Harmonyville group ready for land protest

Nigel Petillo

The Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association (BGYEA) which organized the formation of Harmonyville, a community at mile forty one on the George Price Highway, has been constantly on the airwaves regarding the issuance of titles for its members. Recently they claimed that there was at an impasse with the Lands Department. Earlier in the week, Beverly Castillo, the C.E.O. for the Ministry of Natural Resources said that the Minister had signed the documents for the Harmonyville group. But this afternoon, BGYEA told News Five that the group is still in protest mode regarding titles that have not been processed.

Nigel Petillo, President, BGYEA

“Because we di talk the truth about allege corruptions and all the nepotism and the cronyism weh di go on dah the lands department, we dah the bad one now?  The C.E.O. came out on Wednesday night saying that I am a liar; saying that BGYEA just di provoke and di be mischievous. We have been back and forth in the media asking the government when can we get our papers. Every time we get wah promised date and that date come and gone. And being the person I am, I deh behind the commissioner cause he dah the contact man dah the lands department. When we wah get fi we papers till the man start to get disrespectful. Now ih reach wah point weh being professional and trying to practice that diplomacy; ih noh di work. Dehn feel as if though we di try kiss dehn—we noh into that. We di try show them that dialogue needs to get this done. We gone to lands today thinking that the rest of papers weh the C.E.O. say all we have to do dah walk ina lands department and get it; none of them papers noh ready. Yes, last week Friday they called us at the end of the day after they mi done hear about demonstration plans and told us that they had some documents fi we. When we reach there, about a hundred and forty documents thereabout was ready, completed—lease papers I am talking about. They said dehn wah call wi next week when the rest ready. I think I even heard the C.E.O. mention that they will call us when the rest are ready, but all I need to do is walk into the lands department and get the rest. When I gone dah lands department, no papers noh deh deh. So once again dah noh just me di go through this. There’s hundreds of Belizeans who could testify that over and over lands give dehn wah date and ih noh work. Either dehn put in their files dah lands department and ih just disappear. You have title for your land and that get sold still. Countless and numerous transactions ina different people name. I got thousands of members who have documents right now weh say bwai I got wah tax statement from lands department weh say I own fi this amount a land da Pine Ridge; owe fi this amount a land dah Turneffe, but dah noh fi me. I noh apply fi this land. How it come in my name?”

David Barnett

David Barnett, Member, BGYEA

“We di encourage people fi come out and really talk up fi dehn self and thing. Dah noh only about BGYEA. BGYEA di speak the truth this goh round. And we can’t allow dehn fi di try fi bully reg and pull we up. Right now we got this protest going on and we need cooperation from the people. We noh di do wah bad things; we di stand up fi justice and truths and rights weh we deserve.”

Cadet Henderson Jr.

Cadet Henderson Jr., Member, BGYEA

“Come out mien, support BGYEA; positive movements—equal rights and justice; equality for one and all Belizeans. Sunday we are having our end of month meeting. Come out at mile forty-one George Price Highway. We wah issue out some papers for those who got their one processed, but we also got a demonstration on the twenty-sixth in Belmopan. Supporters, BGYEA members, all concerned Belizeans concerned who stand up fi equal rights and justice; unu come out mien, respect.”

The protest has been scheduled for the twenty-sixth of February.