_edited.png)
Arintown Maldonado ♦
Honest, decisive, respectful, courageous, and triumphant. These are words I use to describe my father Francisco Maldonado. He was born in a humble but noble family in the country of Guatemala in the 60’s near the beginning of the Civil War. Due to the way of life in that country, he had a terrible experience during his youth. However, this made him strive for a better and sustainable livelihood, and it was what brought him to Belize.
My father comes from an era when blood was shed all around him—within family, among friends, and throughout the entire country. He has told about the struggles, hardship, and desperation he went through to survive, especially in 1982. During that year of the war, before his community became infested with malice, decomposing bodies were seen afloat, moving at the river’s pace toward the sea. He, along with other courageous men, noticed this alarming situation and quickly took the initiative of involving the authorities and giving a holy burial to those lifeless bodies. Sadly, it reached a point where the dead bodies were so overwhelming that they had to be buried at the spot where they were found. They realized that the war was bulging, and in less time than expected, it hit the community where my father lived. One by one, friends and family members started to disappear. At this point, my dad was a married man caring for two children. The agony of fighting for survival and a better home for his family forced him to make a difficult decision: to flee from Guatemala to an unknown destination, leaving his house and a family behind.
To leave his wife with two children, not knowing if it would be possible to see them again, was necessary for survival, he explained to my mother. He eventually managed to convince her by revealing the plan he had. By this time, the situation was way out of order. Armed soldiers entered houses, raping the women and destroying property. Innocent men working in their fields or walking on the streets were captured and tortured. In short, everything was a disaster.
By the grace of God my dad was able to leave this dangerous zone without any physical harm and make his way to the northern part of the devastated country. He arrived at Puerto Barrios in Petén and then decided to travel to Belize by boat. While on the deck, he felt convinced that traveling into Belize was a good idea since peace was what he was aiming for.
Photos above by Carlos Mendoza
My dad stepped on Belizean land for the first time in the sunset of August 19th, 1982. He had no idea where to go or where he could find an inn. When the veil of darkness overtook the daylight, he made his way into the forest and slept there. In the Toledo District where he landed, he suffered a lot since he was a stranger to the people. He saw that their way of living had many economic challenges. So, having yet some cents in his pocket, he decided to travel farther north to the Stann Creek District where he got his first job in one of the citrus factories. Two months later, after saving enough money, he went to look for the family he left behind in Guatemala and brought them to Stann Creek.
Photo by Marlin Maldonado
Apart from the daily work in the field, my dad dedicated time to do hunting during the night to provide food to sustain the family. Meanwhile, my mother, being a wise woman, realized that living in Pomona had to be temporary. She encouraged my father to seek out a less populated place where the children would be able to enjoy their childhood and grow up in a disciplined way.
After a couple of agreements, in 1991 they migrated to the jungles of the Cayo District, on the outskirts of Spanish Lookout. My dad was the first person to inhabit that area. The idea to settle there was due to developments in Spanish Lookout, including cattle rearing, which required men to work on the ranches.
Upon the arrival to this new location, my father cleared an area of land and built a thatched house to shelter his family, which at that time was comprised of five members. Although the idea was to get employment, it became difficult for my father to do so immediately for he was required to show his labour documents, which he did not have. Things got so bad for the family, it reached a point where even salt was scarce on the table.
Photo by Carlos Mendoza
Then one day while traveling to Belize City for his nationality application, he met a kind man who was full of wisdom. My dad, Mr. Francisco Maldonado, introduced himself. With a formal handshake, the man said he was George Price, the Prime Minister of Belize, and that he was interested in viewing the area where my dad was seeking refuge. At that time the place had no name, and it was Honourable George Price’s initiative to name it San Marcos, a Biblical name translated in English as St. Mark. The prime minister understood the situation that forced my father to migrate to Belize, and so although the process of nationalization took the amount of time required by law, he made it less difficult. After my family became legal in the country, my father had easier access to employment. During the week, his labour hours were at the Spanish Lookout agricultural fields. Meanwhile, on weekends he worked on his personal land with his cattle and corn plantation.
San Marcos started to expand as new people came to live there, and my father became the first village chairman. Serving as chair, he completed two main projects for the benefit of the whole community: installation of water pipes and construction of streets.
Since then, the village has changed in many ways and families have expanded. The people who live there today, mainly Hispanics from Guatemala and El Salvador, have kept the place as the paradise it has always been. The greatest treasure one can encounter in San Marcos Village are the wise people, full of diverse experiences, who have created a sustainable and well-accommodated life.
For all the sacrifices my dad has made and all the triumphs he has achieved, I, being his seventh son and in university, feel proud and blessed to have such a wonderful father. ♦
Arintown Maldonado majors in natural resources management at the University of Belize. He lives in San Marcos Village and enjoys creating melodies on his guitar as well as assisting with the veterinary care of the cattle on his family’s ranch.