Copyright 2000/2001
by Lan Sluder. All Rights Reserved.
| Life in Belize
Belize is that little spot on the map just
to the right of Guatemala and just below Mexico. The Rio Hondo separates
Mexico, a country with 100 million people and an area of about three-quarters
of a million square miles, from Belize, with its area of 8,866 square miles,
about the size of Massachusetts, and population of only 240,000. By air,
Belize is about two hours from Miami or Houston. Driving through Mexico
from Texas takes about four days.
Belize is a true multiethnic, multicultural
society. About 40 percent of Belizeans are Mestizos, persons of mixed Indian
and European heritage, most originally from neighboring Latin countries
and most living in northern and western Belize. Thirty percent are Creoles,
of mixed African and European descent, concentrated in and around Belize
City. Ten percent are Maya, and another 10 percent are Garifuna, of mixed
African and Carib Indian. The Garifuna live mainly in southern Belize along
the coast. Kek’chi and Yucatec Maya are in southern, western and northern
Belize. The rest are Americans, Europeans and other Anglos, plus Chinese,
East Indians and others.
Belize is a stable democracy, a member
of the British Commonwealth with an English common-law tradition. The country
-- formerly British Honduras -- has been independent since 1971. The Westminster-style
system has a prime minister, an elected house of representatives and an
appointed senate. The current prime minister is Said Musa, a British-educated
lawyer of Palestinian and Belizean heritage. He heads the People’s United
Party, which swept the last national elections in 1998. The main opposition
party is the United Democratic Party. The two parties are centrist, and
their policies and ideologies are not very different, but Belize politics
are often intensely personal. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and
party loyalties are rewarded and remembered.
Belize is one of the few countries in the
world where English is the official language, and Spanish also is widely
spoken. All official government documents, deeds and papers are written
in English. If there’s a lingua franca in Belize, it’s Creole, a mixture
of English and other vocabulary and West African grammar and syntax. Garifuna
and several Maya languages also are spoken in Belize, and many Belizeans
speak two or three languages. |
There are few countries
towards whom we feel a greater degree of respect. Its tiny population
is numerically less than many of the world’s cities. ( Note that while
the country of El Salvador consists of approximately the same land
area as Belize, El Salvador contains thirty times as many people;
with an overall population of almost six million people compared with Belize’s
240,000. ) Yet despite its small population Belize manages to attract
the worlds attention for its modern attitudes, stable government and respectful
treatment of its indigenous peoples. |
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The climate of Belize is subtropical, similar
to that of South Florida. Daytime temperatures generally are in the 80s
or 90s most of the year, with nighttime temps in the 60s in winter, 70s
in the summer. In areas of higher altitude, such as the Mountain Pine Ridge
and Maya Mountains, winter temperatures may occasionally fall into the
high 40s or low 50s. Humidity is high year-round, tempered on the coast
and cayes by prevailing breezes from the sea. Rainfall varies from 150-200
inches a year in the far south, feeding lush rainforests and jungle, to
50 inches in the north, about like most of the Southeastern United States.
Belize is in the hurricane belt, but the
western Caribbean does not get as many hurricanes as the Southeastern U.S.
Atlantic coast or the Gulf coast of Texas. On average, Belize is visited
by a hurricane about once every 10 years. Tropical storm and hurricane
season in Belize is June through November, with most storms coming late
in the season, particularly September through early November.
The most recent storm to strike Belize
was Hurricane Keith in late September 2000. The hurricane’s winds of 120
miles per hour hit Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, the two largest islands
off the coast of Belize, doing about $100 million in damage and killing
four people, including two American citizens, residents of Ambergris Caye
who were attempting to move their catamaran to safe harbor. The Belize
mainland received an additional $150 million in damage, mostly from flooding,
but there were no additional deaths. The Belize government and international
relief agencies moved quickly to restore services and to assist in rebuilding,
and within a few weeks most of the damaged areas were almost back to normal,
welcoming visitors and potential retirees.
Health and Crime
In the past, expatriates in Belize used
to say that their hospitals were “TACA, American and Continental airlines,”
the three major airlines serving Belize. For top-flight medical care, Americans
in Belize still may fly to Miami or Houston or go to Chetumal, Mexico,
just north of Corozal, but Belize City and most towns in Belize have doctors
and dentists trained in the United States, Mexico and Guatemala. Local
medical care is inexpensive. A medical office visit is $15-$20, and prescription
medicines are less costly than in the United States. Dental care is one-third
to one-half the cost in the United States.
Crime is one of Belize’s puzzling dilemmas.
On one hand, most who visit Belize feel safe, and visitors and expatriates
rarely are affected by serious crime. Crimes that would pass almost unnoticed
in Honduras, Guatemala or Mexico get big headlines in Belize. Belizeans
expect their police to solve crimes, and the police try, even though many
are undertrained and underpaid. On the other hand, the statistics – which
are incomplete -- suggest that the entire country has a serious crime problem,
albeit one affecting mostly the lower strata of society.
For example, Belize has more murders than
Ireland -- more than 50 in Belize compared with just 39 in Ireland in 1998,
despite the fact that Ireland has a population more than 14 times higher
and a land size much larger. Muggings, shootings and knifings are sadly
common on the rougher streets of Belize City and, to a lesser degree, in
the towns of Orange Walk and Dangriga. Hardly a weekend goes by that the
newspapers and television news aren’t filled with news of people being
injured or killed in robberies or attempted robberies.
Most of these crimes are committed by
the poor against each other, are drug-related or are a result of family
squabbles. However, if you’re planning to live in Belize, even in a rural
area or small village where crime is not routine, you should take crime-prevention
measures. Many expatriates keep large dogs, and walls, fences and burglar
bars on windows also may be a good idea. When you leave on a trip, you
will need to arrange for someone to watch your property. Bicycles, construction
supplies and movable equipment of any type are likely to disappear if you
don’t have a security guard, housekeeper or dog keeping an eye on it.
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