Easter, Quarantine, Economy

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 No doubt the biggest Christian celebration of the year will go down in history as one of the strangest. Instead of church programs, holy services, social gatherings, and pool parties, people stayed home, watched online preachings, did not venture out from their yards, and tried to bear the scorching temperatures of 43°C (110°F). I am not exaggerating on the temperature. Hot, humid, dusty and smoky for about 5 weeks straight with large forest fires raging in western Belize. Crop dusters from Spanish Lookout were hired to douse the communities most affected by the low-hanging smoke in an effort to clear up the air.


  Fires were not the only thing reducing property. Mennonite farmers in Spanish Lookout, Blue Creek, and Shipyard were looking for ways to eliminate their surplus products: some gave away chickens, grains, milk, others dumped it. Worries mounted for non-Mennonite employees who were laid off both in agriculture and livestock sectors. I read and listened to several interviews between journalists and Spanish Lookout businessmen. The future appeared bleak, it seemed, since revenue losses sky-rocketed in a matter of weeks. On a more practical side, there were moments of friction between government police and residents of autonomous Mennonite communities who resented the fact that "outside" police now had more freedom inside their villages.
  Fortunately the tide has turned. Belize is now completely free of coronavirus cases, some restrictions have been removed, quarantine has been partially lifted, and businesses and employees are back on their feet. Borders and churches are still closed and face masks have become mandatory. Other than that things appear to be normalizing, albeit slowly.
  I admire those farmers, men and women, students and employees who kept up their hope and positiveness in this crisis.

                                         A. Mendoza
 

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