Peter Wallace is or was a great man for the history of the British settlers of St. George’s Caye and Wallis or Belize Town. In those days there was no Belize as that of what we know today. “It is said that he was a Lieutenant of Sir Walter Raleigh. The archives of British Honduras contain the following information. The Honduras Almanack for 1826, the first officially authorized historical report of the Colony, states that the settlement is not older than about 1650, when it was used as a refugee from the Spaniards.” British Honduras by A.R. Gregg.
“During the first half of the 17th century, two treaties were adjusted between Spain and England. Where the British ships was permitted to arrive at the Spanish ports of the West Indies, only in case of a storm or pirate persecution (1604), but it was specifically prohibited for the British to navigate the Spanish seas and ports of such possessions (1640). The treaty of Westphalia, signed on the 30th. of January, 1648, ratified those dispositions and proscribed the British commerce on the Spanish colonies. Nevertheless, the British did not respect such treaties.” Pg- 25/26, Quintana Roo Entre Tiempos, written by Antonio Higueras Bonfil. (The translation from Spanish to English is done by your humble servant.)
There is one thing with time, it never stops. The clock is running and the time is getting shorter and shorter for that special day when we will all go to vote either in favor of or against going to the International Court of Justice to solve the British-Belize/Guatemala issue. My sources of information direct from Guatemala City tell me that the Guatemalans are very enthusiastic with the idea of going to the ICJ, and that they have the complete confidence that The Hague will rule on their behalf. They say that it is time for them to get back what is theirs.
In Belize the two major political parties are in favor of going to the ICJ; also are the religious organizations. It seems as if there are a very few of us who are against the ICJ business. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, let me take you into a land of possibilities and let’s imagine and assume that the case is taken to this ICJ and they should rule on behalf of Guatemala. Then, what will take place? Will there be some kind of agreement in where Guatemala would respect private land owners, family homes and give citizenships to those who are living or decide to keep on living where they are at? If it would not be so, Guatemala would give a very bad impression to the international nations. There are many roots born Belizeans who have children, families, and businesses over at Guatemala.
The other thing that comes to my mind is what will happen to our Belizean brothers and sisters who for generations have invested in what is today still part of Belize. (I don’t sweat for the European type; they have it made in Guatemala.) And if they would want to stay in the Mariscal-Spencer Treaty area, will there be some kind of recompense? And for those that don’t have any thing? Where are the GOB going to put all these people? Where will the money come from to do all this movement? From the “Friends of Belize?” And what about our Maya brothers and sisters from Toledo? They have no kind of rights within the Guatemalan system. Our Guatemalan Maya brothers and sisters went through that already during 1960 to 1996, and 200,000 were killed.
There is nothing wrong for those who want to hold and embrace the event of 1798 as something that is theirs. In 1798 there was no Guatemala-Belize-Mexico. Let us not forget the Treaty of Amiens. Independently from that, there existed an intention of a war or battle which was not carried out. There existed no death. “Ironically enough, black men fought in the American Revolution for the freedom of their masters, a freedom nonetheless denied them. Harriet Beecher Stowe observed this in wonderment: It was not for their own land they fought, not even for a land which adopted them, but for a land which had enslaved them and whose laws, even in freedom, oftener oppressed than protected. Bravery, under such circumstances, has a peculiar beauty and merit.” Pg. 40, A Punishment for Peace, written by Fr. Philip Berrigan.
27th. March, 2009
Finca Solana
Corozal Town