The boys are back in town

How well do you know your geography?

“Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away
Haven't changed, haven't much to say
But man, I still think them cats are great”

“The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy

Like the lead line in the Thin Lizzy song from the '70s, as of Sunday the boys are back in town. The Belizean boys that is and other than the fact that their guys that's where the comparison with the carousing rowdies celebrated in the Irish rock band's greatest hit ends.

Last fall for about six weeks between mid-November and late December, ABC Truss brought in seven men from the Central American country of Belize to work short term at the plant. Lacking sufficient local labor to spell their regulars, ABC dove into a different pool to find the help they were in need of. Maybe you happened to notice last Fall a small gaggle of guys walking down the street to Gordy's that looked decidedly not from around here? Yeah, those guys. And now they're back for a much longer stint.

This is Marvin

I happened to meet a few of them while they were here and one of them – Marvin, a guy who endeared himself to many around here – attended our fellowship regularly. What I remember about meeting Marvin is the fact that it was the Sunday following the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris. Half way through our worship service in walked a tall, thin black man that made me think a Somalian from Barron was paying us a visit (something that would be very odd in itself). But following the gathering as we made each other's acquaintance I learned he was from an entirely different part of the planet. He joined my wife and I for lunch that day and during the short stint he was here more than a handful of us grew to like this guy from the small Caribbean nation to our south.

Just the other day someone I know from the plant shared a part of a conversation he had recently with one of his coworkers where apparently they remarked dismissively, “Well, soon the Syrians will be back.” When my friend sought to clarify what he meant by that statement apparently the guy sincerely was referencing the seven short-term laborers ABC had hired last fall. “I think you mean the guys from Belize and that's a long way away from Syria” to wit his coworker replied offhandedly, “Same difference.” Really?

So, what do you know about Belize? Here's a few things I learned last fall as well as for beefing up my knowledge to write this post:

• 

  See what I mean?

  Belize is located in Central America just south of Mexico on the Gulf coast. By any standard, that is a looooooong way from Syria which is in the Middle East (see graphic).
• While once upon a time it was ruled by the Mayans, who left amazing ruins that people still are exploring as well as a calendar that for a short time in 2012 got people all worked up as it predicted the world's end on December 21, more recently it was a British protectorate. In 1981, however, they were granted their independence and it is now more known for its scuba diving, rain forests and those looking for a good beach to catch some rays on.

This makes me think of Mel Gibson's movie, Apocalypto

Jacques Costeau's Big Blue Hole

The December 21, 2012 calendar.
I think they made a movie about it.

• As a former English colony most of the folks there speak English with maybe a touch of Creole thrown in for good measure. But for the most part, you can understand them and they can understand you.
• As one on-line blogger put it Belize is “...a little country with a population of fewer than 350,000 people, most all of whom speak English. Part Caribbean, part Central American, it’s mostly wide-open spaces with a long coast and a sprinkling of small islands just offshore fringed by white sand and swaying palms...This is one of the least densely populated places on earth. Belize is also peaceful, democratic, and stable. The country has generally no beefs with the rest of the world.”  10 Reasons to Live, Retire and Invest in English-Speaking Belize

So, if it's so great and peaceful there why are they here? Well, that's easy: economic opportunity. Take Marvin, for example. Back home he was a park ranger but at ABC he can make in a day what used to take him a week to earn and given that he's a single man with a mother to care for back in Belize, why not take seven months to earn some coin here to send back home? (Many of the guys who have come are married with children, however). Think of some of the local guys here who several years ago headed to the boom towns of North Dakota leaving their spouses behind for a season in order to make some hay out there. Now that's the same difference.

Some guys are still going west to seek their fortune

I know there are some in town who are disappointed that ABC decided to go this route. But if half or more of the local guys who apply for the same position can't pass a drug test or, as I'm told on good authority, don't even make it through their first week because they feel the work is too hard what are their options? Besides, these Belizeans go through a vetting process by the State Department that is quite extensive. One misstep on their part and they are on the short flight back home. There is no incentive on their part to screw up.

Hearing they were back in town, I stopped in this morning and welcomed them back officially on behalf of the City of Chetek bringing with me a hospitality gift of a dozen Spudniks from Bob's Grill as well as a dozen of assorted pastries from the Chetek Bakery. (One of their neighbors, Amanda Jensen, had already loaded them down with brownies and Rice Krispie bars last night so I think they're set – at least for the first week.) They're gonna be here until Christmas so if you happen to see a small group of men of color walking around town don't be afraid of them. Smile and be neighborly as I would hope you would be with anyone else. They speak our language and we speak theirs. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet someone from outside of Barron County. We all may just learn a few things about each other that makes us all better people for doing so.

Meet some of your new neighbors