It was a holiday, but the Prime Minister used the symbol of what used to be observed as Columbus day to visit with those affected most by European conquest: the Mayas of southern Belize.
Yesterday, he visited five villages and today he had a public meeting with alcaldes of other villages to see how much progress has been made on the ten point agreement signed between the government and the Maya leaders alliance five years ago.
We were in Punta Gorda to find out that after five years, there are some accomplishments, but there is still a lot to be done to fulfill the agreement's spirit.
Alfonso Noble, reporting,
On October 12th of 2000 the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Government of Belize signed on to a 10 point agreement in which government gave its undertaking to help the Maya communities of southern Belize attain economic stability through land security.
This is what the prime minister had to say at the time:
Hon Said Musa, October 2000
"My friends in this document the Government of Belize recognizes that the Maya people have rights to land and resources in southern Belize based on their long standing use and occupancy. That is a very fundamental recognition that any government gives to any of its people. Of course there will be an urgent need for us to carry out survey of lands for distribution of titles for those who want titles or for protection of communal lands depending on the various needs of the communities."
That was 5 years ago, and while the promise was hailed as a milestone, implementing the 10 point agreement has been another matter.
Today, 5 years later Prime Minister Said Musa and representatives of the Maya Leaders Alliance met again to take stock of the accomplishments. In so doing it became clear that 5 years has done little to alleviate the land problems plaguing the Mayan communities. The Alcaldes of villages in Toledo walked up one by one holding letters, as if the pony express had come to town, to tell government that the problems of half a decade ago are still present.
Village Alcalde, Blue Creek
“It was on the 20 of October of 2000, farmers of Blue Creek had applied for a land and all 35 of us applied and the farmers are now waiting for when the land will be completed.”
Alcalde, Indian Creek
“I have 52 residents of Indian Creek Village who have filled out forms paid stamps and now are awaiting a licensed surveryor. When and how will it happen? There is no response. The forms are still at the the lands department like patients awaiting a doctor.”
“We the village farmers are very much concerned because presently we have no title and yet we are Belizeans.
In response to the many land issues that residents of Toledo are faced with, Musa says that the problems are being worked on but limitations exist on what government can do.
Prime Minister, Said Musa
“It’s a big problem because at the heart of the whole this is to ensure that there is a proper distribution of land. In other words we have more people than land available. Not everybody can get 20, 30 acres it’s just impossible. So we have to ensure that the people who need it most and who will put it to productive use are the ones who get the land.”
“What we are saying to the people is that they have to be responsible and they have to participate in the cost of getting that survey done. It’s not free. We are asking them to realize that they have to save and put up some money in a collective way so that we can get a huge parcel of land surveyed and then properly distributed. But they have to contribute towards the cost.”
Greg Choq, Maya Leaders Alliance
“The progress has been very, very slow. We have tried to maintain the dialogue with government. It hasn’t really resolved the matters that we have put in place in the10 point agreement. But we believe that we need to remain engaged. We need to ensure and keep the government informed and find ways to get them to recognize the importance of resolving some of the fundamental issues we outlined in the 10 points of agreement.
There are issues that are complicated and there are issues that require discussions at the community level and I believe personally, being a part of this process, it’s challenging. We recognize that there is an array of issues regarding land tenure in the community there is no one position that the community has. As we begin to learn that and we recognize that, the government recognizes that and we are hoping to ensure that we can move quickly to go past the snail pace that we have made to implement this agreement.”
But even though Choq recognizes that the move toward attaining land security for the Maya people of southern Belize, he says that there is still room for continued negotiations however slow it may be.
Greg Choq
“I’m disappointed. But I think the Maya leaders alliance, the organization, are convinced that it has to be resolved and if we step back I believe that the situation will worsen and hence we need to keep that agenda on the table for the government.
Rt. Hon. Said Musa
"In terms of having a good working relationship with the Mayan leaders, I think today is a good example of where the spirit was one of celebrating the partnership that exists between the Maya leaders and the government of Belize."
"It’s not about the balkanization of communities, balkanization of Belize, but really to secure the assets and probably the only assets that communities in rural Toledo have their land that they have been using to sustain their families, to get an income. It has to be secure."
And for the Maya people, like most residents of this country, the goal is of central importance, but the truth of the matter is that as has been the case with the 10 point agreement, getting there has proven much harder than getting it down on paper.
After the meeting, the Prime Minister continued his tour of the
Toledo district which ended at around 4 this afternoon.