If we think outside the box, the scope of diplomacy becomes wider than the closed door meetings of high level officials and the legal documents they produce which may as well be written in braille for their readability to the majority of the people they concern. If we think outside the box we might realize that people oriented solutions can often be equally if not more effective than litigation in the mitigation of people oriented problems.
A series of practical solutions that, unlike the option of arbitration by the ICJ, would directly address the urgent problem of degradation of our natural resources being caused by the ongoing boarder incursions, as well as provide countless spin off advantages not only for our own struggling nation state, but also for the poorest of our neighbors.
With the over 9 million budgeted for the ICJ referendum awareness campaign Belize could:
Create a Government (or Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Youtube Channel.
Invite the general public to submit simple 3-5 minute video presentations, in any language, either
- explaining the Guatemala threat to Belizeans or
- sensitizing Guatemalans on what our country means to us, the impact they have been having on our environment, and the impact that what they are asking would have on us as individual Belizeans and as a country as a whole.
Make videography services available upon request.
Encourage students to create Youtube video play lists of their top video picks.
Enlist the assistance of Belizean diaspora in communicating our plight to the world at large by sharing these videos using Facebook and other social media.
Offer cash awards for the most watched and most liked videos to encourage better video quality.
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Keep centers open to the general public 24 hours a day.
Designate these education centers as places where Belizeans (and Guatemalans as explained later) may not only view the educational videos described in the preceding phase, but may also obtain computer literacy, communication technology and other training free of cost.
Schedule specific days when free transportation would be provided to and from the centers for each electoral division, educating entire communities on the issue at hand while empowering increased direct civic participation in general.
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Marginalized Males
Enlist 1,000 young men from Belize City between the ages of 19 – 31 who are currently unemployed and out of school.
House them in the village of Gales Point in 125 or more Mennonite structures.
Administer 4 months of the proven social rehabilitation program being used by the Kolbe Foundation.
Provide classes in computer & internet use, Spanish & K’iche’
Provide hands on vocational training in plumbing, wiring, and wooden construction by having them
- Construct new homes within Gales Point village to act as temporary housing for families as described in the next section.
- Construct education centers as described in the preceding section, starting with one in Gales Point which they would then have first opportunity to utilize.
- Construct homes for the members of our Belize Defence Force as well as implement the accompanying infrastructure that will be required for the new BDF community explained below.
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Families
Educate entire families at a time, starting with those in most dire need of housing or other financial assistance.
Begin accepting registrations now so that classes may begin next school year.
Commission a house of appropriate size for each family from the team of enlisted youths in the Gales Point village where entire households may attend free classes, as a family, covering subjects such as
- Home construction, wiring & plumbing
- Homesteading, agriculture & gardening
- Basic English, reading & writing
- Computer literacy & web competency
Families/households who pass the one year program will be given free piece of land in new community outside of the village, perhaps as a part of the BGYEA program if feasible.
Before a household is certified to have ‘passed’ :
- Each household member must watch and respond to 5 or more Guatemala threat explanation videos.
- Parents must ensure that each child of school age completes their normal required syllabus for the school year.
Provide additional tutoring upon request free of cost to families.
Pay* presently volunteer tutoring groups such as ARMED to provide this service to the community.
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The BDF
Increase patrols of the adjacency zone.
Move the BDF base nearer to the boarder so as to facilitate these border patrols.
Issue free land titles to soldiers along the new Central American road and near the adjacency zone.
Provide 5 year zero interest loans to soldiers for the purchase of the material to build their homes.
Pay* enlisted youths to provide home construction labor free of cost to soldiers.
Direct the BDF that during these patrols their objective is to apprehend trespassers,
Require that soldiers, upon securing each situation, record the coordinates of first contact, the names, ages and sex of the persons apprehended.
Request that,
- For their own safety, soldiers conduct patrols in groups of 5 or more.
- For the protection of the human rights (and, equally important, evidence of protection of human rights) of persons they encounter, one or more per group carry a recording device.
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Guatemalans
Position conflict mediators on a continuous basis at the army base to receive apprehended persons upon arrival.
Instruct mediators to
1. To create profiles for each person or group using details such as
- where they came from
- what they were doing in Belize
- whether or not they knew they had crossed the boarder
- etc. (part of the objective of this proposal is to foster deeper understanding in people on both sides of the boarder of their neighbor. )
3. Ensure that those who decline are deported back to their country of origin in no less than 1 week.
Provide up to 1 year free housing, appropriate to participating household size, to those who accept using homes temporarily vacated by local families.
Provide free classes, delivered at the education centers nearest their accomodation, for participating Guatemalan families in topics including:
- Basic English, reading & writing
- Computer literacy & web competency
Ensure that all detainees receive sensitivity training and are asked to give feedback or reflections on the personal plea videos they watch they are shown while in detention.
With the help of enlisted youth teams, actively invite Guatemalans living near the boarder to voluntarily enroll in this education & sensitivity program.
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Web Diplomacy
Set up an online embassy, a simple web page or series of web pages, in addition to links to worthwhile existing literature such as
Include most liked Guatemalan sensitization videos produced by Belizeans and online reception service using live chat software.
Target Guatemalan web traffic with CPM Facebook, Google and other search engine ads.
Employ students to act as online receptionists fielding live questions, comments and concerns of virtual visitors to the online under the supervision of the ministry of foreign affairs.
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Additional Benefits
Facilitate increased direct civic participation not only in the upcoming ICJ referendum but on any and all future issues of national importance.
Guarantee not just sustainable jobs but meaningful careers for hundreds of youths, seriuos social inclusion, empowering them not only to provide for their families but to give back to their communities and the country at large.
Enhance human resources
Increase the value of our human resources by creating a national and cross boarder peace keeping force, connecting fringe and unrepresented communities from all reaches of our country, and potentially the entire region.
Provide an opportunity to deepen cross cultural understanding and more clearly define & refine our international identity.
Create a new niche for ‘anthropological tourism‘ in Gales Point Village, e a resort village.
This will also enhance family cohesion.
Increase internet penetration from the present abysmal 10%.
By actively inviting boarder families from Guatemala, we are …and preempting … building good will. Not unlike Taiwan’s practice of providing scholarships to students of friendly countries like Belize.
#Synergy.
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In 1-5 years, if there are still boarder tensions, the people of both nations will far better prepared to meaningfully participate in the decision making process.