By Barbara Arrindell
There are few direct flights from other Caricom member states to this former British colony which like Antigua and Barbuda gained independence in 1981. There was however something nice about bypassing almost everyone else who disembarked and being fast tracked through the Caricom line. There was annoyance and familiarity in the ritual use of paper immigration forms but my other major reminder that I was somewhere that was in many ways like home came on my final day as residents made preparations for a looming storm and I heard words like “batten down”.
Belize is a place of festivals and frequent celebrations, perhaps due to their diversity and seeming comfort in embracing the many cultures that blend together to form their one nation. As was the case in both Antigua and Barbuda, the Spanish could have easily claimed that territory but it was the English who first made a valiant attempt to “settle” there in recent history.
Belize City, the former capital, now replaced by Belmopan, after a devastating hurricane in 1961 brought major destruction and caused the death of hundreds, is below sea level and does not have a naturally deep water harbour to accommodate cruise vessels. They have however still been able to attract a large number of cruise vessels. Ships anchor a few miles off shore and passengers are brought to land in tenders to experience numerous attractions.
As one might expect, the descendants of enslaved people make up a large portion of the population. They refer to themselves as Creoles.
At the turn of the 18th century another group came to Belize, fleeing turmoil in their home country of St Vincent.
The Garinagu (Garifuna)people came into being in St Vincent when the Kalinago people of St Vincent rescued and shipwrecked group of enslaved Africans welcoming them fully into their community. This integration of two groups resulted in a unique people who identified as neither African nor Kalinago. They were a new group whose culture was a mix of African and Kalinago customs and traditions. We’ll talk more about them in a subsequent column.
Surrounded by Spanish speaking countries, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, it will come as no surprise that there are a fair number of these neighbours who have made their way to Belize and contribute to the nations growth.
A substantial Amish and Mennonite community also exists. They generally live as they did hundreds of years ago while supplying agricultural products to the nation through an agreement reached with the government a long time ago.
The final group I’ll mention should probably have been spoken about first. The Mayan people made their way to what we now know as Belize long before Christ was born. It is accepted that they were fleeing from the Aztecs and generally built their cities and temples in mountainous terrain but there were exceptions to that. The remnants of at least one sizable city, built on flat land in the environs of Belize city stands as testament to the trading empire that some Mayans establhed.
Look out for part two to find out more about this Caricom territory that we hear very little about.
