Land Rights and Disaster Capitalism in the Caribbean

From Puerto Rico to Haiti to Belize, land rights have been a major area of struggle in the fight against disaster capitalism.

This Webinar featuring Caribbean organizers explains how Caribbean communities have been and continue to be systematically displaced from their lands, and how those at the frontline have resisted their displacement and expanded a vision for Caribbean sovereignty.

13, December, 2023

Panelists:

Our team of panelists will share their experiences organizing for land rights issues in the Caribbean. From securing land for peasant farmers in Haiti amid national turmoil to occupying abandoned naval space in Puerto Rico to operationalizing communal lands in Belize, these speakers are at the forefront of manifesting new relationships with the land for the people of the Caribbean.

Ana Elisa

Farmer and co-organizer of La Colmena Cimarrona (Maroon Hive) which practices agroecology and beekeeping, growing food sovereignty on Vieques and island of the archipelago of Puerto Rico. She has been an activist for environmental and food justice in Puerto Rico since she was thirteen, organizing for the protection of the Northeastern Ecological Corridor from megadevelopment; facilitating and setting up farmer exchanges and community gardens through the islands of Puerto Rico, Haití and Dominican Republic. She has participated and led efforts in Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña, Martín Peña Land Trust, Boricuá Organization of Ecological Agriculture among other grassroots initiatives.

Donisio Shol

Indigenous Q’eqchi Maya from Southern Belize, engaged in advocacy for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities on climate change, biodiversity conservation, development, and human rights since a teenager. During the last 5 years, he has provided technical support to the auto-delimitation, demarcation, and titling of the entire Maya territory as a part of the implementation of the CCJ Consent Order. He has provided support to the governance system of the Maya communities to strengthen their land governance institutions, representation, and decision-making processes. He is also working with Indigenous Maya youth in amplifying their voices through digital media platforms to facilitate and enrich the social, cultural, and intellectual well-being of Indigenous youth. He holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture Engineering from the National Pingtung University Of Science and Technology, Taiwan.

Pierre Louise Marie

Pierre Mary Louis is a Haitian. He lives in the southern region of the country, especially in the Grandans department of the commune of Jeremi. He was born in a peasant family. His father's name is Vilfranche Louis, his mother's name is Yrope Joseph, this family has 5 children, 3 men. His profession is an agricultural technician, public educator. He is a militant in a vanguard peasant organization called Tet Kole that works with the most vulnerable peasants. In this organization he holds several posts in its structure because of his dynamics and the responsibility he always assume on the side of the villagers. He was elected to Tet Kole’s Permanent National Executive Committee (KENPTK). His passion since childhood is working with the most vulnerable, especially those who work the land.

Round Table:

Malene Allene

Malene Alleyne is an international human rights lawyer from Jamaica and founder of Freedom Imaginaries, a non-profit organization that uses human rights law to tackle legacies of slavery and colonialism and contemporary forms of oppression. Malene is a former human rights specialist at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She holds a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School and a Master of Advanced Studies degree from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva. She received her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, and is qualified to practice law in Jamaica and Guyana.

Sarah O’Malley

Sarah O’Malley is an Irish lawyer with the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN). She works on tackling environmental crimes and human rights abuses through the lens of the proceeds of crime and works on GLAN’s legal actions in Barbuda with regard to land grabbing. She has worked on human rights law in Palestine, the Occupied Syrian Golan, Cambodia and the Netherlands, as an adviser at the UN General Assembly and for various NGOs. Sarah holds an LL.B in Law and Political Science from Trinity College Dublin and an LL.M in International Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam and Columbia University, New York.

Em Decou

Proud multi-generation Caymanian who passionately advocates for environmental conservation. She retired from a decade-long corporate career in the Finance and Legal sector upon gaining the Total Resource Use & Efficiency (TRUE) Advisor qualification to guide individuals, businesses, and organizations in transitioning to resource-efficient lifestyles and operations. In the sustainability sphere, Em is a Leading Member of Amplify Cayman, an Ambassador of Sustainable Cayman, a Coastal Lagoon Ecosystem Educator and Assistant Project Manager with the Mangrove Education Project, and a Council Member of the National Trust of the Cayman Islands. She is also an Ambassador for a sustainable travel organization, a Trustee of an organization that lobbies against single-use plastic, and a Director of a marine anti-pollution organization. Through community engagement, Em's advocacy work supports Island nations like Cayman that were built on resourcefulness to return to their roots, inspiring people to be the change they wish to see.