Most of the population is descended from African slaves. It is the only English speaking country in the region. Orange Walk, Belize The center of this little town looks so wholesome that you expect to see Andy Griffith come whistling around the corner. There's a small white church near the town hall and a shaded park where girls in school uniforms gather after class to gossip and giggle. But the wholesome image is only a facade.
Trouble lies just around the corner.
The most desperate addicts hang out in the cemetery, sleeping on top of tombs or at an adjacent crack house. He coughs regularly, a symptom of chronic bronchitis. His hazel brown eyes show desperation, his waist has shriveled away and his once-powerful arms have gone flabbier than chicken wings. Orange Walk wasn't always like this. Although marijuana has been grown and smoked here for decades, crack cocaine only really blossomed in the past few years, changing Belize dramatically.