Villagers of Indian Creek find themselves in the middle of a legal battle with the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes’ Association. The underlying cause is that they’re stuck between a C.C.J. ruling that binds them to tradition and the government system that allows them to develop. Today, the village council held a meeting to say that they reject the legal steps that the M.L.A. has taken to reverse their election of an alcalde and deputy alcalde last November and to reinstate the previous village officials who served in those capacities prior to then. Village Councilor Anselmo Cholom said the reason they chose new alcalde leaders was because the previous ones stuck to the doctrine of the M.L.A., which impedes development in their village.
Anselmo Cholom
Anselmo Cholom, Member, Indian Creek Village Council
“The people that are leading the Maya people are dividing us in a way where they did not respect the decision of the community that happens at the community center. That’s what we want to [talk] about. And then to see that tradition that we’re practicing – when I am a Mayan person, I practice traditions. That doesn’t mean that I cannot get development. That doesn’t mean that I cannot get a concrete building and stay within a thatch building. It doesn’t keep me away from advancing. That’s basically what I’m talking about.”
Marion Ali
“But it’s not that you want to detach or divorce yourselves from the communal land system that has been in a part of the tradition for decades, centuries?”
Anselmo Cholom
“Yes, but if it is that the Maya leaders don’t leave the community in Indian Creek, then what is the sense that we practice, that we are there? What is the sense if we don’t want to – if they don’t want to allow us for development? Because that’s what basically the previous Alcalde was doing from not having development. So what is the sense to keep stuck in something that we don’t want to move away? We have to give up. We have to give up on that. We cannot being slave. We have to get out of that and if we have to get out of a communal system because of that, then we have to change.”
Following the election of Jose Choc and Felipe Sam as Alcalde and Deputy Alcalde, respectively, the Attorney General’s ministry declared both men duly elected officials of the village. But he informed the villagers on August fifteenth of the M.L.A.’s civil suit, challenging the installation of Choc and Sam. The women who spoke today, Jessica Ack and Silvania Maquin, vehemently opposed the reinstatement of the previous alcaldes and gave their reasons why.
Jessica Ack
Jessica Ack, Resident, Indian Creek Village
“I just want to ask, if these people come back in power, do you think that they will cooperate with the village council when we want development in our community? (Crowd shouts “No”) So this is the reason why we do not want these people. We want that Mr. Manuel Ak and Mr. Nicholas Choc to stay as alcalde and deputy alcalde.”
Silvania Maquin
Silvania Maquin, Resident, Indian Creek Village
“They will not work, they will not cooperate with our chairman, and I have seen it. And the beginning of this problem is not just today. It started when we were to bring – when this prince was to come in this village, there is where the problem started. There is where this village is divided in two. And from that day forward, this M.L.A. system is brainwashing these alcaldes that they want them back again. And we don’t want these two sets of alcaldes in the village.”
Indian Creek has a population of around fifteen hundred residents, and today’s meeting had less than a hundred persons in attendance. In no way did it reflect a majority position, based on numbers, but Cholom assured that they have the support of the masses. Considering the possibility of a court ruling in favour of the M.L.A., one of the elders, Miguel Ack, shared a likely scenario since they refuse to give up their current alcalde rulers.
Miguel Ack
Miguel Ack, Elder, Indian Creek Village
“(Speaking in Kek’chi Maya…we never had any issue within our Maya community to have to go to a high court. If we have any issue within the Maya, we solve it within the Maya community center. (Cheers) We can even end up killing each other if we continue with the MLA division. Now is the time to make a decision and resolve the matter. Now, the current, we will not change them.” (Cheers)
Thirty-eight-year-old Brandon Bowen, a well-known street figure, walked away from a charge of abetment to robbery when he appeared before the lower court today. In June 2023, Bowen was accused of robbing the cashiers at Belize Healthcare Partners Limited of an undisclosed sum of money. This morning, in the presence of attorney Ellis Arnold, it was successfully argued that there was no evidence linking Bowen to the crime. With that, the charge was dismissed and he was free to go. Of note, is that the identity of the other individual who participated in the robbery was never released and no one was ever charged for the actual robbery.
The 2024 carnival season is in full swing. We are on the heels of the Miss Carnival Pageant that took place on Saturday night inside the Belize City Civic Center. Soca Moca was declared the winner in the senior mas band category. Jump Street Junior Band won in the junior category. With that event now behind us, carnival bands across the city are gearing up for upcoming events, including the highly anticipated Carnival Road March. Over the weekend, News Five’s Paul Lopez visited the Trench Town Masqueraders to get a glimpse into their practice session. He brings us that story in tonight’s installment of Kolcha Tuesday.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
For the past thirteen years Patricia Flowers has been leading the Trench Town Masqueraders in Saint Martin De Porres.
Patricia Flowers
Patricia Flowers, Leader, Trench Town Carnival Band
“I have been dancing since I was five, then you know your kids grow up and you don’t want to be in the same category, so I decided to do my own, because for the love of carnival, you don’t want to take it out of you.”
We paid a visit to Flowers and her band during their practice session on Oleander Street in preparation for the upcoming Carnival Road March. The atmosphere was energetic. The revelers were fully engaged in their choreography. Several people from within the community were present simply to spectate and feed off the high energy.
Patricia Flowers
“The only thing that has changed with carnival is people loving carnival for being carnival. Back then nobody fights over carnival. Anybody could have stood up at anybody’s band. You could have done anything, but today’s day carnival turns into a fight.”
Over the years, the competition between carnival bands has become fierce. With huge sponsorship and coveted bragging rights on the line, being declared the best of the best during the carnival season comes with its perks. Angie Pineda has been embracing the carnival spirit from the age of ten. Pineda’s commitment to this carnival group has seen her transition from the junior to the senior band.
Angie Pineda
Angie Pineda, Reveler, Trench Town Carnival Band
“So it feels very thrilling, very energetic. I feel so happy. It feels like you are in your own little bubble, you are being your own little person. It is something I really like and it is like there is no negativity in it at all. So, it is just a fun way, it is just basically energetic.”
Paul Lopez
“Is there anything you need to do or have to be a good reveler?”
Angie Pineda
“No, as shocking as may look if you just look at me you wouldn’t think I can dance or anything. I have gotten that a lot. When I was younger it was the same way. I didn’t know to dance really good. But they taught me. So you don’t have to be a good dancer or a dancer at all. We teach you and you just come along and you will be great.”
2024 is the third year that Trench Town Masqueraders is organizing a senior band. Many of the revelers, like Pineda, spent most of their childhood years competing at the junior level in this very group. Flowers decided to establish a senior section as a natural progression. We also engaged Chantel Serano, another reveler, during our visit. As a true testament to the unity that exists within carnival bands, Serano says she offers her time to assist where necessary.
Chantel Serano
Chantel Serano, Reveler, Trench Town Carnival Band
“When it comes to Trench Town, we want to bring things to the way it was back then where it is not about what you wear. Of course, you want to look your best and everything, but what you can expect from Trench Town is that you are going to see the family bond. You are going to see everyone smiling, having fun, clean fun of course. We have a lot of these girls who work very hard. They have their jobs, go to school, our group consists of a lot of people who have a lot going on. So, when they come out here, this is their free up, their release.”
But the longstanding carnival culture that comes alive during the September celebrations is by no means perfect. When we interviewed Band Leader, Patricia Flowers on Sunday she was still distraught over the results of the Miss Carnival Pageant the night before.
Patricia Flowers
“I mean everybody just the kill the love of carnival.”
Paul Lopez
“What do you mean by fight?”
Patricia Flowers
“Literal Facebook post bashing each other, after events having fights, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Paul Lopez
“How do you feel about that?”
Patricia Flowers
“Frustrated, mad and I can’t even explain the rest.”
Paul Lopez
“Are you all deciding to compete this year?”
Patricia Flowers
“After last night I have two minds, because fairness in carnival is also dead. I used to be a quite person, and after the years of carnival I can’t be quiet anymore, because what you see and what you put in, fair is fair. We all work hard.”
Paul Lopez
“Is this the most frustrating year for you yet?”
Patricia Flowers
“In the events yes. In the parts with sponsorship and so. I am use to it. I have been through tribulations, trials, drama and I still come out carnival day.”
The Belize Police Department is taking steps towards inclusivity and accessibility by training officers in sign language. For one week, thirty officers from across Belize city will engage in valuable lessons so they can better communicate with deaf or hard of hearing victims and community members. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon stopped by the Queen Street Police Station to see how the officers were doing on day two of the classes. Here’s the story.
Rasheed Coleman
Rasheed Coleman, Police Ser, Family Violence Unit
“It’s R-A-S-H-E-E-D. Rasheed.”
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Upon meeting someone, a name is usually the first thing you learn about them. Sharing your name can be the beginning of a friendship, a relationship and the beginning of trust. But for many people that are deaf or mute, they are unable to take that first step to establishing that connection with police officers because they are expressing it in a language the officers does not speak. That disconnect is changing now that members of the Belize Police Department are learning how to speak sign language. A.C.P. Howell Gillett, National Commander of the the Community Policing Unit spoke with us about the importance of making this effort.
A.C.P. Howell Gillett
A.C.P. Howell Gillett, Nat’l Commander, Community Policing Unit
“We have the community policing officers, and we also have the officers from the family unit. Those are the ones who take complaints of a sexual nature. from victims. So it’s important for them to be able to speak with these people who are have hearing impairment, who have who are mute. So if we are to truly be policing the entire population, we have to include those with special needs.”
Whether someone is hurt or in fear is vital information for police officers to know, but the communication barrier between hearing officers and deaf or mute victims is difficult to overcome without an interpreter. This is especially challenging with small children who cannot write yet. With assistance from the Stella Maris School, officers are working to overcome this barrier. Sign instructor, Erlett Thomas says that this is a challenge that has always existed for the community.
Erlett Thomas
Erlett Thomas, Sign Language Instructor
“I have worked with ministry of education for the past thirty-odd years. And one of the things that we would sometimes we would get children or past students, youths who have been to the police station for a while and because of the inability to communicate with them, they end up being there for a long while and sometimes it’s something simple that could have been solved by just by communicating with them. So I think it’s extremely important that the police officers learn how to communicate with people who are deaf and also to identify when they are deaf so that they can use whatever they need to use to get a message across to them.”
After completing the initial phase of the training, officers will return in a few weeks to for more advanced lessons.
Erlett Thomas
“We’re trying to work with words that will suit the police department. So we’re doing basic now. They’re learning the alphabet and numbers because it’s extremely important for you to learn your alphabet. If you can’t sign something, you can spell it out and the person, the deaf person, will understand what you’re saying. Versus you just stand there and you do nothing. That’s So you spell out the word, and then you can continue. Even if I am talking to someone who is deaf and I don’t know the sign for the word, I can spell the word and I’ll tell them, sign that word for me and they will sign the word for me and we will continue with the conversation.”
The officers have been receptive to the training and the police sergeant in the family violence unit is proud of the progress that she has made so far. She says that everything learnt will be used to make her better at her job.
Britney Gordon
“What’s one thing that you’ve learned that stood out to you so far that you feel you’ll be taking back into your job?”
Rasheed Coleman
“Everything. Everything. We’re starting from scratch and some of us were completely clueless. And so definitely everything.”
A zoonotic disease is an infectious illness that has jumped from animals to humans. They can be transmitted in many ways, such as bacteria or parasites, but may even spread through unconventional agents such as food, water or the environment. Today, stakeholders in the health sector and environmental organizations participated in a workshop with several regional partners to discuss twenty-eight diseases that pose a threat to the region and identify how to tackle at least five primary concerns for the country.
Russell Manzanero
Russell Manzanero, Director, Epidemiology Unit, MOHW
“We’re gathered here the different ministries we have from environment, agriculture. We have from administrative health and wellness. We’re gathered here with different stakeholders, of course, to look at what is the prioritization of diseases in the country. We’re part of an entire membership within the globally of how we want to prioritize the different illnesses within our own country. Yes, we might be following different illnesses, but definitely when we start to look at prioritization of illnesses, we can look at different agendas, we can look at the strategies that would be geared towards what we would call under the One Health approach. What this means is that we can now follow diseases, we can put into strategies and follow, monitor these illnesses at the different levels within the different ministries. As we mentioned, we really cannot work alone when it comes to following illnesses and surveillance. It’s basically a network. It’s basically working under the One Health approach with the different ministries and agencies towards that goal.”
Anthony Mai
Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, DOE
“Zoonotic issues is the transfer of disease from animals to humans. Alright? The idea is that everything in the environment is connected. And so As different disease comes up, emerge and spread globally, the scientists and the doctors are looking at the sources of those disease and several of those sources comes from directly from the environment in terms of bacteria, microorganisms, animals, et cetera, that is within the environment, basically. But when the tricks of urbanization and development expands, people become exposed to different things within the environment that they were not exposed to before. And so because of these tricks. When exposure happened, normally disease could be transmitted from animals to humans through that means.”
Recently, the World Health Organization announced that a new variant of Monkey Pox was identified in Africa, however, according to the Ministry of Health, none of the variants have been detected in Belize. Since the 2022 outbreak of the disease in the country, the ministry has kept an eye out for a possible reemergence in Belize. We spoke with Russell Manzanero, Director of the Epidemiology Unit at the Ministry of Health, about the possibility of acquiring vaccines in country.
Russell Manzanero
Russell Manzanero, Director, Epidemiology Unit, MOHW
“It is a concern. August fourteenth, WHO did declare it a public health emergency of international concern. Mainly because of the increase of cases within Africa. If you do understand MPOCS is, has different clades. Different variants. We have clade one and two. When we had the first outbreak in 2022, which basically affected globally, we did see that scenario was based on clade 2. Now that we’re seeing this increase of cases within Africa, that’s a different clade, that’s clade 1b. It has been sparking some interest there because of the outbreak of cases, especially among adults and children. And the concern there is that it is no longer a sexual mode of transmission, but now it has been moved now towards a more direct contact between individuals. Of course, the concern of why it became a public health emergency was because of the different limitations that you might see in Africa. Of course, you look at the impact may have on the general population. You look at what the health system in existence is there. So definitely with movement with people, then definitely you can have that potential spread to other parts of the world.”
Reporter
“In terms of vaccination are there vaccines available? What’s the likelihood and possibility of Belize actually getting?”
Russell Manzanero
“I am certain that our management is looking at that option along with PAH on WHO. But definitely before you start looking at vaccination procedures, you want You want to look at the impact it’s having on different countries. The availability is limited. So right now, they will start to look at the concerns within Africa. They will start to target that area. And if they can control it in those points, then of course, transmission is lowered.”
Last week, we told you about a group within the United Democratic Party calling itself the Alliance for Democracy. Well, the Leader of the United Democratic Party, Moses “Shyne” Barrow, says he does not acknowledge any factionalism or division within the party, including the alliance. As we reported, the alliance was formed by a group of U.D.P. faithful intent on seeing Albert Area Representative, Tracy Panton, replace Barrow as party leader. Well, Barrow says that according to the party’s constitution, any such alliance is prohibited.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“Internally we will address our matters. I just put on record though that any alliance is illegal according to our constitution. I see that, or I have heard there is a campaign going on and people are going to media houses every week talking about the constitution. But the fact of the matter is, the constitution. There is a part of the constitution that totally prohibits factionalism, prohibits any type of alliances, any party within a party, it is prohibited by the constitution. They call it factionalism and division. It is totally prohibited by the constitution and furthermore the constitution gives the National Convention the highest authority of the party. I said that the last time and I will say it again, I was elected by the National Convention, not once, but twice. And the second time I waws elected, the National Convention elected me to serve until the general elections. So, there is nothing anyone can do about that, and my urge is for people to put their selfish ambitions aside and focus on the national issues that are hurting our Belizean citizens. There is no such thing as an alliance within the U.D.P. So, I don’t acknowledge any factionalism or division. I don’t acknowledge anyone other than a U.D.P. and the party chairman will deal with whatever letters he has to respond to.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you vouch for the character of the party chairman who is being attacked personally as well, accusations that he is bias.”
Moses “Shyne” Barrow
“The party chairman is an extraordinary person. All my colleagues that are focused on the next general elections, that is all we want to do, focus on our constituencies.”
Former Party Leader Dean Barrow, who led the U.D.P. from 1998 to 2020, shared brief thoughts on the chaos that has erupted within the party. While he refrained from casting blame, Barrow says that the internal strife that continues to plague the party does not bode well for a healthy opposition.
Isani Cayetano
“What are your thoughts about what’s been taking place within the United Democratic Party as of late? We’re less than a year or so from the next general elections.”
Dean Barrow
Dean Barrow, Former Party Leader, U.D.P.
“I prefer to not even think of it. It is extremely upsetting to anyone in this country who believes in democracy. I am not, of course, going to get into why the U.D.P. is in the state it is in or who is to blame. What I will do is to express the sincere hope which seems ultimately to be nothing more than a kind of pious wish that somehow the party would get its act together and find a degree of unity that can restore some confidence in people that at least we have a functional opposition party which is an absolutely essential requirement for a democracy.”
