Squatter loses land and home

A Belize City family is homeless tonight and is urgent need of a place to shelter. For over ten years the Jones family cleared and built on a parcel of land at the end of Marcom Street in Port Loyola. Lennox Jones says he carved out his place with his own blood, sweat and tears but there is one hitch. Jones did not have a lease for the land and the plot was actually owned by someone else. He told his story to News Five’s Jose Sanchez.

Lennox Jones, homeless
“From 1999 I live dah dis place. Dehn bruk dis place leaving my girlfriend, four kids and my common-law-wife and di little bwai dehn going to school. When I came here, yah dah mi high bush. I chop it out from scratch, over mi waist eena swamp. I put down di post there. All of a sudden, dis fellow neva did come around, ask me nothing. I use to give dis fellow current fi build ih structure right here.”

Jose Sanchez
“Do you have lease for the land?”

Lennox Jones
“No, no; squatters rights. As Belizeans dah so we get wi land. If we wait fi get wi land through di procedures yoh noh wah get nothing.”

Jose Sanchez
“But you are aware that someone else actually had a title to the land?”

Lennox Jones
“No, so far it is doesn’t because…”

Jose Sanchez
“Have you checked?”

Lennox Jones
“Yes, yes I is check.”

Jose Sanchez
“So why didn’t you apply for a lease?”

Lennox Jones
“The problem why is because den di person weh I gone fi get di lease, I mi have to get wah recommendation.”

Jose Sanchez
“When did they tell you to move?”

Lennox Jones
“Dehn tell me I got to move, well dehn give me wah time from di nineteenth of last month to the nineteenth of this month.”

Jose Sanchez
“The nineteenth of this month was Sunday, that’s three days ago.”

Lennox Jones
“Right.”

Jose Sanchez
“So did you move Sunday?”

Lennox Jones
“I couldn’t move because I didn’t got nowhere to go. Move to go where? I got family I got nowhere. When I came I saw two guys brukking my house down. Dat dah round afta five, going to sic o’clock yesterday evening.”

Jose Sanchez
“So now you’re homeless.”

Lennox Jones
“I’m homeless, I don’t got nowhere to go, nowhere. Matter of fact, I noh sleep whole night last night. I deh pan di floor just di try watch my thing mek nobody thief it.”

Jose Sanchez
“What would you want people to help you with?”

Lennox Jones
“Well, I woulda want di minister on a whole try listen to what I’m saying. I need somewhere right now and I need to get back on my foot because my house is messed up. Di fellow bruk up my house.”

If you would like to help out the Jones family you can reach Lennox at 600-5930.