20
The Belize Times
NATION BUILDERS
sunday, November 22, 2009
THE TREASURE OF BELIZE
Elizabeth Pridgeon As Belize desperately struggles to sustain its tourist industry in the current economic downturn, conscientious members of the nation are increasingly seeking new and novel attractions to promote to international visitors. Whilst the unique Garifuna culture is far from new, it is certainly an attraction worth promoting, as the Garifuna population is seen by many as one of the greatest natural treasures of Belize, and one of the most influential in the development of the nation. Yet be it due to a limited education system, ethnic tensions or mere indifference, there are still vast pockets of Belizean society made up of people who are entirely ignorant of the value of the Garifuna culture; in various indigenous communities (particularly those geographically removed from Stann Creek and Toledo), people can still be quoted as saying discriminating comments about Dangriga’s population, and other Garifuna communities. If this week is not a topical opportunity to address this misinformed perception, as the nation enjoys a public holiday to commemorate Garifuna Settlement Day, then it is difficult to say when would be a better time to deal with the issue of cultural pride and ethnic integration of Belize’s Garifuna communities. Today, the Garifuna communities
of Belize are like so many other ethnic groups, forced to discard their native towns and villages in search of employment opportunities elsewhere. Garifuna villages are being comprised of increasingly ageing populations as younger members leave the area in search of work; Barranco, Seine Bight and Hopkins have all lost some of their brightest youth to the lure of the USA and other international destinations (take Andy Palacio’s longterm residency in the States before his untimely death, for example); elderly
residents are increasingly concerned that perhaps their long-standing villages will only survive the duration of another couple of generations. Even worse is the subsequent loss of Garifuna identity because of the dispersal of its people, and it is a tragic irony that Garifuna cultural pride and heritage is often considered stronger in non-native countries (such as the USA) than it is in Belize. This week’s Garifuna anniversary offers a supreme opportunity to remind ourselves of how blessed Belize is to be home to so many Gafiuna who have strived to make Belize a stronger, better nation in which we all may live. The Garifuna have had one of the most tumultuous journeys of any Belizean ethnic group, and whilst public awareness of the plight of the Maya, or the hardships endured by recent Central American immigrants, is elevated to a comprehensive understanding, the ignorance towards the Garifuna story is something educators should be ashamed about. The Garifuna are not exclusive to the Stann Creek district, nor to Belize as a country, but they form a significant portion of a unique global ethnic group that every Belizean should be proud to have as compatriots. Their story begins almost 400 years ago, when South American Caribs relocated to the Caribbean island of St Vincent in order to subdue and discipline the native Arawak Indian islanders. In 1635, when two Spanish ships shipwrecked in the area, carrying hundreds of indentured Nigerians, several of the slaves were able to seek refuge on the island among the Carib-Arawak population, further adding to the genetic mergence of St Vincent’s ethnic population. Anthropologists recognise the Garifuna as a product of ‘voluntary assimilation’, which indicates the peaceful creation of this new ethnic group, but the ensuing years of searching for a homeland saw very little peace for the Garifuna. In 1660, a British peace treaty guaranteed the “perpetual possession” of the island to the Garifuna, but less than a decade later, the British broke the treaty and re-claimed the island as a colonial possession. However, by the
mid 1700s (following several generations of prolific reproducing by the Garifuna!), it became increasingly aware that the Garifuna were such a demographic force on St Vincent, that they threatened to jeopardise the inherent success of a colonial mission, and the British sent more and more representatives to the island to subdue the native Garifuna through brute force and persecution. In 1796 as the Garifuna desperately sought a solution to their imminent enslavement, an intended raid became a fatal defeat for the Garifuna, and the minority of survivors were deported to the Honduran island of Roatán (with the ignorant colonial assumption that the abandoned refugees would quickly die of starvation and disease). Not so, for the Garifuna flourished and multiplied, meaning that when they were again forced to flee following republican revolt in Honduras, they continued on their epic exodus in even greater numbers. In 1832, led by the charismatic and ambitious Alejo Benji, a sizeable group of Garifuna arrived on the southern Belizean coastline. It is this miraculous marine arrival that is celebrated this week in various Garifuna areas, including Dangriga, Hopkins and Punta Gorda. And what should be remembered of this era is that, for centuries previously, the Garifuna people had faced persecution, injustice and demoralisation, and yet they still arrived in Belize with an optimistic ambition to serve their ‘new’ homeland and to develop their ‘new’ nation. This they did, with a commendable determination and an impressively successful approach to national development, all the while trying to maintain their cultural heritage and unique ethnicity in order to protect their Garifuna culture from extinction. In 2001, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) declared the Garifuna culture a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” – in much the same way as various local marine areas (including several ranges of Cayes) were latterly classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is only due to the government’s mismanagement and financial greed that the Belizean UNESCO World Heritage Sites are under threat of losing the great privilege of this classification. Who has the similar fault for not appreciating (nor promoting, nor protecting) the Garifuna culture for the marvel that it is? Unfortunately, the blame for this cannot rest entirely on the current incumbent government’s shoulders for it is a result of generations of ignorance and misplaced assumptions on the part of all Belizeans, not just those in authority. This Garifuna Settlement Day, let it be remembered that the Garifuna have been one of the most long-standing ethnic groups of Belizean society, and have been one of the most dedicated working groups, serving the country and assisting with the development of our nation. This week, the Garifuna people as a group are recognised as the Belize Times’ Nation Builder of Belize.