That magic label “made in U.S.A.” which is meant to inspire confidence in the quality and value of American products, is not easy to find these days, as most the goods found in Wal-Mart or any other U.S. chain are more likely to come from China. But despite their citizen’s desire for cheap Asian imports, […]
They come so often and so regularly that we are in danger of taking then for granted. But trust me, the scores of Belizean children who have been treated by these visiting doctors and nurses will not soon forget their important intervention. Kendra Griffith, Reporting “Today, children of all shapes and sizes gathered with their […]
It’s been a busy week in the media business and now that our vehicles have finally slowed down a bit on their many runs to Corozal, news director, Stewart Krohn found some time to reflect on a few of the many lessons the most recent hurricane experience has hopefully taught us. Stewart Krohn “A lot […]
Maybe people in Corozal expected too much. Maybe the people at NEMO planned too little. Maybe the media is focussing too closely on the suffering and not enough on the recovery. Those issues will no doubt be debated in the weeks and months to come but for now we can safely report that there is […]
Relief efforts in the north received a financial boost today from the Social Security Board. This morning the organisation donated ninety thousand dollars to NEMO and thirty-five thousand to the Belize Red Cross. The money, according to S.S.B. Deputy Chairperson, Elena Smith, came from funds set aside for disaster relief. Elena Smith, Deputy Chair, SSB […]
And while ninety thousand dollars can help a lot of people, according to Minister Responsible for NEMO, Godfrey Smith, a tally of the damage comes in at around fifty million dollars. This morning he told News Five about the work to be undertaken and how it will be financed. Godfrey Smith, Minister Responsible for NEMO […]
Official estimates of the damage caused by Hurricane Dean are at best preliminary, put together in a process better suited to requesting foreign aid than as a blueprint for rebuilding. With regard to agricultural losses the experience is at once both simple and complex. Simple because in the case of papayas there is barely a […]
Water and electricity were not the only utilities affected by Hurricane Dean. While the larger B.T.L. network performed flawlessly in the critical hours before the storm’s landfall, by midmorning on Monday, SMART’s approximately thirty-five thousand customers began to experience difficulty making calls. According to Managing Director Jaime Briceno, the reason was congestion due to the […]
In a bit of sports news we are informed that Belize’s female softballers finished a disappointing fourth out of five in the Central American Club Championships held over the weekend in Esteli Nicaragua. The “Hot Mamas” team from Unitedville got off to a rocky start, losing two – zip to Nicaragua on Friday but bounced […]
Details are sketchy but we can confirm a murder that has been reported in the nation’s capital. The body of twenty-three year old Honduran Zilma Copo was found by neighbors at her home on St. Matthew Street around four-thirty Wednesday afternoon. She had been stabbed numerous times in the chest. Present at the time were […]
While most media coverage on Hurricane Dean has focused on Corozal Town, much of the storm’s damage was inflicted on half a dozen villages surrounding the district capital News Five’s Marion Ali is just back from the area with the following report. Tours through three villages in the Corozal District gave us an idea that […]
Less than two days after Hurricane Dean put the hurt on northern Belize, rebuilding has begun and authorities are assessing the damage in advance of more structured relief efforts. This afternoon our crews ranged as far as the Hondo River and we’ll begin our coverage right there at the Commercial Free Zone. It’s a place […]
Also in the Free Zone today assessing damage was Belize Telemedia chief Dean Boyce. Boyce says that telecommunication services in all hurricane affected areas of Belize should be restored by weekend. Dean Boyce, Board Member, B.T.L. “We have some damage, usually to the drop lines, so this is the last couple of hundred metres to […]
From the border Marion travelled to another centre of economic activity, this time in the agricultural sector. And while the Free Zone merchants will soon be back in business, their cousins in the papaya fields will wait far longer. The papaya processing facility, belonging to Belize Fruit Packers, just outside Corozal Town, may have taken […]
While all eyes—quite rightly—are looking north, we’ll turn our attention for a minute on a place that was hardly touched by the storm … but may be in big trouble the next time around. News Five’s Kendra Griffith has the story from Belize City. Kendra Griffith, Reporting Rows of bottled water, boxes of bleach, milk […]
It seems that the Belize City house shown on our newscast last night was not the only one in the old capital to fall during Hurricane Dean. Today our cameras were called to St. Jude Street on the Southside where they recorded another collapse. The building fell so neatly that you have to look closely […]
Viewers may be wondering why I am handling the anchoring duties this week, as well as working as a News Five reporter. The reason is that I am trying hard to fill the shoes of my long time friend and colleague, Jacqueline Woods Godwin. Jackie is out this week because of the sudden death of […]
At the epicentre of relief efforts is Corozal’s district capital. Today I returned to the beleaguered town to find—not surprisingly—that the longer it takes to restore basic services and provide supplies, the more impatient residents become. Anne-Marie Williams, Reporting Corozalenos who were devastated by Hurricane Dean are slowly putting the pieces of their lives back […]
Hurricane Dean is now history … for Belize at least, and the story tonight is not what Dean did … but what it didn’t do. Considering that the monster category five storm, packing one hundred and sixty-five mile per hour winds, made landfall just north of Chetumal, we would not have been surprised to hear […]
As dawn broke this morning, thousands of Belizeans, many of whom barely slept—woke up to reports of which places suffered and which were spared. Radio coverage—the nation’s lifeline in times of emergency—indicated that various communities in the north had been hit hard, but the accounts were largely anecdotal. To get a better feeling for the […]
This afternoon the Belize Police Department held a press briefing to give an account of their performance during Hurricane Dean. According to Acting O.C. of the Eastern Division, Senior Superintendent Chester Williams, the eight p.m. to nine a.m. curfew, along with vigorous patrols kept crime to a minimum in the old capital, with only three […]
When we reported last week on the collapse of a house in Belize City, we noted that it was an event that, unfortunately, was not all that rare. Tonight we’ve got another falling house story, this time on Iguana Street … and while we’re not sure how large a role Hurricane Dean played in the […]
While Dean may have hastened the demise of the Leslie home in Belize City, the damage suffered by homeowners in Corozal and Orange Walk was far from inevitable. I’ve just returned from a survey of the northern districts and found that while some people are hurting, hope is alive. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting This is what […]
San Pedro, Ambergis Caye: it’s the powerhouse of Belize’s vital tourism industry. And when it looked like the island would take a licking there were fears that the entire Belizean economy would feel the blow. Fortunately, Dean’s punch landed hardest in Mexico, but as News Five’s Marion Ali reports, San Pedranos were not completely spared. […]
As the residents of the north put their lives and property back together over the next few weeks, the danger for the rest of us is that Hurricane Dean may teach us the wrong lesson. That, according to Ramon Frutos, could be a fatal mistake. Ramon Frutos, Acting Chief Met. Officer “The story as we […]
