Challenging Questions

I have been in Belize now for about 3 ½ months and finding myself at a challenging yet stable point in life. Amidst the beauty of Belize’s diverse natural beauty and cultural groups, my motorcycle riding privilege, and waking up to the sun rising over the sea, I am also funding many struggles and frustrations about life here as a foreign volunteer and the life here in general. I have found there to be a great reliance and expectance on foreign aid and foreign volunteerism by the people. Being a colony up till just over 25 years ago, being an English speaking country, and being a relatively safe country, it has been a perfect dumping ground for other countries, organizations, and volunteers to come on help out, or more so to dump some goods and money. It has made me question aid, donations, assistance and volunteering. If it creates a dependency and reliance by the people, allowing them to sit back and wait whenever something needs to be done, then maybe the form and support is the problem itself.

The most impacting experience I had was last Sunday when I was asked to speak on behalf of the Catholic School management at the opening of the computer lab in the largest Maya village in the Toledo district. This was an exciting event for the village although the situation surrounding this event made me very uncomfortable. The computers were donated by CHx Oil Corporation and the purpose of the donation was to demonstrate to the 5 most southern villages the kids of gifts they could receive if they allow and cooperate with the oil drilling in the villages. Surrounded by hundreds of Q’eqchi Mayas villagers and sitting at the head table were the five leaders of the villages where the most oil is known to be, the oil corporation representatives, and myself. I guess I knew this kind of bribery and exploitation took place, but never saw it first hand and surely never sat at the head table next to those taking advantage of the people and land, and who happened to be the only others who just happened to have the same color skin as me. (I write a more detailed reflection of this on an earlier entry)

As the days pass I learn and experience more and more that make my thoughts and opinions change. There are always two sides to the coin and you must see and consider both or else that ignorance. And I will never understand what goes on here. After two years of being here I will not be able to claim that I know and understand what life is like here and why things work the way they do. Grappling with these questions and thoughts have brought more meaning to my life here. At first I was searching for meaning and what this would lead me to, since teaching the Catholic to a group of Maya children in each school is sometimes hard to convince myself that this is the best thing I could be doing right now with my life and that it is inline with the way I view the world and how improvements and changes can come about.

Weekend in Jalacte and Guatemala

Last weekend I was out in Jalacte, a village right on the Guatemala – Belize border. I spent a couple nights there with the Peace Corps guy and we hiked over to Guatemala and spent the day there on Sunday. It was really interesting to see his life in a village without electricity and running water and also to see how life changes when you hike twenty minutes over a mountain and across a river to arrive in the neighboring Guatemalan village. We arrived in Santa Cruz, Guatemala around 6:15am and there was a lot going on in this small town even at that hour. The homes were different, there were stores, the Spanish music sounded in the bus, there were a lot of Spanish blooded people (in the village in Belize it is almost 100% Qe’qchi Maya). People have mustaches. Most pure blooded Mayas can’t grow much of a stash. The girls are friendly. The Belize girls are not very friendly. They come across as disinterested in foreign guys. But that’s fine with mean, makes life a little easier, as I’m not looking to get involved with any kind of relationship down here. On the other hand the Guatemalan girls stare you down and flash a cute smile and I have no problem staring right back at them. Welcome back to Latin American culture.

Along with two of the Peace Corps guys we spent a few hours in a small city, much larger than Punta Gorda. There was a typical Guatemalan market which we weaved in and out of and a bunch of stores with a lot more options than what you can buy in Belize. All I bought was a small sized machete with a leather case for it that cost me 65 Quetzales, less than $10.

Spending a couple nights out in a very remote village and crossing the border gave me a lot to think about it. How is the life different in the village in Guatemala than in Belize? Life in that part of Guatemala was centered around the cattle industry. Most peasants take care of the cattle or work on the ranches that are owned my a few rich elite. In Belize there is still land and the people can grow as much corn as they can manage to work. 90% of the money in Jalacte, Belize comes from selling corn in Guatemala. Even though people don’t have much in the village in Belize and there’s no electricity and running water, there’s still money. The villagers do not pay taxes besides when they shop in town yet they have a school with teachers that are funded by the government. The government doesn’t pay for much more than that. Money issues cause a lot of conflict in the villages, as people do not trust anyway who asks for money to do a project. They help with traditional tasks like building a thatch house, but they have a lack a trust in pooling together to building a school building if it is not completed with government money, which happens often.

Villages hear rumors about how once they got a Peace Corps a lot of projects started to happen. Once example is in a village called San Benito Poite where every family has a solar panel. Money for this was donated by the Italian government and labor was provided by the Cubans. It just so happened that there was a Peace Corps there at the time that may have helped with other projects, but did not make the solar panels happen. But word passes and villagers are all about bringing in a volunteer to be the power behind getting resources, writing a grant, or donating themselves. However, just as it’s not my role as a JVI to provide material goods, neither is it the Peace Corps. These are some of the challenges one faces. The expectations have been built up because of the flow of funds and resources by foreigners.

Oil Drilling in Belize National Park and Maya villages (click here)

The opening of the computer lab in San Pedro Colombia

Hundreds of Q’eqchi Mayas gathered around while music blared and the oil company representatives prepared to present their gifts and convincing words to the people and village leaders. Sunday November 4^th was the opening ceremony of the internet computer lab in San Pedro Colombia, the largest Maya village in the Toledo district of Belize. Located thirty minutes outside of Punta Gorda, the village is scattered with thatch homes, pigs and chickens running freely and is populated by Q’eqchi’ Mayas. Most of the elders of the villagers wore their traditional clothing, while a large number of the younger generation wore either red or blue clothing, representing the bloods and crypts gangs that have been sweeping across the Maya villages of southern Belize.

I was not only in attendance but sitting at the head table as I was to represent the Roman Catholic Schools management and speak on behalf of the local manager. Little did I know the corporation who donated the 38 brand new computers (about $53,000 US) is an oil company out of Denver Colorado called CHx. CHx is owned by the same couple who owns BNE (Belize Natural Energy) and both are foreigners.

CHx corporation and US Capital corporation have partnered up to drill oil in the Sarstoon Temash region of Belize, encompassing the 41, 898 acre Sarstoon Temash National Park and the five most southern villages in Belize. CHx chose San Pedro Columbia to pilot this computer project in order to demonstrate to the five Sarstoon Temash villages the benefits and possibilities that may come about if the oil drilling goes smoothly in their villages. The oil companies sent the message to the chairpersons of the village, ‘let us have our way with your land and you will be rewarded’.

Chairpersons from the five villages, a representative from the Ministry of Education, representatives from CHx Corporation, US Capital, USG (seismic testing corporation) and I sat front and center in chairs lined up next to a large PA system. This event began with the Belize’s national anthem, a prayer in Q’eqchi’ by the Catechist, and a welcoming from the primary school principal. I spoke on behalf of the district schools, thanking the oil company’s for their donation and each of the representatives spoke to the people on behalf of their corporation. They shared a bit about their company and encouraged the people to be on board. Mr. Alistair King of US Capital spoke with his Maya counterpart at his side who translated into Q’eqchi encouraging the Maya villagers not to believe all the negative press that they hear on the news and in the cities about oil companies. He shared that it was the oil companies that built the roads leading out to a few of the nearby villages and they are now investing in their children’s future with this computer program. Between each these presentations there was a cultural dance by the school children, lifting the mood and creating the perception that this day is a celebration and landmark event for the Maya culture.

After the hour and a half ceremony the oil companies were also generous enough the provide drinks and tamales to all the people in attendance. This ceremony seemed to run smoothly and just as the oil companies had planned it. It was a quick and organized ceremony giving the oil corporations a friendly and positive face to impress the village leaders from the Sarstoon Temash villages and convince them to allow the drilling.

What I saw and took part in was an upright exploitation of the Maya people and bribery of the chairpersons from the villages that live, grow crops, wash clothes, and survive and the land that will soon be torn up providing millions to the foreign oil companies. Royalties will be allocated to the government of Belize, to the environmental organizations and computer labs are projected to be opened in the villages by next school year. My disgust for what I saw today was especially strong because of my participation in the event in which I had to sit next to the CHx Representative and stand up in front of the Maya villagers, many of whom I am helping with retreats and confirmation programs, and thank these oil companies for their generosity since I was the only other non Maya or Belizeans in attendance. I felt like I was the only person in this crowd of hundreds who was screaming on the inside because I knew that the oil companies will be taking millions and hurting the land and leaving the local people with little. The drilling in southern Belize will provide short term jobs that are much needed in the Toledo district which is starving for jobs. However these jobs are not sustainable and will take most people away from the cultivation of their plantation and other projects for their village. I have heard about and studied a great deal about exploitation of indigenous and marginalized people, but today was the first time I saw it first hand as I sat shoulder to shoulder the oil company representatives who so slyly and effectively dropped in to the Toledo district, gave some presents and went out their way. Drilling is supposed to begin within the next few weeks.