7 News Belize

Grassroots and Government Meet In the Middle
posted (March 23, 2011)
The Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association, known as BGYEA has been having some tough times recently as they have met resistance from a group of immigrants, naturalized and first generation Belizeans of Central American ancestry who have been organizing their own rival community.

Apart from ugly and dangerous confrontations, it also seems to tug at the fragile fabric of the entire social contract: and begs the question in the 21st Century, can we still live together?

Those are difficult questions but right now the more practical question is, can BGYEA manage to hold it together as multiple detractors are appearing?

Today, there was the group for a major vote of approval from the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega. And then a lot of other stuff happened…

We went to Belmopan to find out more.

Jules Vasquez Reporting
Families of squatters on the Harmonyville land gathered outside the Ministry of Natural Resources while members of BGYEA gathered outside the office, they were within sight of each other - but everyone kept cool.

That is until David Barnett saw this man - who he says had threatened him at the Harmonyville site. He then walked across to the police station to make a complaint.

He went to speak to the officer in charge and within minutes police were on the march. They met him near the market and took him back over to the police station - as his friends sent out the call to follow in solidarity. It was a good many of them - about 40 - and they lined up in front of the police station.

By that time, BGYEA leader Nigel Petillo was out of the meeting - but he took the backseat for the time being - as the question was whether charges would be brought.

Ad Hoc leader of the squatters group Erwin Munoz took the lead inside and outside he and BGYEA's Elute Hall exchanged words:

Erwin Munoz, Ad-Hoc Leader Squatters
"I had..."

Elute Hall, BGYEA
"And you are not a first time landowner either. You don't belong out there."

Erwin Munoz
"You Just come and take away from me."

Elute Hall
"You don't belong out there! You are not a first-time landowner."

Erwin Munoz
"If the young man will get charge, he will get charged and get bail. And it's as easy as that."

And while Petillo had some jokes to share with the immigrants - inside the police station the back and forth continued - this time BGYEA's Dianne Finnegan had a few sharp words for him.


Dianne Finnegan, BGYEA
"You were given a piece of land. Give him back his money."

"10 acres and 50 acres, then you can say that we are taking the land from the people. If you can't prove that then you need to shut up! I am surprised that you are even speaking and you already have a piece of land. You should be very quiet so that they don't take away yours. Yours is a done deal. You can't have that piece of land."

Elute Hall
"You (Erwin Munoz) just want to cause problems. You are the only problem out there."

Erwin Munoz
"Yes man, who is it that is chopping up fences and other things out there."

Elute Hall
"It's because it's in the survey. It's in the survey land. Without you (Erwin Munoz)."

Erwin Munoz
"Yes man it's me who's destroying things out there, right? It's me."

Elute Hall
"One to one, these people want to work with us."

Erwin Munoz
"It's me who is destroying people out there right?"

Elute Hall
"It's you who's against us right now. The people want to work with us. I spoke to them; they came into the office. Did you speak to them individually? We are friends."

Dianne Finnegan
"Because you came to get another piece of land, knowing that you already have a piece of land."

Erwin Munoz
"I was there. I went."

Dianne Finnegan
"I don't want to hear if you were there or not."

Erwin Munoz
"No, No! All you are doing is talking and talking."

Dianne Finnegan
"You came and paid for a piece of land and that value that it is worth"

Erwin Munoz
"I got two acres out there that i paid for but they won't give it to me. You all came and meet me there on that land."

Dianne Finnegan
"When this all started, a lot of people came on that land and worked that land had owners already. And things changed."

Erwin Munoz
"I was there for so many years, squatting."

Dianne Finnegan
"Squatting? Well let me see the structure on the piece of land that you were squatting on."

Erwin Munoz
"It's clean, I maintained it clean."

Dianne Finnegan
"It's clean? Please give me a break!"

The only one getting a break today was this man - who left the station without being charged and walked away wordlessly - even as a gaggle of cameras harried him down. Complainant David Barnett did speak though:

David Barnett, BGYEA Vice President, Complainant
"What happened is that I told the police what happened on site like a couple weeks ago. I think it was about a couple weeks ago, the first date was on March 10, 2011. I met this guy; it was the first time I had seen him. He was out there cutting. He claims that he was out there for more than an year. There is no work to show that he was there over a year. There was no plantain, orange, craboo, nothing. He had no proof that he was there; there was no fence or anything. I explained to this individual that this area has already been surveyed out and we already issued this land to someone. After that time, he came out with a machete at me and said, in Spanish, something to the effect that he would chop me. Anyways, I left him there for the day and I went back at around 5 in the evening. When I went back I saw that he had put up some posts exactly where we didn't want him to be. So I cut down the posts and I told workmen to do it. They did it and about a week after i went there and i met him standing there. He had a pouch on him and when he saw me he placed the pouch to the side-I don't know if he had a gun in it-who knows what he had in it. I called the police and that's the situation."

Marion Ali, Channel 5 News
"Why did you wait until today to file an official complaint?"

David Barnett
"Well I waited until today because I didn't know where he lived and what his name was and today i saw him out there. I told the police not to charge him. I asked that he be informed that we have legal backing for our movement. I just wanted him to receive some counseling. I don't want any problem. I don't want anyone to say that we got them locked up."

Jules Vasquez
"People are saying that he has cleared 8 acres and has effectively raised that point. And now, you all are dispossessing him of all that."

David Barnett
"Well Jules, I would like for you to go out there and let me show you this 8 acres that he has cleaned. Because, like i said, when i go there he was just putting in posts."

But by the Ministry's decree that should stop now

Nigel Petillo, President BGYEAH
"He made it very clear that we are authorized to survey the land at Harmonyville meaning that if you have been settling on a piece of land and you have a tree, a fence or a house in the way of the survey line, it will have to be moved. One person is not going to dictate how the plan of Harmonyville is going to be planned out. So if your house is in the way because you just went there and riskily just built a house anywhere, here comes the situation where it has to be amended."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you think that the clarity given in this meeting on what government's position is will lead to lowering of tensions and conflicts we have been seen in the area?"

Nigel Petillo
"I'm hoping so, Jules, the Deputy Prime Minister has made it clear to Mr. Munoz, who seems to be leading the group now, that when government went there (Harmonyville) they recorded 22 members as well. BGYEAH told them as well that we have recorded 37. Apart from the 22 homes, we recorded another 15. The next thing here-the tension aspect of it-that's not from BGYEAH's camp. Okay BGYEAH-if you would get a paper of our list- we have 50% or more of our members who are Hispanic, Mayas etc. So it's not a black against Spanish. Don't bring that (talk of prejudice) to BGYEAH."

Jules Vasquez
"Did you expect that Area Representative, Mr. Ramon Witz, would be at this meeting?"

Nigel Petillo
"Well, Jules, guy, we all know how politics is. And right now, Ramon is on a straw and is trying to make sure that he gets into the next election-the convention coming up here right now-and how politics behaves is that right now he is not concerned about what his party is saying, because he wants to get in. So he will do whatever it takes to get in, and if it means continuing to stir up the problem in Harmonyville and gathering his support in terms of the Hispanic votes, then it's a situation that he is creating. I've made it public that I believe that he is disrespecting and undermining the decision that was made by the government as far as the authority given to BGYEAH."

Marion Ali, Reporter Channel 5 News
"Are you supporting BIGYEAH?"

Bystander
"Yes sure, I have the paper here, I brought it."

Jules Vasquez
"How do you feel about all this upheaval and argument that is happening right now?"

Bystander
"I feel bad and I am sad. I don't know what I can do and think. I know with who I fight because I know that we are all Belizean. We live here; we born here and we have to die. We can't go anywhere else."

And while Witz is one problem, their biggest problem is Erwin Munoz. He didn't want to comment for the camera but BGYEAH had plenty to say about him.


Nigel Petillo "Mr. Munoz was a member of BGYEAH all-the-while. He has a piece of land there that he has already identified for himself where BGYEAH concern is okay. To find out today he is working against this movement, I think there is something serious that we need to look into"

David Barnett
"The situation is that he is causing mischief and BGYEAH is trying to eliminate any kinds of problems; BGYEAH doesn't want any problems. And the route he seems to be taking will be problem, the board will sit down and talk about it. I cannot say immediately- I wouldn't want to say immediately what we are about to do. It is not a final decision yet but we will move from there."

Jules Vasquez
"You have taken money from him knowing that he was a pre-existing landowner."

David Barnett
"What we will do is that we will have it on our public meeting and let all of BGYEAH members, not only the Board members, we will take it to the public and see what we do with a traitor."

Jules Vasquez
"Yeah but you all will have to refund him as well."

David Barnett
"Money is not the problem. We have his money."

Again, Munoz twice declined our request for an interview. An important note is that in today's meeting government also committed to pay half of the survey fees for Harmonyville. According to a survey taken by the Lands Department, when the project started, those occupying the land numbered 22 homes and 15 farmers working the land independently….

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