And indeed there are charges to face. Eworth Garbutt finished phase one fo the break wall out at Silk Caye this afternoon - and when he arrived back at the peninsula he was told that he should head to the police station to face charges.
Before he did that, he reached out to an attorney and to the media. Here's what he told us via Zoom about finishing with phase one of the project:
Eworth Garbutt, Tour Guide
"I finished phase 1, which will be making a brick wall of 135 feet. Its unprecedented and nothing like that ever done in the country and I am assuring you even in the world with zero machine."
Jules Vasquez
"They say you are breaking the law and now I understand that you have charges to answer to."
Eworth Garbutt, Tour Guide
"Yes sir, never been in my life. I have never seen the coast guard reacted so quick to something yet. We have had infractions going on left and right where people are dredging here and doing other things, but when its for community, all of sudden, because it's us buying the gas maybe they come for us faster, because we are the tax payers. But for me I know what I did, I didn't do anything against the law as far as what I was made to understand - dredging and filling - two different scenario there. Because this thing is so environmentally friendly, we are using the same biodegradable stuff, the old trees, the coconut. If this is what Belize should be like, I am worst that a refugee in my own country. When a state of emergency that my life and lifeline is on the line, I am willing to go as far as it goes."
Jules Vasquez
"How do you answer the criticism though that okay, you have all the best intentions, you have excellent community grassroots, even institutional support, but man you can't just do thing on head Tek, studies have to be done, you have to analyse what would be best for the environment. You can't alter nature based on feel-so."
Eworth Garbutt, Tour Guide
"This is not a head Tek, but it burns to know that I was going out there not on a kneejerk approach but to save my livelihood. Put yourself in that situation, what would you have done? would you have gone to Belmopan and ask what else would you need. No, you got somebody in an ambulance and the doctor gave you the greenlight and you would ask, are you sure I could cut ahm. Jules this is state of emergency. I live in a country of law and rules and regulations and I have always never violated them and never will. That was never the intention and if I do, this is one time that I am sure that the right head will prevail and won't stop such an initiative, because this is unstoppable. So our last hope and desire to hold to something is that South Silk Caye. SO, while they are doing studies, we have seen the result. Thats the beautiful thing about studies, that's why I use the analysis of someone being on an emergency needing a surgery. We see the next one side of this one already died. The middle silk caye have died and now we have out one coming next from 10 coconut trees, it's at 3 right now. So while they are studying, I am studying what is happening right now. They will study until we die, that's all they will do, study, study and nothing will come out of their study. Its just while they study, we are dying."
