Dear Editor,

Guatemala is brainwashing its people that Belize was invaded by the British and taken away from them and given to the Africans who were brought here. At least that is the impression gotten in comments from their people.

They fail to realize that Belize is a country, not a territory, accepted by the United Nations as such under the “Rights of a People to Self Determination”.

The people of Belize choose to be Belizeans and not Guatemalans or Mexicans, although both are great countries.

When the British came here, Spain was the owner/usurper of these lands, for the Maya were here long before. The Maya did not practice individual but communal ownership of land, which is both good and bad.

Evolution or change is unstoppable, and oppression of a people is now unforgivable, but that does not stop bully countries from taking advantage of their neighbors. Guatemala is claiming Belize, a land it never owned or occupied. A country with a population of fourteen million wants to gobble up a country of three hundred and fifty thousand.

The people of Belize are at a loss, confronted with a threat to our very existence. When we wanted independence we rallied our friends to our aid and we got it. Now that our very existence is being threatened, our leaders are taking it easy. Courts, even international ones, always have the human factor, and decisions can go any way; we always see this happen.

This is not a strip of land. Guatemala wants all or at least more than half. Where are our friends who should be on our side? We do not see GOB rallying support.

I asked my 12 year old grandson what he thought about the situation and he said he did not understand what was happening. So I asked him what his friends were saying at school. “Let Guatemala come; we’ll move to Miami.” was what one kid had said.

I wonder how many of our so called leaders are thinking this way. We need as much help and support as we can muster.

Belice es de los Belicenios. (Sorry, no tilde.)

Regards,
Romel Cuello