Discrimination within Mennonite Groups
This article was written several years ago on another site and points out class discrimination within German-speaking Mennonite groups in Belize, and not racial discrimination towards other non-Mennonite ethnicities. Also the views expressed here are the writer's personal opinion based on nearly two decades of living and working in one of the most diverse and popular Mennonite colonies in Central America: Spanish Lookout, Belize.
A relative of mine through marriage asked me once: "Do you know of anyone looking for a house to rent?" When I shook my head in the negative he stepped closer and in a low voice stated, "I'm only asking you because you're... uh... different. I wouldn't ask or accept just anyone, especially not those shipyard people who will only clutter up the yard and ruin the house I recently remodeled."(shipyard people is a rather derogative phrase used by many in Belize to refer to Old Colony Mennonites; their biggest community is called Shipyard, hence the phrase even though there are several other colonies besides Shipyard.) My relative was stereotyping, no doubt about it. I pointed out to him that many of them were neat, self-sufficient, and ethically sound individuals. He admitted it and the conversation ended there but its effect lingered on me long afterwards. In order to understand how this dividing line came about in Spanish Lookout, I will point out a bit of history below.
Among the German-speaking "Russian Mennonites" who migrated to Belize in the mid-twentieth century, a loose social system asserted itself when financial prosperity was achieved. The creation of socioeconomic status became inevitable as is always the case in a capitalist society. Whereas before–from their arrival in 1958 to the late 1980's–it was all about working as one for the good of all and thus preventing themselves from having more than their neighbor, now it is all about actually having more than their neighbor. Although it was not the intention of the Kleine Gemeinde and Old Colony to create a spiritual utopia in the jungles of Belize, there existed a level of spiritual, economic and social equity among members of both Mennonite groups at that time, a sort of religious communism.
Then farms began prospering a hundred-fold, family-owned local businesses mushroomed into multi-faceted enterprises, the rest of Belize suddenly realized this white ethnic minority was here to stay. Of course, both the Old Colony Mennonites in the north and the Kleine Gemeinde in the central west attributed this prosperity to God. Their God, the one who loved everyone but secretly favored the white Mennonites because they kept themselves separate from the world. Therefore their financial success was looked upon as a right more than a blessing. With monetary gains viewed as an entitlement, a level of inequity gradually developed. Those who had much now realized they could have even more if they only focused on their personal interests instead of on the needs of their neighbors, thereby completely distancing themselves from their fellow brethren with lower incomes and worse, alienating themselves from the same God to whom they owed their success.
The Old Colony Mennonites still retain their horse and buggy style of living at home; their material prosperity can be seen in their businesses and in the size of their farms while many of the Kleine Gemeinde in Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek embraced and displayed their wealth in nearly all aspects of life except for their dress code.
Beginning in the 1980's until the early 2000's, major schisms occurred in Spanish Lookout (Kleine Gemeinde) and in Shipyard (Old Colony). A spiritual revival swept through both colonies and resulted in evangelical and charismatic churches being formed within their colonies. Such spiritual enlightenment should have had positive results regarding the economic classes. Unfortunately the consequences were the exact opposite since the gap between rich and poor was now visibly wider than before. The new churches did not teach abstinence from worldly possessions; on the contrary they embraced materialism under the guise of appreciating your blessings and pointed to preachers like Copeland, Osteen and Benny Hinn as evidence that God actually wanted them to be financially succesful. The fact that members of these "worldly" churches were allowed to remain in the colony explains why today there is quite a gap between the wealthy and the low-income families of Spanish Lookout since even the conservative Kleine Gemeinde were subtly and irevocably influenced by the "Word of Faith" ideaology introduced by those who were leaving the home church.
A pattern of superiority complex was mutually established by the affluent families in Spanish Lookout, Blue Creek, Shipyard and Little Belize, the belief that "we are better" based on their prosperous farms and businesses. This belief isolated the rich guys into a small yet clearly powerful group who control their colonies by being a part of the political structure, a position automatically attained simply because they are the "big guys" while on the other hand are the rest of Mennonites.
Now as I look back and study their history and after having lived among them for 17 years, I observed a third class emerging over the last 6 years, a class of Mennonites who are neither rich nor poor and who now make up most of the population. In fact due to the rise of this third class the gap between rich and poor is beginning to narrow considerably. Who are these middle-class Mennonites? The group is comprised of three branches: those who have high positions in the companies owned by the rich guys, those from the lower class who have intermarried with the middle class, and those small-time but independent business owners. With the increasing number of families rising to the level of middle-class, is there still dirt-level poverty in the Mennonite colonies?
Without a doubt although in Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek it is not so noticeable as it is in Shipyard, Little Belize and other Old Colony communities due to two reasons: 1. most of the lower class are emigrants from other traditional communities 2. these families tend to remain in ghetto style sections of the colony. For example in Spanish Lookout most of the low-income emigrant families currently live on the outskirts, can barely afford a motorcycle, and are usually kept at a distance by the middle and upper class Mennonites at work, at social gatherings, and at church. This distancing is not wholly without reason; regrettably many of these poorer families, outcasts from the Old Colony Mennonite communities, are recognized not because of their shabby unkempt attire but because of the alcoholics and tobacco addicts among them. The affluent ones step gingerly around these shipyard people and treat them civilly but not equally while those in the middle class view them simply as….shipyard people who don't know better, don't want better, and don't care for better. There are those in the middle class who came from such low beginnings but have now risen to another level in society and merged themselves with the more affluent ones in a desperate effort to widen the gap between themselves and their…ahem…low-class relatives.
This is where discrimination is being practiced among the German-speaking Mennonites, a structure of classism which is clearly visible if you would attend certain of their churches on any given Sunday. Those with power and wealth to their name stand in one cluster, those shipyard people stand off to one side, while the ones in the middle stay in the middle, carefully stepping around the rich guys and discreetly avoiding the shipyard people. At work the classes are not so easily distinguished but they are there nevertheless. Needless to say this discrimination is also carried out in choosing a spouse. The sons and daughters of certain high class families, following the example of their parents, scorn the idea of marrying into one of the "low" families. In fact a few fathers have even threatened to disown their sons if they married girls from these shipyard families.
Coming from a family on the lower end of the middle class, I married a girl who came from the poorest of the poor in one of the colonies. Fortunately during her childhood years the dividing line between the social classes was not as clearly defined as it is right now, so even though they were dirt-poor it did not greatly affect their social status as much as it would have nowadays.
To be honest, it aggravates me when I see the way the wealthy families look down with contempt on this low-income families from Shipyard and Little Belize and treat them as if they were less; but what aggravates me even more is to see individuals from the "lower class" eagerly scurrying and groveling simply to try to fit in with the rich guys, thereby making fools of themselves.
One week ago I sat beside one of the richest men in Spanish Lookout who is worth several millions, listening to him reading a Bible verse about Jesus not having any possessions or a place to lay his head. After the service was over some church members rushed to greet him with unusual zeal, as if royalty had made an appearance in this humble church. I took a deep breath, counted to ten, and slipped outside.
Old Colony Mennonites in Shipyard returning from a funeral; they comprise the biggest group of Mennonite emigrants in Spanish Lookout, next to the Maya and Mestizo Mennonites.
