As you saw in our last segment, Seine Bight is sort of becoming a testing ground in the movement to push for Garifuna Communal Land Rights.
The Garifuna Nation, which is the international organization that advocates on behalf of members of the Garifuna culture residing in the Western Hemisphere, has started a campaign to agitate for Garifuna indigenous rights. They say that the contemplated protections for indigenous people, which were affirmed and reaffirmed in the Maya Land Rights cases in the court of Belize, also apply to them.
We note that the most recent affirmation of those indigenous rights comes from the 2015 CCJ consent order. That was made for Mayan communal lands and not Garifuna lands, and so in a zoom interview, we challenged representatives of the Garifuna Nation on that specific point.
We start first with their justification that as indigenous Belizeans, the Garinagu deserve the same protections contemplated for the Maya of Southern Belize:
Egbert Higinio - President, Garifuna Nation
"We could go back to Saint Vincent, where we were there before the colonial masters came including Columbus, the French, and the British. We all know about the 30 years of war with the British until we lost that fight in 1796. We lost the war. The British genocided 2,500 - according to their records. They took us and dumped us in Roatan, the British, where they were having a fight with the Spanish so that by 1801, we were already in Belize. That's the records. Assad Shoman, in his 13 Chapters, gave us 2-3 pages of historical data, saying that by 1801, we re already in Belize."
Joseph Guerrero - Lands Affairs, Garifuna Nation
"The Maya Land Rights case was based on the history that you just heard. The only evidence in court that the Maya ever presented is history. We share a common history, the commonality being, with the Maya and Garinagu, we inhabited a territory or territories before it was under the authority of colonial power. Thus today, you have international agreements, treaties, that identified and definite rights of those people who lived independently without the colonial masters, before they came and took over the land around their territory. Thus, that's the basis of the Maya Land Rights case and the Garifuna Land Rights movement. Garifuna and Maya inhabited Sibun and Sarstoon, independently without the land tenure system, no land titles, no rules that perpetuate Belizean society. We have the same rights which deserve protection by the Belize Government. But, as you can see, in the Seine Bight situation, the Belize Government continues to violate, because it allowed our land to be sold on their land registry system. They're treating our lands as crown lands as though it is crown lands, and it's not. Crown lands are different from Indigenous lands, and that's what we're talking about. They're putting crown lands in the tenure system, and that's what we want to stop. And that way, we'll stop development like this gas station in Seine Bight. We would never have given our approval."
Reporter
"Is Seine Bight one of the staging grounds for this campaign at this time?"
Egbert Higinio
"Well, it seems so. Seine Bight is one of the staging grounds. The people are up in arms, and so, we have decided to join them."
Here now is that part of the interview, when we asked them about the fact that the Maya had to go to court to force the Government to recognize and respect those indigenous rights. They say that they have been trying to avoid that route, but that those alternate attempts have been fruitless:
Joseph Guerrero
"One of the problems, biggest problem with the Maya Land Rights Commission is that they're supposed to suggest legislation that will allow the government to give a title to a group of indigenous people. Currently, there is no legislation that allows the government to give indigenous people a land title. But because it does not exist it doesn't give the government the right to sell our land either."
Reporter
"The Garifuna Belizeans don't have a judgment that says that their rights need to be respected."
Egbert Higinio - President, Garifuna Nation
"Well, we're going with the international universal declaration that indigenous people have rights. We are going to join the Maya. That's another alternative, to jointly go with the Mayans."
Joseph Guerrero
"Because we don't have a court case in front of a judge, it is not the green light for a Government to violate the rights of indigenous people because they were not ordered by a court NOT to violate the rights.
Egbert Higinio
We are documenting these things, as part of a way of giving evidence to the courts when that time comes, and the time is coming very soon when we will tell the courts of Belize that we have tried to resolve these issues amicably, with both executive bodies of our government, and they have refused. So, there is no way out, but to put it in front of a court of justice."
