I.O.M Completes Identity Survey in Midway Village
Human Rights Day was celebrated on Saturday and in conjunction with the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, the International Office for Migration, I.O.M completed a legal identity survey in Midway Village, Toledo. It’s part of a bigger project involving villages in the southernmost part of Belize where a lot of the residents do not have vital statistics records. The survey sought to identify which of them need to get their documents of identification sorted out and whether or not any of them needed to first of all need to regularize their migration status. News Five’s Marion Ali was in Midway Village and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Midway Village, located about half an hour drive from the Southern Highway on the Barranco cut-off, is home to about four hundred families. The majority of the people are born Belizeans but some of them do not have their birth certificates and Social Security cards. So over the past few months, their particulars were taken and the International Office for Migration in Belize has been working to help them get their documents. Head of I.O.M, Diana Locke, told News Five on Saturday that this effort required the help of the alcaldes and village chairpersons.
Diana Locke
Diana Locke, Head of Office, I.O.M, Belize
“As we were doing the amnesty work, we found out that a lot of people needed vital stats support and a lot of people couldn’t get their Belizean Social Security card because they needed additional documents, Belizeans and permanent residents, and so basically what we did was a survey. We have completed the village of Midway so my promise was the first village that was finished, we would come back here and we would start in helping those people in that village to get their legal identity documents.”
Seventy persons from Midway need help in getting their documents, fifteen for immigration services and the rest for vital statistics. The Immigration Department, which was also represented, will collect the necessary information in order to see how these people can be assisted. Chairman, John Bo shared that he also played a role in the process.
John Bo
John Bo, Chairman, Midway Village
“We had a village meeting and I announce it that there will be a survey for people
who don’t have their proper documents so I visited their homes and got their names and send it to IOM. Most of them have – they’re born Belizean but they couldn’t register their child due to marriage certificate, due to errors on their birth papers.”
Following the survey, there was a signing of an M.O.U with the President of the Toledo Alcaldes’ Association and the District Association of Village Councils to keep the information shared with them confidential. President of the Alcaldes’ Association, Jose Bah, and President of DAVCO, Daniel Coc signed the document and they explained the significance of their roles.
Jose Bah
Jose Bah, President, Toledo Alcaldes’ Association
“The association is aware of what the I.O.M is doing in terms of the work they are doing in the communities because we, the alcaldes in the community are the ones that know our people and we listen to what our people want and in this case with the I.O.M there’s a lot of their documents that they require that they’ve been trying to get but now the alcaldes’ association get involved.”
Daniel Coc
Daniel Coc, President, DAVCO
“When the need arise for clarification or such then we would request and it should be granted to us and then those information will be kept confidential.”
Marion Ali
“So the need would arise how and when?”
Daniel Coc
“Well for clarity because we as village leaders and if for some reason let’s say they’re applying for a birth paper or Social Security and then those offices needs clarification then that is where we come in to assist our people.”
According to Locke, the survey that are being conducted in the villages could be vital in determining also other needs that the communities need as it relates, to land, water or power supply. Marion Ali for News Five.
