Refugee Resettlement in Belize

Abstract

Belize has the smallest population of any country in Central America. The 1991 census recorded a population of fewer than 190,000, of whom an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 were refugees or displaced persons (Montgomery 1991; PRODERE 1992b). Most of these refugees came from El Salvador or Guatemala, where political unrest during the 1980s produced two million refugees (Committee 1989). The purpose of this article is to analyze and compare two types of refugee resettlement in Belize: squatting, and planned or assisted agricultural settlement. The goal is to assess the effectiveness of each type on the basis of self-perceived resident satisfaction. Most geographical investigation of refugees traditionally falls into one of three topical categories: movement, distribution, or effects on destinations. This research presented here shifts focus to the less-studied actions and experiences of refugees (Black 1991) in the dual contexts of pre- and post-migration perceptions of sponsored and spontaneous resettlement. Examination and analysis of resettlement effectiveness rest primarily on structured interviews with one hundred refugee heads of household, male and female, divided equally between the two types of resettlement. A bilingual questionnaire was administered in the government project by a Belizean national; a registered Salvadoran refugee couple canvased the largest spontaneous settlement. Open-ended interviews and on-site observations were conducted in each refugee settlement. Additional data came from recent government-authorized surveys conducted by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Of special utility were reports by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Programme for Refugees (UNDP/PRODERE). In addition, Belizean political leaders, governmental officials, and representatives of NGOs were interviewed. BACKGROUND Immigrants have had little difficulty finding the tiny Central American territory of Belize. Over the centuries British privateers, African slaves, mestizos, Chinese, Syrians, Garifuna, and Mennonite farmers arrived. To many Belizeans the resultant cultural pluralism and a historic tolerance of immigration are matters of pride, although both characteristics may be waning. The current immigration is unprecedented: never have so many people arrived so quickly. Already evident by 1980, the migration stream grew dramatically in 1984 and 1985 and again in 1988 and 1989, a result of increased violence in El Salvador and Guatemala. Current estimates place refugees at 15 to 25 percent of the total Belizean population, with concentrations as high as 40 percent in some areas (Montgomery 1991). Immigration is likely to continue even if peace efforts in neighboring countries can be sustained. Several factors warrant this conclusion. One is proximity. Most Guatemalan immigrants reported the adjacent Peten as their last previous address (Stone 1990a). For Salvadorans, a two-day bus ride is required. Proximity also promotes migrant letters, return visits, and chain migrations (Palacio 1990). Immigration is further encouraged by a long-term resident population of Maya and Spanish-speaking mestizos who facilitate acculturation in Belize. Funds and personnel do not exist to find, apprehend, and deport any significant number of undocumented persons or to patrol international borders and waters. Consequently, in 1984 the Belize government granted amnesty to almost 9,000 undocumented residents (Palacio 1990). With official policies that are typically indifferent, benign, or even helpful, it is hardly surprising that most refugees plan to stay. Among squatters estimates of stayers range from 50 percent (Montgomery 1991) to 75 percent (Foster 1988). In the government's resettlement program 99 percent plan to remain (Stone 1990b). RESETTLEMENT In 1982 the Belizean government began to resettle refugees on more than 6,000 hectares of uncleared forest in the upper Belize River Valley, approximately 20 kilometers from Belmopan, the capital city [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. …