Belize: The Salvadorans who are coming are coming to break up the community.

VÍCTOR PEÑA / EL FARO

El Faro's Carlos Martinez traveled to Belize to learn about those who have fled El Salvador for the relatively safety of Belize - Belize is Afraid.

Nobody seems to know how many Salvadorans live in Belize. Consensus seems to indicate over 40,000. Asylum and refugee status is near impossible to acquire in Belize. If you complete the paperwork required within 14 days, you will not hear anything. If you do not complete the paperwork within the 14 day period, you are out of luck.

Working alongside the old man from the village who feared the arrival of new Salvadorans, there was a boy, 22, born in Belize. He also had a shovel and a very clear idea about the gangs. "The Salvadorans who are coming are coming to break up the community. There was one who came here. He already arrived. He was turning his little girl into a gang member. We noticed it because he was teaching her to dance, because the gang members are good at dancing, right?”

Belizean authorities worry that refugees will bring gang violence with them. However, security-wise, they do not seem to have done much, all six or seven of them protecting the border. Even if sometime surreal, it's worth a read.