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Members of Belize’s Garifuna community took to the streets of Belize City this morning in a peaceful demonstration calling for justice for the Garifuna people of San Juan, Honduras. Organized by the National Garifuna Council, the rally brought together supporters from across the country outside the Honduran Embassy, where participants called on Honduran authorities to respect an international court ruling recognizing the community’s ancestral land rights. The demonstration comes amid renewed concerns following reports of a recent eviction operation that left several people injured and Garifuna leaders detained. Reporter Zayna Augustine has the story.
Garifuna flags, placards and chants for justice filled St. John Street this morning as members of the National Garifuna Council and supporters gathered outside the Honduran Embassy in a peaceful show of solidarity. The demonstration drew participants from communities across the country including Dangriga, Georgetown, Seine Bight and Placencia. Among those standing in solidarity was Belize City Councillor Allan Pollard who says his presence was not about his political office but about supporting the Garifuna people of San Juan Honduras as a fellow Belizean.
Allan Pollard, Councillor: “It’s very important today, especially for us as Belizeans, being here and showing our solidarity and ensuring that we show that cross-border support for our friends in Honduras. I think it’s a very proud moment for me as a Belizean. And I love the culture. I love the community and I love the Garifuna people. If we say we love the Garifuna people, then we can’t just be there in the joyful moments and the moments of celebration, but the moments of oppression and challenging times as well. So it’s important that we’re here.”
The demonstration is connected to the ongoing concerns raised by the Garifuna community of San Juan, Honduras over the protection of their ancestral lands and the right of their people. The Garifuna people have a deep historical connection to both Honduras and Belize with communities established along the Caribbean coast for generations. In Honduras, Garifuna communities have continued to advocate for the recognition and protection of their ancestral territories which they say are closely tied to their cultural identity, traditions, and way of life. Over the years, concerns have been raised about land disputes, outside development pressures and threats that could impact communities that have occupied these lands for generations. The Assistant Treasurer of the National Garifuna Council, Ifasina Efunyemi, says the issue facing the Garifuna community in San Juan stems from a long history of efforts to protect their ancestral lands which have increasingly came under pressure from land disputes.
Ifasina Efunyemi, Assistant Treasurer, National Garifuna Council: “Garinagu, a part of what is Garifuna Duol is I for you and you for me. That is our ideology as a people. And so what happens to any one of us happens to all of us, essentially. That is our fundamental principle as a people and so we are joining with them to show that they are not alone and these are our relatives, these are people that we are connected to by DNA. We had many Garinagu who fled from that very community back in 1937 as a result of a massacre by the government right ? And so this threat, when we saw the videos coming out of San Juan last week you saw military, strong, very strong and aggressive military presence in San Juan. And all our people could do was lift up their phones. That was all they had in their defense, is letting the world know what they were facing. Different from what happened in 1937 and maybe that’s why what happened in 1937 did not repeat itself last week because our people lifted up their phones. And so every video that we see, every reel, every life is showing us, hey the military, the police, they’re coming here by force to take us from lands that we have been occupying for generations. This is not like Garinagu came and squatted on these lands. These are lands that our ancestors are buried on. We can say our grandmother, great-grandmothers were born on those lands and we developed those lands and we protected those lands and now because of commercial interests because of capitalism these lands are now the target of investment and development.”
Following the demonstration, the executives of the National Garifuna Council met with Honduran Ambassador Carmen Nieira inside the embassy where they presented their concerns and appealed for greater attention to the situation facing the Garifuna community in San Juan. The demonstration was meant to raise awareness of the challenges facing the Garifuna people and to reaffirm the long-standing historical ties between Garifuna communities in Belize and Honduras. President of the National Garifuna Council, Alex Nolberto says today’s demonstration sends a clear message that Belize’s Garifuna community stands with its brothers and sisters across the border.
Alex Nolberto, National President, National Garifuna Council: “We cannot allow the government, whether it’s in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, wherever we have our Garifuna communities to take advantage of our people and to trample on their human rights. So that is why we are standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Honduras. So that’s a letter that we wrote to the ambassador to present to the president of Honduras expressing our discontent with what is taking place, reminding him that we do not want history to repeat itself and also imploring on him to respect the rule of law, to respect the conventions that have been passed that protect our rights for traditional spaces and to alert him that Belize is paying attention and the international community is paying attention. So it is in their best interest to do what is proper.”
Following the meeting, members of the council expressed hope that their actions will be conveyed to the Honduran government while reaffirming the commitment to advocating for the protection of Garifuna ancestral lands and the right of the people of San Juan.
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