Last night on Uncut, Host Jules Vasquez engaged in an extended conversation with the veteran Archaeologist, Dr. Jaime Awe, Belize's former Director of Archaeology at NICH.
The award-winning researcher and associate professor was discussing the importance of Belize's archaeological sites to its tourism product. During that discussion, the topic of the May 2013 mauling of the Noh Mul Mayan temple in Orange Walk came up. As viewers will remember, UDP politician Denny Grijalva and his company, De-Mars, were found guilty of the site's destruction in the Magistrate's Court.
That case its outcome will continue to live on infamy, but, over the years, 7News has continued to receive persistent reports that there are other archaeological sites that this type of thing happens a whole lot - especially in agrarian Mennonite communities. So much so, that it recently came up at the archaeology symposium. Here's what Dr. Awe had to say when the history of Noh Mul came up last night:
Jules Vasquez - Host
"Many others throughout this country have done what he did before, but he got dragged through the mill. His name will live on in infamy. And it's really an uneven application of the law. I think, historically, we can concede to that."
Dr. Jaime Awe - Veteran Archaeologist
"Yeah, I think, you know, it's important that these kinds of destruction, you know, are litigated and litigated more often. In the Grijalva case, you know, I think there it was quite obvious who was involved in the destruction. So, there was an individual that one could then pursue, legally, in many cases. Part of the problem is that you know, we get the story after the fact. And so you go in there and, you know, and you ask about nobody wants to divulge who was involved in the destruction. You know, I remember a lot of times, you would hear somebody might get in touch with you, but they will do it anonymously because, again, they did not want to be brought in to testify as witnesses. And so, we would get these anonymous calls and then you go up and you see it. But then you would go to the villages and say, Do you know who did this? Or if it even was a piece of land, and the landowner would go, Oh, I leased that piece of land. And then you go to the person who leased, well, it was the bulldozer people that I hired."
"And it was always it was just the buck would be passed. But I agree with you. We need to be more proactive in pursuing legal action against people who break the law."
