Belizeans wear black in support of referendum on oil exploration
Tanya Williams
Did you notice an unusual number of persons wearing black on a hot day like today? Well, it’s all a part of the Black Friday event organized by the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage. The fashion statement being made by those who participated is that they are against oil exploration; both offshore and in protected areas. Coalition Coordinator, Tanya Williams told News Five today that there are more activities in the pipeline.
Tanya Williams, Coordinator, Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage
“Today we asked all Belizeans, especially Belizean voters to wear black to show their support for the right to vote in the offshore referendum and also to show support to the “no” vote when it comes to oil exploration in the offshore and in protected areas.”
Delahnie Bain
“How did this idea come about?”
Tanya Williams
“We just wanted to take an opportunity for people to demonstrate their support for the entire referendum and also for the fact that we want people to vote no when it comes to the referendum elections. And we thought this was a good opportunity because you can wear an earring, a shirt, a pants; anything and it’s simple ways that people can participate and be active in a very important issue.”
Delahnie Bain
“So what kind of participation have you seen? I know there’s the option for them to upload picture and videos and so on or just walking around; what have you seen?”
Tanya Williams
“I’ve seen a lot of people walking around; I’ve seen a lot of people in black and I’ve been counting. We’ve gotten calls, especially from people in coastal communities wanting to participate. I actually got a call from somebody asking when is elections I’m ready to vote. So we’ve had very good participation and we look forward to have people participate in more activities.”
Delahnie Bain
“So you’ll have more activities similar to this or maybe different but with the same purpose coming up?”
Tanya Williams
“Yes, we’ll have more activities, we continue to educate people and we also want to enable people to participate in some of the activities that we’re doing. So definitely on Valentine’s Day we’ll be doing something as well.”
