A Reflection on CABO (part 1 of 3) By: Abdul Nunez Asking the tough questions! I do not usual write but felt I have to start this conversation. Who is benefiting for the Garinagu entities in fighting? Why are we tearing down ourselves? What is the selfish motive behind it? What is the intention? Why is whosever doing it perpetuating that? To what end and is it to benefit an individual or a few? My reflection is does it really does not make any sense? These are some of the pressing questions that myself and many of the youths who attended the ONECA conference have. My initial investigation has lead me to believe that this is what has been happening since the inception of CABO, there is a document where Roy Cayetano himself said, the intention when CABO was set up was for the Garifuna nation because this was the fight between Dr. Ted Aranda and the NGC which was Phyllis, Mr. Flores, Roy and the rest in the Garifuna leadership in t 1994-1995 were getting greedy and wanting all the power. Naturally when Celeo Alvarez approached them, Belize was the leaders the Garifuna community went to St. Vincent and helped them to reconnect with their Garifuna heritage and did some work with them in the 80s so Belize was at the helm. Back then Celeo was having problems in San Pedro Sula and La Sieba and those areas where the powers that be were trying to take the lands away from the Garifuna people for tourism and the rest of it just as we had here in Belize where there was a grab tub for prime Real estate in the fishing villages. Celeo was a unionist and he connected with them and reached out to the leadership that existed. Since that time twenty years ago the Garinagu have strengthened, they have surpassed the leaders and the teachers and this is the way it should be. The purpose of a teacher is to train a person to go beyond them. The history as I understand it according to what Roy wrote was for a Garifuna Nation. They however, could not appear that way in the international area so it was for optics but it was never their intention for us to be one people it was always for separation. Celeo’s group is making yet another move now to legitimize what they have been doing under the guise of yes we are one people. This switch only came from a Garifuna leadership because Celeo lead CABO for ten years and his predecessor was Mr. Flores. Since 2008 which will mark six years this coming year since Sidney Francis a slave descendant from the Caribena became president. From the time he became president there has been a fight against him, Celeo has been undermining him and continues to do things in the name of CABO as if he is still president including a lot of international monies. It has continued that way because Celeo has to legitimize his space to re- ascertain CABO’s leadership so that he covers his tracks. Then the question comes why are we doing this nonsense and to what end? Is it just to benefit Celeo because he acts as if though he is the king of the Garifuna Nation? This was evident in Nicaragua last year, when he called all the Garinagu came around him. Has Celeo uplifted anybody except himself? His organization is ODECO in the twentieth year since this infighting has been happening. Is he trying to break up CABO to benefit himself and ODECO which is him? ODECO has already assimilated CABO’s projects and has already written CABO’s history and has CABO records and has not given them back to CABO. They have the bank accounts and the signatures and he is trying to stop any movement away from him and the way he is doing it that is to either break up CABO or take it away through a legal battle claiming it as his creation. I challenge all of you to stand back and look at the entire process and you will see that is has always been about Celeo. It is not even about getting personal it is about looking at it objectively. Then it begs the quest why is Celeo not interesting is building and empowering all black people, after all we are all black. There were three government representatives present at ONECA’s conference in Guatemala and they were from Taiwan, Honduras and Guatemala. There is a new vigor amongst the youths to move CABO into an international movement of Afro descendents and that is the reason Celeo sent out his letter yesterday 22nd July, 2014 which said President Gustavo Perez from Panama. He is trying to legitimize his presidency. The people of CABO needs to get off their butts and register CABO in their respective countries and that is not for us it is for them since there is a leadership and a structure. Celeo’s latest move is delegitimizing and undermining the leadership of CABO. It is up to authorities of CABO to correct that it is not up to you and I. This is reflection on the history so again I ask why is the Nation Garifuna Council (NGC) fighting the World Garifuna Organization(WGO)? They have been having this fight from 1990. HGC is also fighting the New York organization whom is also fighting other Garifuna organization. To what end and who is benefiting from this? It is time for Roy and Phylis Cayetano to step out. Ted Aranda had a better vision than they do and I like his idea of a World Garifuna Organization as an Umbrella organization for Garinagu in the Diaspora. Whatever you organizations are you know that your umbrella is the WGC. I am hoping that Ted Aranda attends the International Black Summit July 29 to 3 August 2014 so we can discuss these issues. Celeo gets allegiances by send people to conference or trips to sort of buy them over. Just last year we need to be asking where does Celeo gets his money from; are these monies intended for annual general meeting anyway and he give it to a selected few? He reminds me of George Cadle Price who developed a culture of dependency in Belize where he had people begging him. This is the perception I am get and it can lead to no good if the intentions of Celeo is to tear CABO apart them he is no good in this case, not that he is not a good person. Thank God Waldaba has been working on a commission that is separate from CABO and does not dependent on CABO. At the end of the day that is perhaps what we need to concentrate on the Garvey Chatuyer Initiative and move in that direction of self sustainability. That you grow your own food, own your own land and that you culture is of dignity and can generate money. You can lean like the world Property Organization that speaks of property rights. Culture is a property right no one can come and take that away from you and patent that if you do not give it up. We need to make people conscious of this and make them aware of cultural medicines, bath and all the things people do as a part of their culture. In Belize was have Reggie’s Tea house which is culture as a business.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 05:10:11 +0000