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The Jewel has been raped – no more “virgin” forest

GeneralThe Jewel has been raped - no more “virgin” forest
The first in a monthly series of lectures was presented last night by UBAD Education Foundation (UEF) and KREM Radio to a crowd of more than three hundred Belizean-to-the-bone citizens, including students, at the Holy Redeemer Parish Hall in Belize City. The presenters were well known Belizean nationalists Greg Ch’oc, the director of SATIIM; Wil Maheia, leader of the PNP; and Forestry Department representative George Hanson. 
 
The mistress of ceremonies was Ms. Yaya Marin Coleman of UEF and KREM Radio.
 
The lead speaker, Mr. George Hanson, said that a bad situation at the western Guatemalan border was made much worse with the introduction of the so-called Adjacency Zone in the facilitation process. Mr. Hanson informed that not only are the Belizean Forest Officers and BDF personnel in the Chiquibul National Park woefully under-equipped and under-manned to face the enormous task of fending off the swarm of “Xateros” that have decimated the wildlife and trees in the Chiquibul Reserve, but they feel completely ignored and even betrayed by the authorities in their efforts. He said that informing the OAS and the Guatemalan military whenever our officers are about to embark on a patrol on our side of the border in the so-called “adjacency zone,” inevitably leads to a cease of all activity in the “zone”, which leads our officers on the ground to suspect that our information is only being used to “tip off” the culprits who are plundering our resources. And the few occasions when they have seized personnel or equipment of the Xateros, have only led to embarrassment and hardships to our officers, as they are then instructed to return everything to the offenders.
 
Trying to stop the Xateros from continuing to raze our forest to the ground is like trying to kill mosquitoes in a house when all the doors and windows are left open, Mr. Hanson told the audience at the Parish Hall
 
Mr. Ch’oc told the audience that our government has been investing a lot of efforts and resources on the diplomatic level, but on the ground the situation is one of almost complete neglect for the monitoring and defense of our border areas in the Toledo District. He said, contrary to the impression of some people, the Maya villagers in Toledo have always held fast to their Belizean nationality and heritage, and on many occasions have had to confront their fellow Maya from Guatemala who come across the border to plunder the resources which we require for our own survival. 
 
The big problem faced by Maya Belizeans in Toledo, Mr. Ch’oc said, is that, because the government has not instituted any regular and effective patrols in the area, encroachments and reckless plundering of our forest and fishing resources continue; and villagers have become reluctant to make reports to the authorities because they receive no protection from the intruders, who take vengeance on the Maya villagers (one Alcalde was chopped to death). Patrols and a presence are sorely needed in the border areas of Toledo, including the Sarstoon River.        
 
PNP leader Wil Maheia said the whole initiative to form the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment (TIDE) was to protect the fishing grounds in Toledo that were being plundered by foreigners. He said the wildlife in the reserve areas in Toledo were being wantonly destroyed and exploited by intruders from across the border, with no prevention efforts by government. The so-called “virgin” forests in the reserves of Toledo are being raped with impunity by foreigners, he told Belize. His primary concern is for Belizeans countrywide to be aware of how serious the situation is, to put our heads together, to do what we can to protect our nation’s assets for future generations, since the government seems totally comfortable with the destruction of our resources.

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