much food delivery.
The power’s hardly ever on."
How often have we heard this song?
"The rains did come, the land did flood, the building site has turned to mud.
The lush mangrove that I cut down has caused my coconuts to drown.
And even though I had a plan, the title to my condo is not yet in my hand.
It’s not my fault, Third World you see, I am foreign, they pick on me.
My neighbour’s gone, my cash he took, his auntie’s wife could never cook.
My tools, my blocks, my roofing tin have vanished into air so thin.
Cement got wet, the sand was dirt, my funds are gone I lost my shirt
The gas was bad my truck has seized, hard to accept I've been bamboobelized.
My health has failed not feeling well, my worldly goods I have to sell;
Going back home, where things are normal, where rules are rules and life is formal."
And all because he didn’t listen to those well versed in his position. He burned his bridges, came too fast, and we all knew he’d never last.
We told him loud we told him blunt
"NEVER pay your cash up front; NEVER think you know it all;
NEVER think our tale’s too tall."
And all advice that he forsook -to never jump before you look: has sent him packing, pockets empty, Back again to lands of plenty.
Be even though we are so smug, We know Belize is like a drug
That if you come and stay awhile, You’ll be swept up in Belizean style.
A pirate’s land, with pirate’s luck; We need their cash, their loot, their buck
Where many fail, just some succeed to fill that urge, that inner need -
To live a life, exotic, free, of jungle trail and sun and sea.
So who can blame them, those who come to try their luck with what we’ve done
But sure as dawn on misty mornings, the ones that fail, ignored the warnings that things are done here differently to the things back home you wish to flee.
So bide your time, be at ease, Time means little in Belize -
Its not that we don’t know its wrong, but we do get tired of this old song.
Bought some land, has a Creek - going home to sell, be back next week.
Going to build, got so much space,
Belize will have to change its pace; getting old, no time to waste."
"My place will be a real gold mine, I’ll make a fortune wait and see; my plans will work out faultlessly.
I’ll start a business make some money, become a king in the land of milk and honey”
And so they come despite the warning.
Drive a truck down piled high,
then spend all morning at the border checkpoint getting mad thinking that they’re being had.
“How can they charge this much? This stuff’s not new!”As they watch the customs turn the screw.
“My truck is dirty used and old, I DIDN’T BRING ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLES GOLD!”
Credit card reaches max On environment and sales tax.
Their pockets full of hard earned booty now emptied fast on import duty.
So to the ATM they have to dash, when the Customs guy wipes out the last of their hard earned cash.
"It’s just a setback, not too bad - here in Belize so just glad."
So jubilant they went their way,
to the jungle deep where big cats play;
bugs bite and scorpions sting;
the bush’s thorns large scratches bring.
The forest damp where mildew grows;
to rot your ‘lectrics, shoes and clothes;
but they’re not daunted, they are strong
How often have we heard this song?
And oh! What Joy! They find their neighbour can build their house, and do hard labour;
Can chop their bush, can plant their trees -The smartest man in all Belize.
There is nothing that he can’t do, given cash, tools, wood and glue.
"A house by Christmas, won’t take long"
How often have we heard this song?
But cash aplenty, his needs are to start construction, plant seeds...
"A new machete to chop your grass, to build a road so you may pass,
need material, steel, and screws, Cement and block, no time to lose; gimme some dollars, gimme quick, buy me hammer, saw and brick"
He has a cousin, wife and brother’s son, His auntie’s uncle’s sister’s one;
His whole family will lend a hand - to build your house and till your land;
To cook your meals and wash your clothes, to guard your house whilst you doze.
It just takes money, little bit On little bit and bit and bit
But soon those bills are getting large, the money pit’s not free of charge.
"The credit card is getting worn, our new arrivals look forlorn.
All the while demands for cash, are diminishing the money stash.
The materials that came were wrong, the nails too short, the steel too long.
Wondrous neighbour soon forgot, he said he could do the lot."
Excuses and evasions come -the started work was never done.
"Sun too hot, it rain too hard;
Me granny dead, they burn ma yard
Foot painin me, Ma house collapse; car done bruk; licence lapse,
Pickni sick, he very ill, gimme money to buy a pill.
Police ketch me, I done no wrong."
How often do we hear this song?
And soon they meet officialdom,
To Belmopan they must come to show their passport, licence, form - to stay in a land of sun and warm. Your residency they want to thwart, your retirement plans may come to naught.
Immigration take too long; they’ve lost your file, your paper’s gone.
Pay more cash to extend your stay; wait one month or two they say.
"The mall’s not built, the shops are bare of modern goods 'cept Chinese fare.
No bowling alley, cinema, Was it wise to come this far?
The roads are bumpy have big potholes, now the pickup truck is looking old.
There’s no Big Macs or KFC, or much food delivery.
The power’s hardly ever on."
How often have we heard this song?
"The rains did come, the land did flood, the building site has turned to mud.
The lush mangrove that I cut down has caused my coconuts to drown.
And even though I had a plan, the title to my condo is not yet in my hand.
It’s not my fault, Third World you see, I am foreign, they pick on me.
My neighbour’s gone, my cash he took, his auntie’s wife could never cook.
My tools, my blocks, my roofing tin have vanished into air so thin.
Cement got wet, the sand was dirt, my funds are gone I lost my shirt
The gas was bad my truck has seized, hard to accept I've been bamboobelized.
My health has failed not feeling well, my worldly goods I have to sell;
Going back home, where things are normal, where rules are rules and life is formal."
And all because he didn’t listen to those well versed in his position. He burned his bridges, came too fast, and we all knew he’d never last.
We told him loud we told him blunt
"NEVER pay your cash up front; NEVER think you know it all;
NEVER think our tale’s too tall."
And all advice that he forsook -to never jump before you look: has sent him packing, pockets empty, Back again to lands of plenty.
Be even though we are so smug, We know Belize is like a drug
That if you come and stay awhile, You’ll be swept up in Belizean style.
A pirate’s land, with pirate’s luck; We need their cash, their loot, their buck
Where many fail, just some succeed to fill that urge, that inner need -
To live a life, exotic, free, of jungle trail and sun and sea.
So who can blame them, those who come to try their luck with what we’ve done
But sure as dawn on misty mornings, the ones that fail, ignored the warnings that things are done here differently to the things back home you wish to flee.
So bide your time, be at ease, Time means little in Belize -
Its not that we don’t know its wrong, but we do get tired of this old song.
Comments