When we left the squatters' area at the junction of Faber's Road and the Western Highway yesterday evening, the squatters had gone back unto their properties after police relaxed the barricades and rolled out.
We sort of expected a showdown today when police put back up the barriers and the settlers came back to resume their work. But none of that happened; when we got there, there were no barricades and no settlers working their lands; the area was as dead as Albert street on a Sunday.
But when we looked deeper, we found abiding concerns about an uncertain future:….
Maria Menjivar, Squatting for 5 years
"I am a single mother and I need a piece of land to live with my children. I worked hard."
Jules Vasquez
"Why are you crying?"
Maria Menjivar
"I'm afraid. The police came and told me that I have two days to come out of the house."
Jules Vasquez
"They gave you that notice on Thursday. So you have until Saturday."
Maria Menjivar
"Yes."
Jules Vasquez
"Will you be able to move by Saturday?"
Maria Menjivar
"But I don't have anywhere to go. When I built this house, I chopped out the area and my children helped me build the house."
Carolina Navarrate, Area Resident
"They didn't want us to come back in again. They wanted us to stay out there. I really don't understand these people."
Carolina Navarrete
"Trust me, the first time we came here we couldn't even see these sticks here, and all of this was - actually I can even say that I hurt my foot when I came here. All of that hard work that we have done will just go to garbage like nothing again. If they want us to move they should see where we can go."
Maria Menjivar
"I am not afraid. What I want is if they move me that they tell me where I can put my house, because I don't have money to pay rent right now. I am a single mother and I work hard. I work for BML."
Glendford White
"This is like slave labour to get this thing as clear as it is. This thing is back-breaking. I have my hand and machete, you know. It's mainly machete and hand-work that does all of this."
Jules Vasquez
"No chainsaw?"
Glenford White
"Well I don't own a chainsaw, so I do most the job by hand."
Jules Vasquez
"So sir, are you prepared to move - to vacate this land?
Glenford White
"I don't have any problem in moving. As long as I'm going to be compensated, maybe put somewhere else, mein. I've been doing too much work. What does the the government need to do with all this bush, when poor people need a piece of land?"
Jules Vasquez
"The plan is that they are going to put an international bus station and basket ball stadium. That's what in the plan?"
Glenford White
"Listen, none of that will help Belize and better off nothing for us in Belize. What we need - we need maximum security like our houses. We got to get our land so that we can have our houses. We don't need any bus terminal. We don't need any basket ball stadium. We will never have professional players, not in this era, at least."
Maria Menjivar
"We are not animals! We are not animals! The government needs to give us somewhere to put our houses."
Maria Menjivar's home does fall within the development area, but it also adjoins a squatting community west of "Gungulong" which is at the far end of Lake Independence.
Police say that while they have relaxed the barricade, they will be vigilant to ensure that trespassing does not continue. According to the head of Eastern Division, they have patrols in the area to ensure that no one is there - and anyone found there will be charged for trespassing.
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