BGYEA to demonstrate against Lands Department

Nigel Petillo

Members of the Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association, (BGYEA) led by Nigel Petillo, are spearheading a march on Independence Hill on Tuesday where they will protest against the Barrow Administration, particularly the Ministry of Natural Resources. The planned demonstration is set to coincide with the weekly Cabinet meeting and Petillo says the movement is gathering support. BGYEA strongly believes that the people’s message, one of anti-corruption, will be made clear in the Old Capital.

Nigel Petillo, President, BGYEA

“We have been visiting several different communities.  We just got back from Orange Walk this morning where we made the media rounds in Orange Walk.  We have been dialoguing with our partners there in Punta Gorda, Wil Maheia, our brother Emilio Zabaneh in Placencia.  We also have other ways that we want to encourage the general public to be a part of this demonstration.  If for whatever reason you cannot make it physically tomorrow at the National Assembly of this demonstration we’re asking that you participate by way of petition or by the text number that we have up.  You can go on the Facebook, for all you Facebook users on Krem Sunday Review page, like the petition, sign the petition and that way you could share it with your friends as well.  This will also register you as a number, as another individual who stands in solidarity with what’s taking place.  We definitely understand dah noh everybody wah could mek it up deh tomorrow.  I want to even go further and seh that I know that most of our, a lot of our members won’t be able to make it because those are the grassroots people.  Yo miss wa day, yo miss wa pay.  So while we’re urging them to take the sacrifice and make the sacrifice to be out there with us I understand a lot of them won’t be able to make it.  However, for those of you who have cell phones, Smart or Digicell, it doesn’t matter, you could text the word Lands, along with your message, for example, “Lands, I am eighteen years old.  I am trying to apply for a land, how do I go about doing that.  Lands, I sent in my documents for over three, four years now, what do I need to do to get my papers.”  Or whatever advice you want to send to the department but you start off your text with L-A-N-D-S, along with your message to 662-2981.  That information will be forwarded to emails at the Lands Department and to the National Land Reform Committee, that’s our committee that we have just started.”