Garinagu organization and political growth in Belize - Part 4

By Dr Maximo Martinez
Edited by Wellington Ramos

Garifuna Women in Belize Politics

Garifuna women in Belize have also achieved becoming public servants as both local and national representatives. It is known that, in the terms starting from 1963-1972, Venancia Petillo served as the first Garifuna woman to be elected to become a Town Board Councillor in the Toledo District representing the PUP political party. She was also the first Garifuna woman to become a senator.

Dorris June Garcia from Dangriga served as president of the Senate, representing the UDP political party 1984-1989. Garcia reached a milestone becoming the first Garinagu appointed to the position of president of the Senate. Another Garinagu woman obtained a prominent position. Sylvia Flores, from Dangriga served as mayor of Dangriga, and speaker of the House during the 1998- 2003 term. Flores also served as an area representative 2003-2008 and as minister of defence and national emergency management (2003) and minister of human development and women (2005).

Similar to the men, these Garinagu women also began as town council representatives in their local municipalities.

Several Belizean Garinagu have achieved high profile political positions in cabinet as well as one who became leader of a political party. One of the individuals is Theodore Aranda, who holds a doctorate degree in philosophy. He joined the United Democratic Party in 1974. In 1979- 82, Theodore Aranda was elected leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), the highest political office ever held by any Garifuna in the country of Belize.53

Aranda campaigned to become prime minister of Belize in the 1984 elections representing the Christian Democratic Party, which he formed. In 1989, Aranda was elected area representative of Dangriga, with the Peoples United Party (PUP). As minister of health and urban development, Aranda acquired 20 acres of land outside of Dangriga, resulting in the construction of a Garinagu monument. The area obtained was dedicated as a monument representing the arrival, struggles and prosperity of the Garinagu globally. The site was known as the Chuluhadiwa Garinagu Movement.

Aranda was also the founder of the World Garifuna Organization (WGO) in 2000, advocating for Garinagu with the aim of cultural, economic, and social progress for the Garinagu. The WGO emphasized Garinagu ties with the black diaspora, identifying the ethnic group’s challenges with other communities of African descent in the Americas negatively affected by colonialism.

Another important Garinagu public servant is Roy E. Cayetano who is also an anthropologist and linguist. Cayetano has worked in the standardization of the orthography of the language and production of the Garifuna dictionary (246). In 2001 Roy E. Cayetano served as chief executive officer in ministry of rural development and culture.

During this period Cayetano was also president of the National Garifuna Association (NGC), carrying out his duties simultaneously serving the Garinagu as well as all Belizeans. Cayetano capitalized on his cabinet position in government, pushing the initiative of beginning the process of proposing to UNESCO the importance of the Garifuna language, music and dance as part of the culture.

The end result of the long process, which included collaborating with Belizean Garinagu leaders and scholars, and other Garinagu organizations in Central America, resulted in 2001 UNESCO naming the Garifuna as an Intangible World Heritage Culture.

The many government rule and constitutional changes reflect the evolution of Belize moving towards gaining its independence from Britain in which Garinagu were participants. Belize, compared to the other neighbouring countries Garifuna reside in, has sustained greater political stability and a substantial black population and presence in government.

These details, as well as racial diversity, contribute to Belize having the highest number of Garifuna political representatives compared to their political representation in other neighbouring Central American countries.

Conclusion

Although blacks in Belize sustain economic and political power, challenges continue as a result of the colonial period and the foundation of the economy based on free labour. A social class system has emerged, where the Creole elite usurp the positions of economic and political power with a vast population of impoverished citizens below them in a hierarchal pyramid. Those of clearer phenotype continue to sustain greater positions of economic wealth.54

Minority groups, including the Garinagu population, once discriminated against, have faced greater challenges in obtaining social mobility. Nevertheless, the greatest obstacles for Belize can be found in its economy, which for the most part remains under foreign control, with multilateral agencies dictating policies. The country suffers from poor infrastructure in many locations, high unemployment contributing to the “brain drain”, an unequal distribution of the nation’s wealth and the substantive migration of the young population to North America.55

With its diverse population, the government of Belize has adopted a national policy of “coexistent multiculturalism”. Nevertheless, inequalities of racism and discrimination exist in the country like in all the other countries where the Garinagu people are currently residing.

Garifuna people have overcome some discrimination in Belize. However, most of this group still resides in the poorest districts of the country, along with the Maya, with the lowest level of the development indices. Garinagu reside in southern districts (Toledo and Stann Creek) with the lowest indices of health, economics and education. Garifuna organizations have collaborated with Maya groups in presenting their shared grievances to the government.

Sources indicate that the government is attending to some distressed social and economic needs in their southern districts through various ministerial programs, some aided by support from international agencies.56 As described earlier, Belize lacks a large-scale policy framework directly addressing ethnic/ minority issues in supporting their social advancement. To obtain comprehensive development, adequate political representation is essential.

Ethnic and minority groups hold representatives in local and national governments in Belize. The Garinagu sustain representatives in local and national offices on behalf of their communities but, when they get elected, they are not provided with the funding to deal with their constituencies’ problems. Garinagu as a minority population have made substantive gains politically in Belize since their presence in the region. The ethnic group’s political representatives have also played extensive roles in the community development, which needs to be further explored.

Over time, globalization and collaborating with the indigenous helped in addressing community needs. Nevertheless, Garinagu in Belize face many challenges. Garinagu activists frequently articulate some of the challenges in the communities. Economic development issues such as high unemployment, no access to capital, inadequate housing, inability to re-establish self-sustainable farming and fishing industry. Low test scores compared to the national average and pollution and environmental challenges due to coastal sea changes. In addition, foreigners investing in mineral development and purchasing land in Garinagu communities at low rates is also a persistent challenge.

53 Garifuna History, Language & Culture of Belize, Central America, & The Caribbean, Bicentennial Edition 38
54 Garifuna History, Language & Culture of Belize, Central America, & The Caribbean, Bicentennial Edition
55 ibid
56 Ewens, Debbie. 1996. “Belize.” in Afro-Central Americans: Rediscovering the African Heritage. edited by Minority Rights Group

The Garifuna People

In 1635, two Spanish ships were wrecked near what is now St Vincent in the West Indies. The ships held West Africans who were to be sold as slaves in the West Indies. The West Africans escaped from the Spaniards and hid themselves among the indigenous Amerindian group, the Carib people on the island. The Africans eagerly adapted to the new environment in hopes of avoiding slavery and remaining under the protection of the Carib community. Likewise, the Caribs protected their new African neighbours because they resisted European encroachment on their lands. Eventually the Caribs and West Africans began intermarrying, and ultimately, created the Garifuna people.

When the French defeated the Garifuna on St Vincent in 1795 and drove them to nearby Becquia Island, they and other Garifuna left the Lesser Antilles Islands by the thousands and settled on the coast of Honduras. By 1802, they had migrated to what is now Belize. Led by Thomas Vincent Ramos, they settled in the township of Dangriga and soon spread out to other communities. The Garifuna population resides at present in 43 locations on the Atlantic Coast between Belize and Nicaragua. The largest of these communities are in Honduras and Belize, where about 98,000 Garifunas are concentrated in various towns.

Today, Garifuna culture is still heavily influenced by its Carib and African ancestry. The music, language, food, religion and dance provide evidence of the strong presence of both West Africa and Amerindian cultures. Nonetheless, like other West Indian and Latin American people, the Garifuna have emigrated to the United States. The largest Garifuna population outside of Central America resides in New York City.

Through both disease and warfare, the Caribs died out as a separate Amerindian people. Thus, Garifunas are regarded as the last remaining descendants of this group. They are often referred to as the Black Caribs and are the only people remaining who reflect the culture and traditions of the original Amerindian inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. Unfortunately, like the Caribs, the Garifuna are also declining in numbers and their traditional culture is being undermined by the economic and political modernisation of Belize and Honduras.

With the strong pressure on the Garifunas to speak either Spanish or English, their indigenous language - placed in the Arawak category - is rapidly disappearing. With each generation, parents make less of an effort to teach their children the Garifuna language and culture. However, more recently, there has been resurgence in interest in the Garifuna traditions. A number of new books and festivals, both in Belize and in the United States, are focusing attention on the people and their history while serving to maintain the Garifuna identity in the contemporary era.

Sources: http://www.garifuna.com, the Official Garifuna site; Susie Post Rust, "The Garifuna: Weaving a Future From a Tangled Past," National Geographic, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/09/01/html/ft_20010901.6.html.