| Candid Look At Belize | | Print | |
Candid Look At Belize
What is Belize? Well, it's a country… out of sight, out of mind, and off the political radar of most of the rest of the world. When was the last time you read anything in the papers about Belize, saw it on the news or even thought about it? The average American, if they have heard of Belize at all, might be led to think of tropical somethings… palm trees… scuba diving, coconuts maybe, sailboats and the Caribbean. But there is more to it than that.
The reason Belize has a quiet existence on the face of this earth may be owed in part to the fact that as country, it is geographically the size of Massachusetts at 68 x 180 miles (or roughly 8,866 square miles) with a population of 350,000; that's right, less people than the population of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Once called the British Honduras, it was the last English colonial province in Central America right up until 1981 when it gained its independence from Great Brittan, though Belize still maintains diplomatic ties and is considered a British Commonwealth.
Another reason for Belize's quiet existence might have to do with the fact that at 350,000 people, it does not have time or energy to do much more than mind its own business. And in the current geopolitical context, and from the standpoint of natural or labor resources, it has no strategic value currently - it is not on the way to anything, or from anything; it lies off the beaten path.
But despite its comparatively minuscule tax base and GDP, Belize is more of a second world than a third world country. It has reliable electrical power, a first class telecommunications system complete with cellular phone service and high speed internet. Belizean transportation is serviced by two-lane paved highways in good repair throughout most of its busier areas (you can do 60 mph). Local air transportation needs are serviced by light aircraft used to shuttle passengers around the countries' smaller airports. Arrival and departure of international flights on large frame aircraft (737,727, regional jets) takes place at the countries' main Airport in Belize City.
The primary language in Belize is English, although Spanish, Creole and to a small extent Mayan are spoken also. The country has some natural resources including Timber (hardwood and softwood), mining/ quarrying, fishing, and agriculture- particularly citrus, bananas, plantain, sugar, and mangoes as well as dairy (courtesy of the Mennonites in a few different regions).
The people of Belize have done quite a lot with what they have - they retain an educational awareness of the need for conservation, though they are not rabid environmentalists. Given the low population density of the country, they are nowhere close to depleting its natural resources. A portion of Belize's GDP is generated by tourism, and if the effects of changes in the global economy (due to recent events, i.e., the U.S. debacle) continue to ripple outward, Belize could encounter some detrimental effect to it's tourism industry; to some extent they already have, -though they seem to be largely unconcerned. One might deduce that economically speaking, Belize could operate independently as a nation if things become difficult.
Militarily, Belize has a small army and relies on its defense agreements with the U.S. and Great Britain for protection in the event of trouble; they also have some kind of defense reciprocity with Mexico, although I don't understand the nature of that relationship other than to say they watch each other's backs.
The most likely perpetrator against the sovereignty of Belize would be Guatemala, which has tried to invade Belize (unsuccessfully) in the not too distant past and did not actually recognize Belize's independence until 1991. See link below for further information on international proceedings soon to take place in the Hague with regard to the Belize/Guatemala Border dispute. This might be worth watching.
It was explained to us that Guatemala's attempted incursion into Belize some years ago was thwarted not militarily, but naturally by a flood which occurred on the river which separates the two countries exactly as the Guatemalan army of 50,000 troops was set to bring it's forces across the border. This gave time for assisting forces from the UK and USA to arrive and bolster Belize's defenses. Guatemala stood down… that is rather interesting from the standpoint of timing.
Belize also has export and import agreements with Europe and other Central American and Caribbean countries, including Venezuela which has supplied some of the Belize's energy needs though not on a continual basis. We heard of no indication that socialist Hugo Chavez is coercively leaning on the country in any way. At this point, if anything, Chavez seems to be in the honeymoon phase of a relationship building program with Venezuela's neighboring countries, although this could result in political strings eventually being attached given his stated desire to form a coalition of Central and South American countries to economically stand against the U.S. This of course is all subject to change- for better or worse.
To meet its energy needs, Belize is now producing it's own oil through a contractual arrangement with an Irish Company called Belize Natural Energy or BNE - they operate about 20 wells and a small refinement facility.
The Belizean people have a refreshing spirit of independence and are generally active in their internal political processes - they boasted an impressive 80% voter turnout record in the recent elections, and they keep a watchful eye on their politicians… attentiveness is a good thing. As a people, I experienced Belizeans as warm, friendly, and generally carrying a sense of humor and obvious good will. On the whole, they appear relaxed and confident about their existence - throw in a measure of productive focus tempered with a bit of fun loving attitude and a smattering of tropically induced laziness, and you start to get a composite feel (with exceptions). Make no mistake, there is what we Americans would regard as poverty in Belize; there is also real poverty in Belize, but it is far from what I would characterize as horrible - (i.e., people living in cardboard shacks in a trash dump). I saw nothing like that, though there are quite a few run down houses. When you fly into and drive around Belize City, be ready for a bit of gnawing uncertainty and culture shock (don't worry, it will dissipate as you get to know the place). Things are less organized than they are here, and somewhat dirty (though parts of the country can be characterized as clean and organized). If you can adopt a missionary's perspective, you will be fine; if you arrive in Belize expecting to make a stop at Macy's or even Walmart or maybe dinner at Outback's… something is wrong… think smaller and simpler.
You will find Shell and Texaco gas stations, some stores that resemble scaled down department stores carrying appliances, clothing, electronics, hardware and construction materials, though franchise chains are not common. Mom and pop shops abound, as do individual restaurants which may lack eye catching representation on the outside, but every place where we stopped to eat was clean and served good food.
Belizeans have an ethic that values cleanliness and sanitation, and even if they can't always deliver it perfectly, a little grace is in order. I was far more comfortable with Belize's overall condition and apparent stability and safety than I was with what I saw in Guatemala. The overall condition of Belize reflects continuing development and wholesomeness, as opposed to ruin and desperation on the verge of impending chaos or totalitarian take over (for the sake of contrast). Belize was O.K…. and I really enjoyed my stay there; I would go it again.
Is there crime? Of course, as Belize is still in the world. There are isolated instances of violence, and you have to maintain an attitude of vigilance - mostly against petty theft, but it is not pervasive, and being out by yourself at night in unfamiliar surroundings is probably not the best idea, particularly in the cities. As far as we could ascertain from talking to people, there is little in the way of organized crime, although world facts on Belize available on the internet list child prostitution and child slavery as Human rights violations occurring there. However, that's the case in most of the rest of the world, including the U.S. to some extent. I think it means you still have to keep tabs on your children. If you want guaranteed safety in this world, you have to be willing to put up with the kind of human government that will provide it, and that experiment is proving less than successful. There also seems to have been some amount of political corruption with a previous administration (former prime minister Musa), although the consensus now seems to be that the current prime minister (Barrow) is much better and stands against corruption.
We found that it is not unusual for Belizeans to find creative ways around local ordinances, especially when it comes to zoning or land issues. I'm not talking about wholesale corruption - they just run a little looser and faster than we are used to in some instances. We did run into one shadowy individual in the capital city of Belmopan who readily disclosed that he was from the "underworld" and could get us "anything," and he emphasized "anything" we wanted. I took him at face value, told him I didn't need "anything"- he seemed satisfied with my answer and that was that. Taking anything from the devil's hand is a bad idea. I could have run into the same kind of person in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Washington D.C., Paris or Rome (especially Washington D.C. or Rome) - they are around… if you are a visitor, just remain polite and walk away from it.
There are Christians in Belize, lots, though I don't have a firm grasp on the denominational demographics, but you can feel the impact of Christian perspective on the country… it's there, it's endemic, it's part of the cultural landscape, and it is a preserving influence. There are Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Mennonites and Old Order Amish. There are also unaffiliated Fundamentalists in separate churches that dot the countryside. I came to the conclusion that the Christian element that abides in Belize is a directly contributing factor to the stability and the good will sentiment that exits there, though there are also positive worldly contributing factors. For instance, diversity of culture and a secular notion of tolerance is agreed upon there. But this is not the same repulsive "tolerance," and moral relativism as we are burdened with here in the U.S. - I'm just saying Belizeans try to have respect for one another since they realize they are somewhat of a melting pot and must get along. In their context, it's a good thing, IMO. By the way, the Catholics, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses have a presence there also, although not large.
Religious institutions/denominations left less of an impression on me than what I perceived was the presence of a real "church" (Ecclessia - all true believers in the aggregate but not unified corporately except in the spirit) in Belize. We struck up a few conversations with people who had a Christian perspective and we got an understanding of the true message of the Gospel, with simple doctrinal consistency reflected back to us, sometimes in broken English from people who were Spanish speaking. But both parties shared an awareness of fellowship, which was wonderful. The word Koinonia came to mind. I would say there was also a spirit of openness toward evangelism, and I didn't experience the shortness or hardness toward the Gospel that I experience in the US when talking to unsaved people.
So the glaring question I suppose is: why would Belize matter to a bunch of fundamentalist evangelical Christians residing in the United States? Well… if you have made contact with No Greater Joy, Ministries,then chances are good that you home school; if you home school you are likely to be politically attentive; if you are politically attentive, you have noticed that we are about to be saddled with another "democratic" administration, not that the Republicans are a cake walk either. If you are a conservative Christian, you will likely regard the Obama administration as socialist, intrusive and willing to remove your rights to home school your children. If you believed that to be a possible and unwelcome outcome... you might consider moving to a country where you could be left in peace to work out a living and raise a family, which brings us to Belize. It is civilized enough to be a refuge and primitive enough to get lost in with regard to oppressive internationalist regimes - not forever of course, but it will buy some time.
While I have no great prophetic vision to share with anyone concerning Belize, or any directive of God's coming to me in a dream that we should all pick up our things and leave at once - I can see, and I can say that the door to an existence in Belize is open. You can, with an adventuresome spirit, some research, a modicum of tenacity, and some start up capital go there and live and be left alone to prosper. Belize is not onerous, intrusive, tax happy, or overly suspicious of its citizenry; its underdeveloped state (in comparison to the U.S.), coupled with an under funded government makes it possible to be left alone – this I think is what most of us are looking for. There is still a bit of frontier mentality there - you get to carve out your own niche in an environment where there is still enough opportunity for everyone to go around. You can own land, permanently - even as a non-citizen; you can build whatever you want on your property,;you can farm, raise cattle, start a business of some sort and generally be your own person.
By contrast, I would describe life in the US as highly pressurized. We are all familiar with the phenomenon of the rat race and being kept on a tread mill that is difficult if not impossible to get off, but just wait til inflation hits. Belize is not like that; no, it's still not heaven, but more of your life is dependent on you to make something of it. And you are afforded the opportunity to do that by virtue of a stunning lack of complexity, things are still simple there. The price you have to pay? Effort, initiative, patience, humility, diligence, flexibility, certainly money to some extent and a willingness to pitch your own attachment to the vaunted American standard of living in exchange for greater freedom to pursue life as you feel the Lord directs. Pray about it and follow His Leading. May He keep the door open for us.
Internet Links to Information on Belize (Cut and paste into your browser)
http://worldfacts.us/Belize.htm
http://www.shelteroffshore.com/index.php/living/more/cost_of_living_in_belize/
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/livingabroadin/living_abroad_in_belize_moving.shtml
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