These are some impressions of the country we have just left. I will add to this as I reflect, over time on our stay in Belize. Belize is a small country with a population of about 400,000 people which is growing slowly. There is an influx of refugees but not a great number. Probably the greatest issue facing the country at this time is the ongoing border dispute with Guatemala. The history of the settlement of Belize is a long and complex one but Guatemala has claimed sovereignty over the whole of Belize. The heart of this claim which dates back to 1821, seems to revolve around an undertaking which Britain made to Guatemala that Britain would build and pay for a road from Guatemala to the Caribbean so that Guatemala had access to the sea on both sides of the Central American isthmus. In return for this, Guatemala would give up their claim to Belizean land. Regrettably, as so often in the colonial past of Great Britain, they did not fulfill their promise and thus Guatemala says tha...
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