A Senate Seat for the Diaspora? Belizeans Abroad Make Their Case

Belizeans living abroad say they are no longer content with supporting the country from a distance. They want a voice in national decision-making, and they are now asking government to make that representation official. Today, members of the Belizean diaspora opened the third Belize Diaspora Summit here in Belize, where organizer Aria Lightfoot presented a policy paper calling for a national diaspora plan. Among the proposals is a seat in the Senate for the diaspora community. We spoke with Lightfoot about why that representation matters, and we also asked Minister of Immigration Kareem Musa whether government is prepared to consider the request.

 

Aria Lightfoot, Organizer, Belize Diaspora Summit

“So, we are introducing a policy paper requesting that the government creates a National Diaspora Policy for the diaspora community. That comes with government and representation and I think it is much bigger than voting. It comes with having representation. That might look like something different from different perspective. Some people discuss the idea of a Senate seat. You have NGOs that are in the Senate. You have the church in the Senate and a lot of these are non-Belizean entities and so that was some of the discussion that have taken place. Of course the diaspora wants a vote on national issues, so that is also important. But again, it is a request for a proposal that these discussions take place.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What is your view on the criticism that participation from the diaspora should be limited in terms of the day to day governance issues in Belize because they don’t live here?”

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration

“No, I don’t agree with that. I think they should have a say. I am on record saying that when it comes to voting in our general and city council elections that we need to consider a possible amendment to the law to remove that three month residency requirement and to make room for diaspora Belizeans to come and register to vote.”

 

 

The summit is being held in Belize City and will run for three days.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: