The Garifuna have a legitimate right to citizenship of SVG

Editor: I am a proud Garifuna who was born in Dangriga Town, Belize. Like all the Garinagu people who live in the countries of Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize and the United States, we still see “Yurumein” (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) as our homeland. Why? Because all of us, no matter where we reside, were told by our ancestors through our oral history this fact of life.{{more}}

There are some of us who have no intention of visiting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but they are in the minority. Most of our people, if they were to be given the opportunity and had the resources to go to our homeland, would make it their business to come and visit the motherland.

We, the Garifuna people that were forcefully removed from our native land, are citizens of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines through “Citizenship By Descent.” It is only left to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to make that long overdue declaration to us and the entire world. It is not for us to be begging for something that we have a legitimate right to.

The spirits of our ancestors are still in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and most of the people who fought, died and were removed from our homeland are part of our family.

Genocide was committed against my people and I will dedicate my life to seeking justice on their behalf. We have always been a people who despise injustices, hence the reason why we decided to fight and die against the Spanish, French and British to leave us alone to live our lives the way we chose to live it. “It Is Always Better To Die For Something Than To Die For Nothing Because You are Going To Die Anyway.”

Wellington C Ramos
Professor of History
weramos451@hotmail.com