Will Ethnic Land Rights Fight Divide Belize  

Tonight, as the national conversation around customary land rights heats up, community leaders are responding to a growing narrative of division. Voices from Belize’s Kriol, Garifuna, and Maya communities are making it clear that this is not an ethnic tug-of-war. Instead, they say it’s about something much bigger: fairness, access to land, and respect for ancestral ties that stretch back generations. While each group continues to press its own historical claims, they’re standing united on one message, Belizeans shouldn’t be pitted against each other over land. So, what exactly are they calling for, and where do their positions align? Here’s what they had to say.

 

Wilford Felix, President, National Kriol Council

“We choose to assert ourselves as indigenous and let the historical data speak for us. So the main thing our Belizean know, this done our Creole versus Garifuna fight. This done our Creole versus Maya fight. This the assertion of Creole identity, especially where it relates to the land. Why? We think that Creole only belong in a Belize district, but everywhere there’s a river and waterway, there was a Creole settlement.”

 

Ifasina Efunyemi, Assistant Treasurer, National Garifuna Council

“Please don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is an us versus them situation. You need to be clear who are the us and who are the them, because the us and the them is not Garifuna versus Maya or Maya versus Mestizo or Creole versus Garifuna. We have to recognize who the common enemy is in what has been transpiring in our country and the systematic disenfranchisement of the regular Belizean. That is important for all Belizeans to understand.” 

 

 Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, Maya Leaders Alliance

“There are many ways we can help each other as Belizeans because what we are fighting for as Maya Belizeans is also good for you because we see ordinary Belizeans fighting for their survival. Sure, they might not use the land the same way we use it, but they too deserve a piece of this jewel and they are struggling right now. So many ordinary Belizeans cannot even get a house lot. But there are people in this country, wealthy people in this country, who hold thousands of acres of land by themself. The government needs to see this injustice. We Maya people see this injustice and we would be the first to stand with ordinary Belizeans to demand their birthright as Belizean citizens.”

 

The Government of Belize has appointed an Independent Commission on Village Boundary Disputes that was set up to look at geographical disputes between communities but recent consultations have resulted in racial tension.  

 

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: