On this page:

• Rise from the pit - 2006 Tribute
• Garifuna Flag Collage
• Timeline of Garifuna History
• Changing Portraits of the Garinagu
• T.V. Ramos: Like Rosa Parks, a champion of the cause
• The biography of Mr. T.V. Ramos

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Remarks by Adele Ramos

 

51^st memorial service for T.V. Ramos in Dangriga

 

 

Monday, November 13, 2006

 

…You said, we must know HISTORY

But not his story, OUR story

So you recited from the 10^th century

A story that has yet to be told to me

Sadly, more than half our story

Has never been told

And when the truth

Finds itself to us

We shall fulfill your command

And make it search out

Every Carib man and woman

In the languages

They understand…

 

You waged a war

Against

Discrimination

Oppression

Mis-education

Self-degradation

Exploitation

And Repression

Exposing bigotry

And falsification

As brave as a lion,

Yet as meek as a lamb

Belligerent peace lover,

Standing strong…

 

“The Caribs had a glorious past

Now hidden from their sight”

 

But the drums

Of November 19^th

Awakened your people

From their slumber

And brought a new mind

Of consciousness

They rescued them

From the pitfall

Into which they had sunken…

“Due to neglect and

The lack of intelligent leaders”

But you saw yourself

As the Black Moses

Sent to liberate Garinagu

You took up your cane

And led them

Though some stoned you,

Mocked you

And undermined you

YOU TRIUMPHED!

 

…You were posthumously

Decorated patriot

With the Order of Belize

Because

Your cause

Has uplifted Garinagu

But moreover

The entire Belize –

Your new home

Is better off

For their contributions

 

Like Martin Luther King

You had a dream

Here is that dream

Manifesting itself

In our reality

Recognition and advancement

Seremein Saint Thomas Vincent!

 

-          From the epic poem, Seremein Saint Vincent, by Adele Ramos-Daly. A tribute to our hero, Thomas Vincent Ramos. (Seremein means thanks in Garifuna).

 

 

Sixty-five years ago, the Garinagu of Stann Creek (now Dangriga) decided at a public meeting to celebrate the arrival of their ancestors to Belizean soil. It was a time of celebration, of cultural revival, of reflection on our past as a people, and a time of sharing. T.V. Ramos invited all people—no matter their race, religion or color—to celebrate with us.

 

In 1941, celebrations began with T.V. Ramos as the lead promoter. T.V. Ramos, who was also a journalist, wrote of the celebrations in two of Belize’s major newspapers – The Belize Independent and The Daily Clarion. His written words remain with us today, but beyond that, the tradition for which he fought remains alive.

 

While the focus today is more on Garifuna culture, T.V. Ramos’s loudest cry was for the resurrection of his people.

 

RISE, he said. Know who you are. Remember the hard journey of your ancestors, and know that the victory is yours!

 

While Garinagu celebrated at home, the world was engaged in a bitter war, but T.V. Ramos’s main concern was the struggle of his own people here at home.

 

He said that the odds against their rise were overwhelming. He saw that the devices used to keep us down were the design of the education system, materialistic religion and the payment of slave wages to his hard working people. He observed that his people were catching hell right here on earth, and sadly being kept down by some of their very own who, like Judas, loved money, material comforts and status more than their brothers and sisters.

 

But while there were those who were selfishly dragging their own down, Thomas Vincent Ramos was prepared to take up his staff and lead the Garinagu toward “the promise land.”

 

My grandfather was consumed with a sense of duty and devotion to his people, and that was the spirit that drove him, and his delegation of supporters, including Mateo Avaloy & C.S. Benguche, to push for the 19^th celebrations.

 

Every crab has a season and perhaps a leader, so why shouldn’t we? T.V. Ramos thought.

 

It was a time to celebrate the journey of our ancestors to this eventual homeland.

 

At first, the day was celebrated as Carib Disembarkation Day; today, it is Garifuna Settlement Day. Disembarkation means hat the passengers and crew traveling on a vessel have arrived at their destination and have come ashore. But there is both a literal and symbolic meaning to this commemoration.

 

Mr. Ramos chronicled the journey of our ancestors from centuries before Columbus, he spoke of the adversities that faced our people during that time—including our deportation from St. Vincent in 1797 by the British, and he spoke of the continuing struggle of the people of his time. For as much as the Garinagu had cause to celebrate—to breathe a sigh of relief from the tyrannical rule in Honduras when migrated to Belize in 1823 and found what T.V. Ramos identified as “liberty and security”—those living in his time were confronted with a different kind of struggle. T. V. Ramos said that his people were hit hard by circumstances and gross misrepresentations of who they are.

 

They were misrepresented as lazy and backward, but T.V. Ramos saw that his people had lost knowledge of their greatness. So he resurrected Sankofa’s spirit—reached back into the past to give those of his time and our time hope by recollecting and by celebrating the victory and journey of our ancestors.

 

Today is indeed a day when we must express gratitude.

 

T.V. Ramos passed away on November 13, 1955. Every year since, that day has been marked with a memorial in his honor. Co-incidentally on November 13, 1943, Carib Disembarkation Day was “gazetted” under Chapter 113 of a 1924 holiday ordinance. 13 is the number of transformation. November 13^th is the day of T.V. Ramos and a day upon which we should also focus upon the transformation he desired for us. It goes beyond the dancing, beyond the drumming, beyond the cultural dress, and beyond the feasting. It is a transformation of the spirit.

 

In his correspondences in the early 1940’s, T.V. Ramos said that the settlement day effort had brought back hope and confidence to a despised race of people. He spoke of “a new departure” and “a new leash on life” for a people who were “drifting towards a sea of aimlessness and thoughtlessness.”

 

The celebrations had inspired a sense of self-respect, responsibility, and patriotism by reminding Garinagu of the need to continue the struggle for survival against the odds. It pointed to what we had achieved, as pioneers, for centuries before colonization, for centuries under colonial rule, and must continue to point to our achievements in our unending journey forward.

 

Our founder said that the settlement of our ancestors will remain a memorial as long as life lasts, indelible in the hearts and minds of our people, a few seasoned critics notwithstanding.

 

The issues of which T.V. Ramos spoke continue to be relevant today. We have not yet inherited “the promise land.” The journey over the rough seas continues.

 

Buídu la buweyasu (Have a good trip).

 

Biographical Notes:

 

q       T.V. Ramos was born Thomas Villanueva Ramos on September 17, 1887 in Tulian, Puerto Cortes, Honduras. He later replaced Villanueva with Vincent.

q       His father was Cecilio Ramos of Honduras and Santurlina Rhys of Stann Creek, Belize.

q       For a time, he attended primary school in Stann Creek.

q       In 1914, he married Eliza Marion Fuentes of Stann Creek.

q       He migrated to Belize permanently in 1923.

q       He had 14 children: 11 with his wife, two others in Stann Creek and one in Honduras.

q       With the support of fellow Garinagu, he founded Garifuna Settlement Day in 1941, but in 1943 a holiday was granted.

q       He was a multi-talented person: a farmer, trader, lay preacher, community activist, journalist, boxing manager, candy-maker, and organizer and promoter of many local events.

q       He was an active supporter of Marcus Garvey, his contemporary, and an active member of the UNIA, having chaired meetings in Dangriga.

q       In 1954, he became naturalized as a British subject in British Honduras.

q       He died six days before the settlement day celebrations in 1955; that is, November 13^th.

q       In 2002, T. V. Ramos was awarded Order of Belize, posthumously.

367 years: (1635 - 2002)

 

1635 - Two Spanish ships wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent - West African slaves escape to the island, where they found the Yellow Caribs, a group that emerged from the intermarriages between the Venezuelan Caribs and the island Arawaks.

 

1675 - Another shipwreck brought another wave of Africans to St. Vincent. Also, African slaves who had escaped nearby slave plantations from places like Jamaica found their way to the island.

 

1750 - The new race of people - today called the GARIFUNA or Black Caribs, which emerged on the island of St. Vincent through the integration of 3 peoples - the Arawaks, the Yellow Caribs and the Africans - are said to have grown strong and prosperous on the island.

 

1763 - British colonizers established presence on the island; French had already partially colonized the territory. British and French were fighting for territorial control. The Garifuna sided with the French, with whom they had developed a trading relationship after an informal war truce/peace pact.

 

1763-1795: 32-year conflict between the Caribs and the Europeans, particularly the British. There was some intermarriage also between the Caribs and the Europeans, resulting in the so-called Red Carib race, known from the island of Dominica.

 

1795: On March 14, Paramount Chief of the Black Caribs, Joseph Chatoyer, died in battle.

 

1796: The French surrendered to the British; but the Caribs kept up the fight. They were famed as being “belligerent.”

 

To subdue them, the British - who were after the land they had cultivated - torched their possessions. There were two major wars: the Caribs won the first in 1795, and the British won the second sometime in 1796.

 

It is reported that Chatoyer’s  daughter, Gulisi, was one of the first to settle in Belize. At the age of 24, she reportedly came to Belize from Honduras, with 5 sons.

 

1797: About 5,000 Garinagu were said to have “survived” the wars. In March, the British launched a manhunt for the Garinagu. They wanted to use those who had survived the bloody wars to help them fight the Spaniards. They were expecting a war, which came in 1798 - the historical Battle of St. George’s Caye - and had uniforms made for the Garifuna men.

 

One year before the Battle of St. George’s Caye, the British packed up the Garinagu into ships, reportedly with the intent of sending them to Belize. The popular traditional accounts say that they were “deported” from St. Vincent to Roatan, Honduras, then a Spanish colony. Perhaps the Garinagu refused to fight!

 

The Garifuna people were transported from Balliceaux, near Bequia, St. Vincent, to Roatan, Honduras, and half of them reportedly perished from the scourges of disease, starvation and harsh treatment by colonial powers. They were reportedly sent off with three months’ food supply, and some allege their deportation was a deliberate attempt at genocide.

 

1799: First reported contact with Belize.

 

1801: On March 25, Garinagu arrive at Belize City, spotted many white buildings near the sea, and called it by the name YARBURA - which later became Yarborough. They were only allowed to stay temporarily for 2 days.

 

1802: 150 Caribs settled in Belize at Yarborough. Some surnames of the settlers include: Avaloy, Avila, Beni, Blanco, Cayetano, Ciego, Diego, Ellis, Enriquez, Guerrero, Lambey, Lewis, Martinez, Moguel, Noguera, Nunez, Rhys, Reyes and Serano. One of the prominent leaders at the time was Benito Beni.

 

1802: Village of Red Cliff - present day Barranco - established.

 

Today, Barranco, one of the first Garifuna communities in Belize, is one of the last havens where the Garifuna culture is preserved in one of its most dynamic forms.

 

1823: 375 Garinagu recorded at Yarborough in Belize City.

 

On March 31, Elejo Beni, Romauldo Lewis, Elias Martinez, Alejo Lambey and Alejo Beni’s cousin, Benito Beni, their interpreter, approached Sup. Major-General Edward Codd (1823-1829) for permission for Garinagu to migrate from Honduras.

 

1823: On Wednesday, November 19, 500 Garinagu settled in Belize. This was the largest recorded exodus of Garifuna to Belize.

 

 

1941 - First celebration of Garifuna Settlement Day in Belize, called Carib Disembarkation Day. Founded by Thomas Vincent Ramos.

 

1943 - Ramos lobbied for a public and bank holiday and succeeded two years after celebrations began. Granted only for Stann Creek.

 

1944: Holiday extended to the Toledo District, where the third largest concentration of Garifuna lived.

 

1977: Carib Settlement Day becomes a national holiday, and name changed to Garifuna Settlement Day.

 

2001: On November 15, UNESCO made a public proclamation of the Garifuna culture as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible heritage of Humanity.

 

2002: Chief Chatoyer celebrated as the first National Hero of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His stalwart struggle against the British won him this acclaim 207 years after his death, when the country celebrated its first National Heroes Day on March 14, this year.

 

2002: On November 13, the Order of Belize bestowed posthumously upon T. V. Ramos, now recognized as one of Belize’s true patriots.

 

(Also posted on www.garifuna.org)

by Adele Ramos

BELIZE CITY, Tues. Nov. 20, 2001

(AMANDALA)

THE ISLE OF ST. VINCENT – THE PLACE OF BEGINNING!

   The Garinagu, or Black Caribs, evolved as a separate and unique ethnic group over a period of five centuries, starting with the intermarriage between the Arawakan women and the South American Amerindian men on the island of St. Vincent. During the 13^th century, the South American Indians migrated to the Lesser Antilles, and, on the island of St. Vincent, enslaved the Arawakan men. The new social dynamics resulted in a new race - the Yellow Caribs.

   Later, when the African slave trade burgeoned in the region, the Yellow Caribs intermingled with African slaves, and hence the evolution of the Black Caribs. History has it that in 1635 two ships were wrecked off St. Vincent, and the escaped slaves found refuge on the island. Others found their way to the island from neighboring plantations.

   Around that same time the French had already begun to colonize the island, and later the British. There was contention among the three nations, and the Caribs and the French took sides with each other. In 1795, the British waged war against the Garinagu because they wanted to usurp the land. The Caribs, backed by the French, resisted the move by the British to colonize, but the British prevailed after the death of Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer.

   Already stricken by epidemic diseases, a total of 5,080 Garinagu were deported from their motherland. They were shipped from Bequia in St. Vincent, and eventually taken to Roatan, off the shore of the Republic of Honduras. About half of them succumbed to harsh treatment and ill health.

   Then under Spanish rule, Honduras was also a land of trials and tribulations for the Garinagu. There they suffered from racial discrimination and social exclusion. The history of oppression continued.

   Having suffered forced expulsion from their homeland, and marginalization in Honduras, many in that generation opted to leave Honduras.

BELIZE – A NEW BEGINNING!

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

   Some Garinagu ventured northward of the Republic of Honduras, and came across “The Jewel” – then identified as the Settlement in the Bay of Honduras, later named British Honduras and now called Belize. They were already familiar with the area, and some reports say Garinagu had ventured here as early as 1799. Others report that the British had made uniforms for Garifuna men to fight in the 1798 Battle of St. George’s Caye, although it is not certain whether they actually fought with the British against the Spaniards in the Battle. The Garinagu had suffered inhumane treatment at the hands of both colonial powers.

   It was Wednesday, March 25, 1801, when a group of seafaring Garinagu paddled their dories here, and, catching a glimpse of some white buildings near the coast, they stopped for a short stay. Abraham L. W. Ramos records that the group stayed for two days. They named the site “Yabura,” because of the many white buildings they saw there.

   The Garinagu were feared, and held under suspicion because of what was described as their “warlike” appearance. But the perception of them changed as they made more frequent visits to the Settlement. The residents of the Settlement in the Bay of Honduras eventually came to realize that the Garinagu are a peaceful and hardworking people.

   By 1802, there was a settlement of 150 Caribs in Yarborough, now one of several small communities in the Belize City municipality. By 1823, their population had more than doubled to 375. Surnames of those recorded in Belize at that time, according to A. L. W. Ramos were: Avaloy, Avila, Ciego, Beni, Blanco, Cayetano, Diego, Ellis, Enriquez, Guerrero, Lambey, Lewis, Martinez, Miguel, Noguera, Nunez, Rhys, Reyes and Serano.

   Felicita Francisco, who claims to be descended from the line of Paramount Chief Chatoyer, told Belizean anthropologist, Dr. Joseph Palacio, in a 1997 interview, that Gulisi, one of Chatoyer’s daughters, was among the first to settle the land now called Belize. By the time Gulisi came to Belize, she was already 24 years old, and had brought with her at least 5 sons from Trujillo, Honduras. Gulisi and her extended family settled Stann Creek Town (now called Dangriga), Jonathon Point, San Vicente, Punta Ycacos, Seine Bight and Barranco.

   The reports have always stated that the men were the ones who sought out new land and led the journey to Belize, but the recent revelation brings women into the focal point of the expatriation movement.

MASS EXPATRIATION

   Documenting the formal move by Honduran Garinagu to settle Belize, Ramos further states: “Early in the year 1823, Mr. Elijo Beni, Mr. Vicente Lino, Mr. Romauldo Lewis, Mr. Elias Martinez, and Mr. Alejo Lambey sailed from the Republic of Honduras to go to Bacalar in Mexico to look for work. They stopped off at various places in this country before going to Bacalar. They found certain things to their liking, such as uncleared, fertile land, rivers with good drinking water, especially that of “Gumaga Rugu”, excellent fishing grounds, and saw the Barrier Reef, which abounded with big fishes.”

   They continued exploring the Atlantic Caribbean coast, and went up to Bacalar, but living conditions there were described as unsatisfactory for them. They were, however, more optimistic about a better life in Belize.

   On their way back to Honduras, on Monday, March 23, Elijo Beni and his cousin, the multilingual Benito Beni, who served as interpreter, approached Major-General Edward Codd, the then Superintendent of the Settlement in the Bay of Honduras. They requested permission to settle parts of the country they had seen and marked. Permission was granted and the 5-member delegation returned to Honduras on April 3, after traveling for 2 days, stopping along the way, to share the news of hope.

   Five hundred strong, several Garifuna families closed the chapter of their lives in Honduras and opened a new chapter in Belize. They set sail on November 18, 1823, and arrived on November 19, a day later. Their timber dories were packed with agricultural produce such as cassava sticks/cuttings, plantain and banana suckers, bits of yams, yampi, sorrel seeds, ginger rhizomes, arrowroot, and medicinal plants. They also brought fishing, farming and building implements, and hunting weapons.

   Arriving on fertile ground, 300 Garinagu settled Stann Creek Town (now Dangriga), 125 settled at Punta Gorda, 28 at Seine Bight, 24 at Barranco, 15 at Jonathan Point and 8 at Newtown, since desolated by hurricane.

THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS INTEGRATION

   Trials and tribulation met them here too. They still had to face issues of discrimination and exploitation, mostly because of being subject to wage labor. These hindered integration and cultural development. Garinagu here were labeled with the derogatory term “Kerobee,” a scar that still lingers in the mind of many who were pushed into a corner because others did not see the social value of the Garinagu to Belize’s ethnic and social fabric. But there were those who had heartfelt concerns for the Garinagu people and their social development.

   A hundred and eighteen years after the official settlement of the 500 Garinagu, Thomas Vincent Ramos led a movement to put aside a day to recognize the positive contributions the Garinagu had made to the Belizean society since their arrival. That day marks a place of a new beginning for an oppressed yet triumphant people.

   On November 19, 1941, the first official celebrations were held to commemorate the mass expatriation of Garifuna to Belize, first called “Carib Disembarkation Day.”  An official holiday was granted for Stann Creek District in 1943, and in 1944 the holiday was extended to the Toledo District, as well. The entire nation began observing the day in 1977.

   Remarkable as it may be, the Garinagu have managed to integrate with the Belizean society while still maintaining much of their cultural identity. UNESCO last Thursday made a public proclamation of the Garifuna Culture as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” That same day, also Garifuna Awareness Day, a documentary entitled “The Garifuna Heritage” was unveiled.

   Garinagu have had to redouble their efforts in keeping the culture alive, while integrating and promoting social development within the community. Programs and special events are implemented on a continual basis to preserve various aspects of the Garifuna culture.

PRESENT-DAY CHALLENGES

   There are great challenges Garinagu face today though. Concerns are being raised about rampant crime at the heart of the Garifuna community – Dangriga. Urbanization and Westernization within our communities, inevitable for the fact that many of our relatives, totaling now about 100,000, have migrated to the First World in search of better opportunities, leaving the Garifuna community in a socially vulnerable state, and hence the fight to preserve an identify for which many of our ancestors gave their blood, sweat and tears.

   The new generation of Garinagu has to face new realities. While the first settlers lived primarily in rural communities, Garinagu have followed modern-day trends of urbanization. More than three-quarters of the population live in urban areas, according to Myrtle Palacio, head of the Elections and Boundaries Commission.

   The theme for this year’s Garifuna Settlement Day Celebrations,  “Lawanserun Garifunadoun: hadisi sun isanigu, hadisi sun Garinagu,” translated “Garifuna Progress: A Challenge for the Youth, a Task for All Garinagu,” continues the focus on our youth.

   Keynote speaker for this year’s celebrations, Dr. Barbara Flores said in her address, printed on page 12 of this issue: “We have taken on the task of understanding our history from our perspective and in the process have critically challenged the ways in which our culture has been misrepresented in the past. This striving is assisting us in reclaiming our identity as a people with a deep sense of pride and helping us to find our collective strength and voice.”

   It’s been a horrendous journey across the seas, across the miles, and across boundaries. With an excellent spirit of adaptability and a strong sense of ambition, the Garinagu have been successful at penetrating ethnic and class barriers, and reaching great heights of social development.

   They came with nothing but a few dories, implements and agricultural products, but they have, particularly in the area of education, helped lift up Belize and Belizeans to greater heights. Found at all levels of Belizean society and in a wide cross section of professions, Garinagu have had tremendous success at integration, despite their insistence to maintain a unique cultural identity – a near impossible feat.

   The journey continues. It is my hope and prayer that the Garifuna community will now move to a new level of development – spiritual development – seeking to assure our upward movement… heaven bound. Genuine faith in our Supreme God and His leading hand will take us to that higher ground. It will be more wonderful than our human minds could ever imagine.

 

(NOTE: Some report Settlement Day as 1832, but, in addition to reports documented by deceased historian Abraham L. W. Ramos, T. V. Ramos’ letter to the District Commissioner on Nov. 19, 1941, reports 1823 as the day of mass expatriation. See book titled, “Thomas Vincent Ramos: the Man and His Writings”, by Adele Ramos, published by the National Garifuna Council in 2000.)

Like Rosa Parks

 

...a champion of the cause

 

by Adele Ramos

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Nov. 2, 2005

   In 11 days, the Garifuna community will be paying our annual tribute to our legendary leader, Thomas Vincent Ramos, my grandfather, who is revered not only for the founding of Garifuna Settlement Day, but for the persistent stand that he took in defense of his people.

   Any biographical account of the life of T.V. Ramos will testify to his stalwart efforts for the recognition and advancement of his people.

   Ramos took the same sort of stand that the late Dr. Rosa Parks took, when she decided that enough was enough! She would not be pushed around any more and relegated to an inferior place, because of her race!

   Ramos’s message was the same as Dr. Parks’s: He recognized the Garifuna people as a downtrodden people; we are Blacks in the African Diaspora, though some of us are too afraid to admit this essential fact. He recognized the discrimination that faced us; he recognized the hypocrisy of the system that perpetuates the falsehood that the Creoles and the Garinagu are separate people.

   What all Blacks in Belize should know is that when T. V. Ramos fought for Garifuna Settlement Day, he was also fighting for the recognition of all Blacks. He spoke the credo of “One God, One Aim, One Destiny.”

   T. V. Ramos’s involvement in the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was by no coincidence. My father, Abraham Ramos, who authored his biography below, wrote in another biographical sketch (that of the late Roderick Augustus Pitts), that Ramos used to chair UNIA meetings in Stann Creek.

   His involvement in the larger Black Power movement is testimony that T.V. Ramos was not merely seeking the interest of the Garinagu when he founded Carib Disembarkation Day, now known as Garifuna Settlement Day. What Ramos was, in fact, doing was paving the way for the wider recognition of Afro-Belizeans by starting in how own backyard, those Africans who were painted, like those from the motherland, as backward cannibals, not worthy of respect, love and adoration.

   At the same time, he was working at the international level as a Garveyite—a soldier for the UNIA. This is an aspect of Ramos’s work that has been severely downplayed; it is an aspect of him that we must understand.

   Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to send a message to a bus driver that she deserves to be treated like a human being, that her rights must be respected. It was a stand that has won her great acclaim.

   T. V. Ramos took a stand for the Garinagu, for all Afro-Belizeans, and for all in the African Diaspora. He took a logical approach by beginning in his home, where he was a model father; then stretching out his efforts to reach his community, where he was an activist for social change; in the country of Belize, where he contributed to the advancement in education, sports, religion, information and other areas; and on the wider front, championing the cause against the oppression of the Black race.

   Like Rosa Parks, Ramos is an icon to be reckoned with. This is why each year since he died in 1955, Garinagu pay homage to this great activist. What all Belizeans, and particularly Afro-Belizeans, should recognize are the far-reaching effects of Ramos’s work on all fronts.

   His biography, reproduced below, will help all of us to gain a greater appreciation of him.

by Abraham L. W. Ramos

   Mr. Thomas Vincent Ramos, the son of Mr. Cecilio Ramos of Honduras and Miss Santurlina Rhys of this country, was born in Puerto Cortez, Honduras, on Saturday 17^th September 1887.

   He was educated at Wesleyan Methodist Primary Schools in Stann Creek Town and Belize City. He took correspondence courses in business administration, public speaking, journalism and accountancy. His best-loved teacher was Mr. Israel Daniel Meighan.

   As his mother was a native of this country, most of his life was spent in Belize. He lived and worked in Honduras for a few years. Mr. Bernard C. O. Blanco was one of the outstanding persons who had an impact on his life.

   He got married to Miss Eliza Marian Fuentes, daughter of Mr. Roman Fuentes and Mrs. Pasquala Fuentes of Stann Creek Town, on Monday 16^th February 1914. Mrs. Eliza Marian Fuentes was born on Wednesday, 9^th December and died on Monday, 23^rd November 1970 at the age of 73.

   Seven sons and five daughters were born out of this union. They are Isaac Jacob Joseph Ramos, Kline Harland Ephilstone Ramos, Elswith Viola Ramos, Thomas Tate Armstrong Ramos, Gadsby Clockstan Tilford Ramos, Carl Raymond Gustav Ramos, Abraham Lincoln Washington Ramos, Jewell Izetta Ramos married Lopez, Ward Bliss Beacher Ramos, Ruth Viola married Gentle, Pasquala Eliza Ramos married Blanco and remarried Glossie, and Dorcas Elswith Ramos married Higinio. Isaac, Kline, Elswith, Thomas and Gadsby are dead.

   Mr. Ramos was also father of Jane Ramos and Naomi Ramos, two sisters of Dangriga. Miss Ellen of Honduras is another child.

   My dear father was a devout Wesleyan Methodist and was a local preacher of the Stann Creek Methodist church.

   He was a grocer, farmer, newspaper correspondent, seller, candy maker, Carib historian, entertainment producer, public speaker, boxing promoter, agent for soft drinks, agent for Lyons bread and bun, railway train conductor, ice cream vendor, peanuts vendor, banana checker, Carib hymn writer, owner of a few horses, voluntary social worker and founder of the Independent Manhood and Exodus Uplift Society, the Colonial Industrial Instruction Association and Carib Settlement Day.

   As a candy maker, he made molasses (poor man sweet), peanuts cake (toffee), ‘wangla’ cake (toffee), caramel, butterscotch, and man face (a hand-sucker candy).

   The games and sports he loved were draughts (checkers), boxing, cycle races, which he sponsored, football, and cricket.

   His favorite aspirants were Darrell Alvin Diaz, Mr. Cornelius Patrick Cacho, Mr. Alfred “Hombre” Francisco and Mr. Godsman Celestino Ellis. He used to speak highly of them to me.

   He was naturalized a British subject in March 1954.

   His character was his distinctive mark. He was strict, kind, sociable, industrious, erudite, patient, magnanimous, reliable, zealous, candid, religious, loyal, and patriotic. An outstanding thing about my father is that he was a great lover of mankind.

   Mr. Thomas Vincent Ramos passed away on Sunday, 13^th November 1955 at about 8:30 p.m. at his home in Stann Creek Town at the age of 68 years.

   His crowded funeral service was conducted by Rev. Claude Cadogan, who paid special tribute to a great Methodist in the Stann Creek Methodist Church on Monday 14^th November 1955 (Prince Charles’ Birthday).

   His corpse was laid to rest in the Garden of Gethsemane Cemetery in Stann Creek Town.

   His immortal character lives on and is worthy of emulation.

   (Published in the AMANDALA on Friday, November 12, 1982)