January 5, 2009
Dear Editor,
(The following are my personal views and should not be considered the views of the BEWU executive, or BEWU, for that matter.)
The Maya communities in the south of our beloved country, namely those in the Toledo District, have recently been organizing themselves and have put forward lawsuits in the courts against the Government of Belize. Irrespective of the judgments that have already been pronounced, we have a duty to respond but, more importantly, to be informed about this issue in particular because it could have tremendous repercussions for our nation.
Let me first start by stating the obvious, as I stated in a meeting of delegates of the NTUCB, this issue is one that strikes a nerve. It is personal to me for many reasons but more so because I am son to many “races” – Creole, Mestizo, Spanish and Maya included. I have had to face off the issue of race several times in my entire life since childhood, and I’ve always contended that there is no race, that it is only an idea, a concept at best. Race can not and has not been proven to have sound scientific basis. Race was created on the basis of our common traits, which included language, place of origin, traditions, culture, colour of skin amongst other physical attributes. All these “traits” tend to associate us into smaller groups and hence we are known as a particular race, but the only race science has been able to prove actually exists, is that of the human race. We all have genes, we all have blood, skin, two hands, two feet, two eyes, ten fingers, ten toes and the list goes on and on yet this magnanimously erroneous concept of race has been the cause of incredible misery to everyone everywhere and is ever present to this day!
What does race have to do in this issue, is a question we should try and answer ourselves. When we went to school we were taught of the “Divide and Conquer” strategy that was employed by the white slave masters and slave owners at the time when we were just a colony of Great Britain. The effect of this practice reverberates to this day in our small yet immensely diverse nation. What makes us different and what makes us the same? In reality we are the same and we are all different. We are all human and working Belizeans but we are also so different from each other in our own individual way. Even “identical twins” are not really 100% exactly the same. Physically there are always visible and non-visible differences and as they grow, these continue to be more prevalent and visible, but what really separates them from each other is the experiences they live! We are just the same like identical twins, having so many things that bind us: we all feel pain, pleasure, anguish, cold, sorrow, hate, sadness and happiness and we all have experienced love in some form or the other. Ergo we are all totally different due to our individuality but so alike in our humanity.
Our Mayan brothers and sisters are not different from us, but yet they have chosen not to integrate themselves with the rest of us, like many other communities in our country and even world-wide. The reasons they have for this and for their claim are very powerful and we wouldn’t be able to judge them unless we have lived what they have. We, just like the Maya, have suffered under oppression from as far as anyone can remember, and this is another thing we have in common!
It is impressive how we, Belizeans, are easily at each other’s throat over this land and we can’t tell Guatemala that if they want a piece of this Jewel they would have to come and take it from our cold dead hands! I personally believe that if someone is not ready to die for this country, that person doesn’t deserve to live here. Coming back to the Mayan land claim, if you look back in history, it doesn’t matter in what place and what period in time, you will see that there have fundamentally only been two groups at the center of each conflict, which are the workers and the elite. Go ahead and do research and prove otherwise. If it’s tied to slavery, government, religion, food, water, oil, etc., then it comes down to the same two groups – the governed and the ones giving the orders.
What should be our stance as a union? Well, as a union our stance should always be to be united to those that fall under the worker category in our country. We must be informed and listen to both sides to be able to make a good decision that will make us stronger, not divide us further. Someone asked “what if the people in Corozal and the Creole in Belize City and Mennonites in Spanish Lookout and all other ethnic groups start claiming a piece of the land, where will it end?” This is a legitimate concern as well and with good reason!
Brothers and sisters, read and be informed, because we only have one Belize and we only have one set of people in oppression – the working class, as they refer to us. It has always been this way. Do you guys recall the time when the unions were up in arms and the government of the day sent forth Mr. Assad Shoman, who several days later made a very interesting comment on a speech he gave to the media? In his speech Mr. Shuman said “what if we started asking ourselves am I poor because I was born this way, or because of my decisions? Or what if some people started asking about land and found out that 90% of our Belizean land is owned by 1% of our people, then” he stated, “some people are going to be in trouble.” Today I ask you another question. If we have uneven land distribution across our nation, where does that put the “Justice and Equality” so vehemently transcribed in our Belizean constitution? Therefore it is in your best interest to know!
Power to the people!
Marvin Mora, currently the VP of the Belize Energy Workers Union