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The British acts of genocide against the Garinagu

FeaturesThe British acts of genocide against the Garinagu

Two dates that will never be forgotten by our Garifuna people, especially those living in the countries of Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize and the United States, are March 11, 1797 and April 12, 1797. On March 11, 1797, the British unlawfully removed about 3,000 of our people in eleven naval ships from our nation state “Yurumein”, now known as Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, to the island of Roatan, Honduras, where we were dumped like animals on April the 12th 1797 to suffer and die.

Our people were dissatisfied with the living conditions on the island of Roatan and asked the British that we be granted permission to live elsewhere. After the permission was granted, some of our people migrated to Trujillo, the then capital of Honduras, and from there they established about fifty villages in the country of Honduras on the coast. In 1801 another group of Garifuna numbering about 165 people, migrated to British Honduras, now known as Belize, and landed in the city of Belize in an area known as “Yabra” on the south side.

They did not like the water they drank in the lagoon and moved southwards to Gales Point, Manatee; Mullins River; and then Dangriga, where they settled after tasting the water in the North Stann Creek River and liked the taste of it.

From Dangriga they established other settlements, such as Youngtown, Hopkins, Seine Bight, Punta Negra, Monkey River and Barranco. Georgetown was then established after Hurricane Hattie devastated Belize in 1961. At the time of their landing in the southern part of what is now Belize, that part of the country had belonged to Spain. It was later ceded to Great Britain by Guatemala in a treaty they signed together in 1859

After the Garifuna people landed in Central America, there were wars taking place between the Spanish and the British over the territories in the region. These territories were given to Spain after Columbus landed in this part of the world in 1492, as a result of the Treaty of Tordesillas signed between Spain and Portugal and mediated by the Catholic Pope Alexander the V1 in 1494. The territories in the East of the line that was drawn, were given to Portugal, mostly in the continent of Africa. Brazil was the only portion of land that was in the Caribbean and the Americas, that was given to Portugal. England, France and Holland were opposed to this treaty and declared war against Spain for the territories.

When Spain established their colonial rule in this region, they committed genocide against the indigenous people by killing them and taking away all their lands. Those who survived were made slaves, but they could not endure the hardships of slavery and they decided to end Indian slavery on the recommendation of Bishop Bartholomew De Las Casas, who was stationed in Hispaniola, now known as the Dominican Republic. African slavery then replaced Indian slavery, but not too many of them were brought to some of the Central American countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador by the Spanish.

Garifuna people migrated to the other countries of Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize because of the uprisings in Honduras and human rights violations after they became independent in 1821. During these uprisings many Garifuna people were involved in the conflicts and they were targeted for death by the infighting factions.

The largest migration of Garifuna people from Honduras took place in 1832 to Belize. This was after some Garifuna men, women and children were killed by some Honduran Nationalists in the village of San Juan, Honduras.

More than 300 Garifuna people were brought to Dangriga by their leaders, Elejio Beni and Satulle. From Dangriga they migrated to the other villages to join their relatives who migrated earlier in 1801. Some also migrated to a village of Guatemala by the name of “Labuga” Livingston. In all these countries where the Garifuna people live, they are looked upon as strangers, despite the fact that they are native-born citizens. They are being discriminated against by the authorities and the citizens that were living in these countries before they arrived. This tension has led to ongoing human rights violations since their arrival.

The Garifuna people still speak to their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren about their homeland: “Yurumein,” now known as Saint Vincent & The Grenadines. The Garifuna people’s hope is to do their best to reconnect with their families that remained in their homeland and those that were scattered to different countries by the British during the time they were removed and to pay respect to their loved ones who were tortured, killed and buried on the island of Baliceaux.

In the entire months of March and April, our Garifuna people traditionally take the time to grapple with the season of Lent and to contemplate the sufferings that their people endured during those difficult times on the island of Baliceaux, Saint Vincent, and their travel to the island of Roatan, Honduras. Just thinking about the journey is painful for our Garifuna people, and I have witnessed many Garifuna shed tears when talking about this genocidal experience. The Garifuna Nation, all its organizations and people, are united in their quest to seek reparations for this genocide that was committed against their people for no justifiable reason.

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