In Placencia

Dawn of the Millenium

The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come only on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.
-- Franz Kafka

Seine Bight, Belize-- An overwhelming stench filled the makeshift morgue at this smoldering Garifuna village's bleak infirmary, where about 300 bodies were piled on gurneys, on the floor, even in stacks, like cordwood, after 3 days of intense religious clashes. Many more corpses--many of them charred and limbless--littered the streets where smoke billowed from torched bungalows and cabanas and the remnants of bonfires lit at the height of the riots. Hundreds grabbed what little belongings they could and took to the rain forest to escape the fierce fighting, which broke out Wednesday morning during a demonstration by local Plutonists against a proposal to impose Garifuna spiritual covenants or, Garinagu, to the Placencia penninsula.

Guns, spears and the grimly ubiquitous machete were used in the carnage, which continued into Thursday, said workers sifting through the bodies at the morgue. "The Plutonists were slaughtered like chickens and goats," said Claude Taylor, a Plutonist, who sought shelter with his 10-year old daughter at the Doctors without Borders bivouac. "I never dreamed this could happen here." Belizian gendarmes downplayed the death toll and reported few casualties.

All was quiet on Saturday, but widespread incidents of looting were reported despite a strict curfew that kept residents indoors between the hours of 8AM and 12 noon. Police were brought in from Belmopan, Belize City and Dangriga, and soldiers took up positions throughout the city to contain the violence. Plutonism has become an increasingly divisive issue in Belize. Last month, Garinagu officially went into effect in Punta Gorda, which is overwhelmingly Garifuna, Kekchi and Maya (Mopan).