Eleven Teachers Charged After Dangriga Roadblock Protest

Things are getting tense in the south, as eleven teachers from Stann Creek, including well-known union voices Ifasina Efunyemi and Eli Villalta, are now facing court after blocking the road in Dangriga on Wednesday. The protest, part of a broader push by the Belize National Teachers Union, saw teachers disrupting traffic on George Price Drive in a bold move to amplify their demands. In the case of Eli Villalta, he’s now facing a charge of obstructing a police officer in the line of duty. As we reported yesterday, similar demonstrations took place in Belize City, signaling a coordinated effort by the union to ramp up pressure on the government. In response, the Belize Police Department announced it was reviewing the law to determine what charges, if any, could be brought against the protesting teachers. Today, legal support for the educators began to take shape. The law firm Pitts Pitts & Associates has informed the Dangriga Magistrate’s Court that attorney Sharon Pitts will be representing the accused teachers. Attorney Norman Rodriguez is also involved in the case. News Five caught up with Ifasina Efunyemi earlier today to get her take on the unfolding legal battle.

 

Ifasina Efunyemi, Belize National Teachers Union

“Yesterday morning, we had mechanical failure right at the entrance of town. Several of us, on our way to work, had this issue. But we decided to take the opportunity to raise concerns with the public about our fight with the government over our eight-point-five percent salary adjustment, over the fact that we had frozen increments that are owed to us, the high cost of living, the high inflation rate and so on. And so, we took the opportunity to give out fliers to people who were nearby and we were just there, actually talking with each other and seeing how we could support and assist each other.  The police, they were already aware that this was happening and they appeared on the scene immediately, actually, and they just stood on the side and they were looking at us. They saw that we were just there peacefully, talking with each other; until the senior officers came on the scene. When they came on the scene the situation escalated because they brought a tow truck. They didn’t offer any mechanical support. They did not go to check our vehicle, they did not listen to us when we said we were waiting for a mechanic to come and check our vehicles. They didn’t pay attention to any of that.”