Sun. Jan. 23, 2022– The Garifuna Nation Congress has issued an open letter to the Belizean public regarding the recent clash between five members of the Belmopan City Council and Mayor Sheran Palacio. That letter stated that the mayor had filed a complaint with the Congress regarding the issue. It also explained that whenever a citizen of the Garifuna Nation—a group made up of Garinagu from Belize as well as the greater diaspora—files a complaint, it is the duty of the Congress to investigate that complaint’s validity and then carry out the necessary actions on that citizen’s behalf. In the case of Mayor Palacio, the Congress is currently carrying out an investigation after having determined that “there is some legitimacy” to her complaint that the City of Belmopan councilors have made false allegations against her.

“As soon as we have gathered all the necessary information, we intend to write a letter to the Belmopan Area Representative Honourable Oscar Mira, the Minister of Local Government Honourable Oscar Requeña, and the Prime Minister of Belize Honourable John Briceño,” said the letter.

In an interview with the media, several of the organization’s leaders, namely, Egbert Shaka

Higinio, president of the Garifuna Nation; 1st Vice-President and Ambassador-At-Large in Belize, Ms. Cynthia Ellis-Topsey; and Garifuna Nation Speaker and Congress Minister of Lands, Joseph Guerrero, spoke about the dispute. During that interview, the leaders commented that the way the issue is being dealt with is improper. They also stated that the councilors who are at odds with Mayor Palacio acted unprofessionally both when they failed to ensure that the mayor was aware of their complaints before leaking the document to the media and when they signed the document without doing their due diligence and ensuring that its contents were truthful and accurate.

“If they truly respected the mayor, they would have approached the mayor. They would have made sure that the mayor received the letter,” said Guerrero.

The Congress criticized the confrontational approaches that are often seen during conflicts in our country, with Cynthia Ellis-Topsey calling it a cycle of controversy that often occurs due to politicization of governance issues. She stressed the huge role that the media often plays in this and then stated that the Garifuna Nation believes instead in reconciliation and due process.

“We must not allow issues to be tried by the media,” said Ellis-Topsey. And shortly after, she asserted that the fact that much of the dispute between the Mayor and the councilors took place on Facebook was “unacceptable”.

The ongoing feud is reflective of a much greater issue that exists in our country—an issue that Egbert Higinio refers to as an “undermining culture”. According to Higinio, that “undermining culture” is seen when conflicts between parties, especially political parties, often lead to them undermining each other, ultimately resulting in little to no real progress. We should instead aim to establish an ethic of care, he said.

“There is a better approach,” stated Joseph Guerrero, noting that each of the points brought across by the Belmopan councilors could have been resolved by sitting down in a discussion with Mayor Palacio. And the Garifuna Nation has offered to facilitate that better approach.

Speciifcally, the leaders of the Garifuna Nation have offered to facilitate what they referred to as a professional conversation around the issue. They stated that they are not taking sides with anyone and would simply like to provide a space where both sides can have a mature discussion.

“We are a democratic nation and we want to maintain those principles. And therefore we the leadership of the Garifuna Nation are offering to provide a space for reconciliation, for listening, for mediating, and moving forward for this democratic nation that we are proud to be a part of,” said Ellis-Topsey.