Dear Mr. Editor,
My name is Mr. Sabastian Caal and I live in the village of San Benito Poite, Toledo. I have lived here in my village all my life. My father and mother have lived here all their life. My grandfather passed on our traditions to my father, who in turn passed them to me and my two sons. We villagers in San Benito live off the land, do our farming producing rice, corn and beans.
My father told me that a very long time ago our villagers met with our neighboring villages and agreed where our farm lands should end and where their farmlands should start. This became our common borders. My father told me that since that time our villagers have respected and honored their words they gave to the other villages. In some areas we use the creeks as markers for our borders while in other areas we agreed with the other villages to cut trails.
My village has about 60 families and a population of about 400. All of us do our farming on our lands that have been passed on to us from our parents. In my village every family has land that they grow their food on and this ownership is respected by everyone in my village. There are even two men who have cattle farm in our village as well. I have not heard another farmer go and steal another farmer’s corn, beans or rice or any other crops or go and farm on another family’s farmland.
Besides growing rice, corn and beans, I also have about two acres of cacao trees, like many people in my village. In my yard in the village I have 10 head of pigs and about 20 local chickens. I produce my food; however I would like to have more money because I have two of my children going to high school. It is not that I cannot produce more, it is because there is no market for my corn and beans and pigs that I grow.
Rice has a market at Big Falls. However, they push us around until it becomes frustrating to be a rice farmer. Every year they give us new seeds. They say it is better. But I get the same numbers of bags that I got from the last seeds I planted and the price does not go up. I do not understand the reasons behind all this.
I produce my own food, like everyone else in my village. I have many fruit trees where I farm. I am happy despite the fact that I sometimes worry about whether I will be able to pay for my two kids’ high school.
My village has been here for a long time. We do not disturb anyone. The only time the government disturbed us was two years ago when they gave someone from Orange Walk a license to cut logs in the area where we have our farms. You see, we do not cut down all the high forests. Our farms are located among the high forests. Fortunately we were able to reason with the man by showing him our farms among the high forests.
This experience allowed the people in my village to have a meeting to discuss among ourselves why that man came with a license to cut the trees that we have saved for ourselves – to build our houses. Doesn’t the government know we live here? The Ministers sometimes come to our village. So they should know we live here in our village.
Since I was born I have always known that the land I use for my farming belongs to me because my father gave it to me. It was part of his farmland. All of the people in my village are in the same situation. Our reality is NONE OF US IN MY VILLAGE HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER TO SAY THAT THE LAND WE GROW OUR FOOD ON BELONGS TO US. While we have not tried to apply for land, because my village feels that the land they use have always been for us and no one else except the government want to say it owns our land. We know that many people from the other villages have tried to apply for land and they never get any paper. In most cases they get no response. This makes the people in my village very worried.
For myself, I think as a Q’eqchi Maya, I should own the land my father gave me that I have been using to grow my corn, beans, rice, cacao and other food for my family. Also, I should still have the opportunity to go and fish in the river and hunt in the forests on the hills in my village. This is what I would like to see for my village and for myself. At our village meeting everyone said that this is what they want.
We understand from the Alcalde that the government does not want to give us our land. What does it mean when our government says that they will not give us the land we are using and growing our food on? At our village meeting our Alcalde told us that the Alcaldes Association and the Maya Leaders are going to court asking for our land, and that our Prime Minister says that he will prevent us from getting our lands we are using to grow our food on, even if it means he will take it to the Privy Council. I want to ask the Prime Minister what he means by this statement. It does not mean much for me and my villagers. Why will the Prime Minister prevent us from getting our land? Is our village asking to get title to the land we use to grow crops to get some money and feed our family too much to ask?
I live here; the people in my village live here. I heard on the radio some people in other parts of the country and even in PG who say that we should not be given our land because they want a piece of land here as well. Are they saying that they want to take the land that I have my farm on and the other lands that the other villagers are using? Because in reality all the lands in my village are being used and owned traditionally by members of my village. There is no more vacant land.
Is my only sin that I do not have a piece of paper for the land to say that the land where I am growing my corn, rice, beans and where my cacao are, belongs to me?
I would like to invite the Prime Minister to my village to see for himself how we live. Understand our realities, our vision and aspirations. Maybe he will have a change of heart. I would also like to invite my other Belizean brothers and sisters to my village to come and see for yourselves our lives. You will not understand about us in the story books. Let us tell you our stories ourselves because you do not seem to want to believe the people help us to secure our land.
I also hear from others that we must develop and be modern. What does that mean? Some say that we should become modern like the other Belizeans. I do not understand because I went with my uncle to Belize City and I saw almost every house has fence and has burglar bars around it. Is this what modern and development mean, and is this what some of my Belizean brothers and sisters want for us? I hear on the news every day people being killed. For me I don’t want that for my village, and I am sure the rest of the people in my village do not want that as well. I prefer to be here. I only want to have title for my land that I have been using to grow my food and make some money to buy my other needs. At our last village meeting we agreed that we should have title for our land.
I hope you print this and thank you.
Sabastian Caal