Premier George Price and the Hon. Hector Silva visit Blackman Eddy Village, May 1960
They were in the village to listen to complaints on a three months notice of eviction given to them by the Belize Estate and Produce Company.
HOW THE MESSAGE OF FREEDOM WAS DELIVERED TO THE PEOPLE FACE TO FACE. ( No television, no radio no phone, no rapid means of Communication)
For example, this picture was taken, when the people of Blackman Eddie United Ville, Ontario, Teakettle, Camalote and Roaring Creek were being evicted by the Belize Estate and Produce Company, that owned the lands where these people had been settled for over 100 years. This was in 1960. I was still the Mayor of San Ignacio.
I invited Mr. Price to come and meet the people and listen to their plight.
He came and we met hundreds of tenants under trees and a thatch shed.
Mr Price's message to them was: "DO NOT MOVE, we will win the elections in 1961 and we will get these lands for you all."
SO SAID SO DONE. In March of 1961, we won all 18 seats in the House of Representatives.
The first thing we did was to LEGALLY ACQUIRE all those lands and pay the Belize Estate with the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which they owed in LAND TAXES.
YES WE WENT TO THE PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE. No village was too small for George Cadle Price to visit and talk to the people.
I tagged along...
Photograph and story by Hector Silva
Click here to comment on this picture.
Belize Slideshow