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Daniel Ortiz went down to witness the beginning of the clearing first hand, and here's what he found:

Daniel Ortiz Reporting

The Belize Territorial Volunteers arrived in Jalacte Village at around 8:30. They all came together in a caravan consisting of a rented bus, and about 10 vehicles, all to a total of approximately 125 people representing different activist organizations.

They all seemed ready to get to the task at hand, dressed in outdoor apparel, some going as far as donning military fatigues and combat boots. Some flew the Belize Flag proudly, while others readied their machetes.

When the crowd gathered, Wil Maheia outlined the game plan. After the briefing, everyone then began the descent of the first hill in the 40 minute hike. That first hill, being part of the route to Santa Cruz Village in Guatemala, didn't have any fancy border facility. There was no vigilant customs or immigration desk, just a muddy trek through a crudely made Picado road.

Halfway down the hill, the hikers started to experience difficulty when 1 or 2 pounds of caked mud started weighing down their shoes making it progressively more difficult and dangerous to traverse the rough terrain.

By the time they arrived at this stream, several of the volunteers were already laboured in their breathing. Some chose to cross by balancing on jutting, slippery rocks, while others simply waded through and soaked their footwear.

Again, it was up another very steep hill, where the experts did a quick GPS check.

It was then on to the 3rd steep hill, and by the time everyone got to the top, most of the volunteers needed to take a breather. Everyone was grateful for the fortification of resolve which came from the Garifuna drummers on the trip.

They were also bolstered by sighting Belize Defence Force soldiers, better known as "Treetop BDF", who indicated that they were carefully observing the proceedings. The party then hiked up the final hill, where they would make their first symbolic stance.

Wil Maheia - Organizing Border Clearing Efforts
"We are at what we call "Container Hill". This is the exact site that we are standing on now that a container was a few years ago, and that was put here by a Guatemalan businessman. When we brought it to the attention of the public - because we had brought it to the attention of the Belize Government before. They didn't do anything; it was when we brought it to the attention of the General Belizean public, which put pressure on the Government, that's what put pressure on them, and that's when they did something about it. The OAS had known about this all the time, and they didn't do anything until the Belizean people demanded that they do something. So, this hil really, that we call Container Hill, is here on Belizean territory today because Belizeans spoke up, because Belizeans did what they had to do. As you can see, everybody here are gungho, 100% Belizeans. We have so many people out there; I am just so humbled by the amount of phone calls, messages, text messages, and prayers that have come our way so that we could be here today, and be safe. Despite the fact of the jungle, that they claim is here, I am glad that you are here today so that you can see that we are losing forest on a daily basis. They're coming into our territory, and deforesting. If you look around us, you'll see light poles over there, that came in long after this so-called 'Compromi'. That cell tower that's behind you came in just a couple years ago, long after the so-called 'Compromi' or 'Adjacency Zone' which we do not respect. We have a border, and we intend to keep our border. And we will clean our border. Unlike what they are trying to lead you to believe that we don't have have a border, we have always had a border."

Major (Ret) Lloyd Jones - 15-year Veteran in BDF
"I'm here to support Wil. I think the initiative is a good one, and I am happy to see that we have so many Belizeans who have the sense of duty to come out, share, and to support Wil. My roll really is just to provide some very small advice to Wil. He needs very little. As you know, he is a man of many talents, and so I'm here to give him my support."

Reporter
"Major, people may say that this is very risky. Wil may be bringing Belizeans into a situation that can erupt into a confrontation. You are an ex-BDF, and I assume that you may have patrolled this border. How risky is it to bring these people to do the activity they intend to do?"

Major (Ret) Lloyd Jones
"Well, I think that Wil's gesture is more of a symbolic one. I don't think that you can clear the border because you don't know where the border is, unless you use proper surveying equipment to establish where that line is. So, it's more of a symbolic gesture, and I think he did it to kind of stir the nationalist sentiments in all of us. But, I don't think that there is any risk. As you can see, we're here; we're peaceful. The Guatemalans, our friends, are looking at us from across the border. Their military has exercised some restraint; we don't see any of them. And indeed, our own military has exercised some restraint. So, I think that all the nonsense coming out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is just really to try and frighten the Belizean people into not coming out. The Foreign Minister made some comments the other day saying that the only reason the border has not been cleared is because the Guatemalans have refused to do it. Well then, they must find the means to compel the Guatemalans to do it, but we need to establish where the border is, and make it clear that there there is a divide between Belize and Guatemala."

Dickey Bradley - Attorney Supporting BTV
"Which part of the world can a government tell its citizens, 'you all are on your own? The only thing that I will be able to do for you is the give you the yellow pages in the directory so that you can find a lawyer.' What fool is that? Look how our soldiers, right over there, are so proud to know that we are here. They can easily ask them to keep an eye on the Belizeans, and tell Wil Maheia and the group not to go beyond that point. We will listen to them. We're not stupid people."

Nigel Petillo - President, BGYEA
"I've never been this far down in our country, and it's very educational. Also, it raises concerns as to the issue that while Guatemala has an idea of where our border line is, our Government still seems to do agree or have an idea of where that is. It tells me a lot, and it even makes me question the reason of why we're even going to the ICJ. What's at stake for us? What do we benefit by going to the ICJ?"

Geovannie Brackett - President, COLA
"It is important for us to be here because for the same reason I just mentioned earlier: hoe can we be saying no to the ICJ claiming that we are of direct action and then when the push comes to shove we are not here. Its was important for COLA to be here for the simple reason for what COLA stands for and this helps cememt our position of why we should not go to the ICJ."

Phillip De La Fuente - Supports BTV
"We left at 1 a.m. I didn't get to sleep any at all before that 1 a.m., but I am ready, willing, and able to start clearing some of this grass. There's no big, high bush around here."

George Guess - Former British Solder
"Everybody been stating that border belongs to Guatemala; it doesn't belong to Guatemala. It belongs to the Belizeans. They fought for that, and won that from the Spanish. So, it's Belizean territory, it's not any Guatemalan. They can say what they want and go what they want, but this is for Belize."

Everyone seemed a bit more relaxed when this volunteer returned with news that according to his GPS reading, they were all well in Belizean territory. They were even more excited to hear that the Guatemalans on the road were very friendly.

However, they did become suspicious when they heard of an OAS representative was investigating about Maheia and his plans.

We went over to meet and possibly speak to this individual to ask him why he didn't just come to Container Hill and speak to the Maheia and BTV himself. Strangely enough, he got into his vehicle and drove away before we could get within shouting distance.

We did get a chance to speak with the Guatemalan Alcalde of Santa Cruz, who seems to be very reasonable, and friendly, and most importantly, he also wants the demarcation. While they agree on a tangible border, it Maheia who's spearheading the effort, and he does have some major challenges.

Major (Ret) Lloyd Jones
"I think it's going to be a challenge. Like with most things in Belize, you have that surge, and then people kind of fall off, but I think that Wil is going to have to maintain the vigilance and the awareness amongst the Belizean people. And I think that certainly between now and October, there's going to be a sustained effort because of this ICJ nonsense that they are trying to force on us, so at least between now and October 6, yes."

Maheia says he's fully committed to the cause:

Reporter
"You realize that it may take weeks or months, right?"

Wil Maheia
"Oh yeah, you're talking about 50 miles of border line that needs clearing, so yeah. But we have to sustain the effort, but as you can see that we're not the first time that we are coming here. Years and years we've been coming here. We come here every September to put a flag, so it's not just a one-time thing. I think that our record speaks for itself."

Daniel Ortiz
"After experiencing the first day of Wil Maheia's effort, he seems to want to be as forceful, while being as diplomatic as possible. So far, the Guatemalans don't have any issue with it. Reporting for 7News from Jalacte."

The BTV returned to Jalacte after 3 hours on Container Hill. Maheia told us that he wants to continue the effort every weekend. The next outing is still in its planning stages.