Dear Editor,
1. On the issue of paying taxes – Stewart is partially correct in that I should have specified that under the agreement upon their arrival here, it was agreed that they do not pay certain forms of taxes – not all taxes – but this varies depending on what tax regime is being used at any given time; for example, previously we did not have business tax or VAT. As a people, when they fled their homeland, one of the things they were being persecuted for was their refusal to pay taxes – especially land tax;
2. The land was given to them by government, though not fully for free – but it was set aside for them for their sole use as “closed” communities not having to live with non-Mennonites in their midst. I am now told by an old land surveyor that they paid a cost, but it was almost a “giveaway,” and came with the benefit of exclusivity, unlike the BGYEA movement, where they cannot easily get the same commitment. What was critical was that these were large tracks of land that was assigned to them for their sole use and they obtained title – not leases.
3. On the issue of them electing one of their own – well, it was not to credit or discredit the now Minister – but rather to show the duality of them wanting to have their own local form of governance and for decades practicing abstinence from Belize party politics, as a whole, but yet for whatever motive of theirs – in the last election they set aside that principle and fully participated as a people (there has always been those who were already the exception), making history in many ways.
As to if they are all good or not – well, my article never spoke about that so, that is Stewart’s own urge to share with us that he witnessed a drug deal – I don’t know what he was doing there.
As to the personal and abrasive tone of Stewart’s letter – well, that is just Stewart, and he cannot help himself; that is just how he is.
However, I do apologize for any misconception created; if any, that was not my intention and while I am not a specialist on Mennonites – I relied on the literature I read and the online sites I visited.
However, despite Stewart’s authoritative letter, it does not take away from the essence of the disparity between the Mayas and Mennonites due to the issues of access and ownership of land, which was the thrust of the article.
(The Mennonites paid $9 an acre for the land in Spanish Lookout)
Thanks,
Audrey Matura-Shepherd