International Human Rights Clinic (Toronto and Belize)
This summer I made my second trip to Belize to work with a group of Mayan farmers, helping them develop a domestic litigation strategy to protect their traditional land rights from government encroachment. These are sustenance farmers who live on a reserve and have worked the land they are on for decades in order to feed large families. They are threatened by a government leasing program which would see the land parceled off to others, cutting off parts of their farmlands. In addition to economic loss, our clients fear that this leasing program will erode traditional culture and language in their community, dividing its members and likely bringing in outsiders with no loyalty to the community.
I had been working on this case during the school year with the International Human Rights Clinic. Continuing the work of students who had worked on it during two previous years, I had drafted key legal documents and made a trip in November 2005 to help obtain some affidavits from our clients.
There were a few separate purposes of this second trip. One was to obtain two further affidavits. Another was simply to communicate with our clients and to let them know how far we were in respect to preparation for filing in court. We also brought a film crew with us who are making a television documentary of the case.
On the first day we went to the capital of Belize, Bel Mopan, to look at some government records that would tell us whether any leases had been obtained on the reserve, and unfortunately we found that they had.
Mayan farmer with homemade violin |
The rest of the week we spent in southern Belize. We traveled out many times to the village where the farmers live. We achieved our major objectives and got the documentation we needed. What was most interesting, however, was getting our clients to tell their stories for the film crew. They showed us their farmlands and how they clear the fields with a simple machete. In humble grass huts in the middle of the village, they explained their fears about not being able to feed their families if their lands were taken away.
We traveled to other villages and spoke with leaders in other communities who have the same concerns and say that traditional village structure is breaking down. Traditional language is threatened, as children are not allowed to speak their language in school. I think that hearing these stories and making a documentary of this struggle is extremely important, because it could place a lot of pressure on the government of a country with a large tourism industry. I'm glad I got to hear these stories because it put into perspective the importance of what we're doing and how these people are truly threatened.
