Voices of the Village – GUINEA GRASS

Elizabeth Pridgeon

Ostensibly one of the largest villages in the Orange Walk district, Guinea Grass is a somewhat segmented village geographically, but following discussions with residents from various neighbourhoods of the village, it seems the segmentation and division of Guinea Grass goes far deeper than mere geographical bases.

There is evidence of habitation around the Guinea Grass area dating back into historic times, which perhaps can be contributed to its relative proximity to Orange Walk, its location along the banks of the river, and even its point en route between various trading sites for the ancient Maya.  But the village has never been on a scale comparable to its size and population today, and there are those who believe it has almost outgrown its capacity, and growth should perhaps be forcibly halted to prevent further over-exhaustion of natural resources.  The 2000 Census recorded just over 2,500 residents of Guinea Grass, but current estimates range up to double this figure.

The affluence of the village over recent decades is largely accountable to the predominance of the sugar cane industry in the area (particularly as Guinea Grass is one of the closest villages to the Tower Hill BSI Factory).  And while the majority of the elderly generation still rely on sugar cane for financial sustenance, most of the youth of Guinea Grass are now employed in different industries outside of the village.  Construction accounts for one of the major employment sectors for younger members of the Guinea Grass working population, as does tourism for those who have either left the village permanently, or who choose to commute to the Cayes or elsewhere on a quinceña basis.  However, since the cane industry appears to have hit dire straights during the last season, the future of the village’s sugar industry heritage is uncertain, and may cause even more of the labour force to migrate in search of better employment opportunities in the upcoming months and years.

The social stability of the village is also somewhat concerning at the moment, as cultural divisions seem to be increasing friction between different factions of the village.  The principal cause of tension within Guinea Grass is politics, which often makes headline news in the run-up to village elections, when various UDP supporters have reputations for igniting fights and confrontations with PUP followers.  Yet even outside of campaign and election times, politics are forever at work within the village: earlier this month, at the start of the academic year, school supplies were distributed ostensibly ‘throughout the village’, although the reality was that the children of UDP supporters received new backpacks, pencils and exercise books, while alleged PUP followers were denied any such assistance.

Regardless of contemporary issues, the political undertones of the village have been so strong for so many years that Guinea Grass even boasts two recreational parks –  the PUP Park, and the UDP River Park.  In celebration of Earth Day in April of this year, one resident arranged for children to plant 29 Mahogany trees around the (PUP) park.  In late May, 17 of these trees were uprooted in a scandalous attack by a local resident who believed that politics were at the centre of the campaign which was, in fact, an entire misnomer.  There are also allegations from a few villagers that land is currently being reclaimed by the government from a few loyal PUP supporters, although the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. John Briceño, has offered to help anyone being discriminated against in such circumstances.

Earlier this year, village politics made headline news when it was revealed that villagers had been denied access to potable water for almost a week when BEL disconnected the power supply to the water pumping station in lieu of overdue payments.  Regardless of the individual members of the village water board, access to fundamental village services falls under the jurisdiction of the village council, which apparently failed in its duty to its residents.  For this reason, and an extensive list of other disappointments recorded by villagers, it looks hopeful that the PUP candidates may again win their seat in next year’s upcoming village elections.

Aside from politics, another basis for cultural tensions within the village is religion, for a variety of churches have loyal followings to the extent of inspiring friction with members of other churches and followers of other religions.  There are up to nine active churches within the village, including Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Adventist, Apolstolic and Evangelical.  There are three primary schools, each affiliated with one of the above churches, the largest of which is the Pentecostal school, which accommodates over 300 school pupils.  The Family Adoration Centre also provides schooling, with the added service of residential facilities for needy children, yet despite its altruistic intentions, the church leaders consider themselves – even after more than a decade – to be poorly received within the village community.

Yet perhaps the aspect of village life which is the most blamed for tensions and frictions within Guinea Grass (aside from politics) is the excessive consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs within the village.  Even the police recognise this as a major source of problems, for while only one resident police officer is stationed in the village during the week, on weekends up to 5 police personnel are transported from Orange Walk to the village to parole the streets on overlapping shifts to ensure that if confrontations occur, they can be extinguished before problems become more serious and more violent.  Usually this performs the required effect, although many residents recall an incident last Christmas when a policeman was indicted of exacerbating a confrontation with a resident, and subsequent gunfire caught the public’s attention.

A few years ago, the first thing that would spring to mind when someone mentioned Guinea Grass was drugs and fighting.  Interestingly, when I quizzed Orangewalkaños on their impressions of contemporary Guinea Grass, many of them mentioned the predominance of segregated communities; these include the Taiwanese faction of the village, the growing Kriol population (the majority of whom live within a neighbourhood referred to as ‘Colombia’ by the Mestizo majority, as a euphemism for the suspected drugs that are traded there), and the largely hushed-up homosexual community in the village.

There is no denying that the dynamics of Guinea Grass are forever changing and evolving.  Thus the future of Guinea Grass remains unpredictable: as though to emphasise this, even the village name itself is allegedly under threat, as recent suggestions circulate about dividing the village into two separate entities, ’Guinea’  and ‘Grass’.  Whichever direction the village takes over the coming months and years, one thing is certain: nobody will predict its course perfectly, for Guinea Grass is not a village prone to following social expectations or cultural norms.  It will, without doubt, carve a new route for itself, entirely unique from that traversed by other Belizean villages.

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