And while the figures may look good, poverty in Belize is a crushing, omnipresent reality. In Belize City - or any municipality - you don't have to go far to find it. We spoke to one woman on Faber's Road today who's got her land, but not much else:..
Jules Vasquez reporting
Marilyn Burgess lives here at the corner of Faber's Road - her family home for 50 years. But she has land problems - not the kind most people have.
She has land, plenty of it, about an acre off Faber's Road. It was willed to her by her parents in the 60's and she also has title, free and clear:
Marilyn Burgess, Frustrated Property Owner
"Only because I have my title, but its lots of things that I had to go through. I had to put back myself in the system - lot of things I had to do. They took me at the court and I made a deal with them that I will pay how I can. I have all the documents there to prove and I had to live without electricity for 5 years just to pay them their money so they didn't have to take away any of my land."
But she can't subdivide the land and her son in law who's building here had to stop work:
Rafael Caceres, Son-in-Law
"They don't want to give us the final approval for the sub-divide because they say that we have to push a road that isn't necessary - it's not us that is supposed, it's the government that supposed to do that."
She's also living in a 50 year old house that looks to be one strong wind away from tumbling over. It is home to 9 adults plus small children - when the rain comes there's not even room to sleep much less store anything.
Rafael Caceres, Son-in-Law
"The only way we can get money and try to fix my mother-in-law house is by try to get the papers rightfully and then from that we can try to pawn out or try to make a loan to do something for ourselves."
And to add to all this woe, years ago the city took away a strip of her property to make a road - you can still see her property peg - and she's never been compensated:
Marilyn Burgess, Frustrated Property Owner
"I didn't get any compensation for that. Nobody came and say anything to me or do anything."
It's left her poverty stricken and exasperated:
Marilyn Burgess, Frustrated Property Owner
"I know I am getting chance all along the way. The want me to give up but I won't because I live here. I can't give up now because I know it's mine."
There is some relief for that family tonight. After doing the report, we got in contact with MARILYN Burgess's area representative Anthony Boots Martinez who met with her and promised to get the subdivision approved within two weeks. He also says he will work on a new house for her.
Email
Print