UNIBAM’s Caleb Orozco Weighs In

Caleb Orozco

According to the executive director of the United Belize Advocacy Movement, UNIBAM, while a legal decision is one thing, it does not necessarily deal with the issue of living with prejudice and stereotypes.

Isani Cayetano

“Clearly there is a long road ahead to get to where the United States is, in terms of recognizing gay marriage and what have you.  What are your thoughts on the fact that this is an ongoing struggle that is still very much in its nascent stage, for you as a representative or a face of the LGBT movement in Belize?”

Caleb Orozco, Executive Director, UNIBAM

“One of the things in the understanding process is that a legal decision in and of itself does not address the hearts and minds of people who have traditionally carried all kinds of prejudice and stereotypes and misperceptions.  The population they know little or nothing about.  More importantly, it doesn’t help for the population with its perceived experiences of stigma, real or actual, in terms of its wish to be invisible or silent about that mistreatment.  For us here, the fundamental issue is understanding that a lot of work needs to go into educating people about what it means to engage another person you don’t understand.  For me, prejudice really sustains itself because groups, different groups do not take the time out to inform themselves about the emotional and physical wellbeing of another group.  So, the lack of information then tends to create perceptions or misperceptions that are sometimes not even there.”

The Supreme Court is yet to hand down a decision on the constitutional challenge of Section Fifty-three of Belize’s criminal code.