Dear Editor,
Once again, Audrey Matura Shepherd brings out vital points for Amandala readers. Well done for her persistence in revealing the facts behind the provocative issue of off-shore drilling in Belize.
Mrs. Matura Shepherd is ever so right in drawing analogies between the off shore drilling issue and the disaster development project, Chalillo Dam.
But times they are a changing. The people behind the movement to stop off shore drilling have been successful in obtaining hundreds of valuable signatures in opposition to these activities. When the people working in opposition to the Chalillo Dam development project attempted to fill petitions with signatures, it was tough going. Even though people approached did not like the idea of the dam scheme, they would not sign.
Why? The repeated answer was “afraid that they would be punished by government”.
And look what that fear resulted in: the Belize decision makers, heavy-handed and determined, provided our nation with a huge black eye. The Chalillo dam has brought us exorbitant energy rates, a ruined river system, a weakened tourism profile, and loss of endangered species, including scarlet macaws and the Central American tapir.
Hopefully, we will learn from this development mistake, and move forward on more sound footing. Oceana and other organizations bringing truth into the public arena about a serious issue destined to have a major impact upon our country, seem to have dismantled the “fear element” from p ublic response.
Thank you, Audrey, for caring about the unique natural resources of Belize, and the people who depend on these resources for a healthy lifestyle.
Keep up the great work.
Sharon Matola