Activists to Protest in Front of Ground Zero
It’s been almost two months since construction works have begun on Ground Zero at the bottom of the Swing Bridge in the heart of the City. It is where an iconic structure of colonial architectural design, the Paslow Building, once stood. That is before the third floor of the building was gutted by fire in 2002 and later torn down. There have been mounting concerns about the new building—should it retain the Paslow name—because Thomas Paslow was a slave owner who was convicted for mutilating slaves. And so on Tuesday morning, a group of activists will stage a protest in front of Ground Zero to signal how inappropriate it is to perpetuate the name of a slave master. Yasser Musa will be among the protestors. Here’s why.
Yasser Musa
Yasser Musa, Founder, Image Factory
“First of all for you to be calling him Mister Paslow, I think you are being provocative Duane because anybody that studies basic history will know that Thomas Paslow was a British enslaver and mutilator. Yo know weh mutilation means? Cut up, buss up, whap up the enslaved Africans. Dah neva fi he; those people weren’t for him, but the way we were fed this information. They say oh those were his slaves and “Oh, he fought with them in the battle.” That is a version that we completely reject. And so for one hundred years later to still be celebrating something like that is unacceptable on any level. The sign shows that they want that name and we will resist in the spirit of this moment to something like that. That is unacceptable and we will resist the way we can and we will call on the Belizean people to reject that and resist that as well.”
The building is being built via the Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project. When completed, the two-storey concrete building with parking space to the rear and various office spaces will serve as a welcome centre for tourists and Belizeans to gather information about the commercial city and Old Capital. It will also be a space for artisans and other organizations.
