Last week, a teenager was severely injured while scuba diving in Belize, resulting in the loss of her leg. Today, she turns to the public for support following the traumatic incident. According to reports, fifteen-year-old Annabelle Carlson had completed a dive between Halfmoon and Hat Caye when she decided to return to the water for a final swim. It was at that point that the teenager was violently attacked by a shark. Carlson was flown to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where she remains in pediatric intensive care and is scheduled for at least one more surgery on her leg. To lighten the financial load, a family friend has launched a GoFundMe campaign for Carlson’s treatment. The page for the campaign reads, quote, the quick action from the emergency response team in Belize saved her life. They were able to stabilize her, at which point she was medically flown to the United States and is currently receiving care at the top trauma center. Annabelle will have a very long road of recovery ahead of her, end quote. The GoFundMe page aims to raise two hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars of which over one hundred and fifty-five thousand has been met.
Year: 2024
Belizeans Warned of Doing Business with Neglectful Animal Owner
The Belmopan Humane Society is warning Belizeans to avoid conducting business with people who pose a potential risk to the wellbeing of animals in the country. Recently, U.S. national Abigail O’keeffe was flagged by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for owning over one hundred animals that were either dying or critically ill. O’keeffe then abandoned the animals and relocated to Belize, where she is seemingly attempting to purchase animals for a new farm. News Five’s Britney Gordon spoke with the Belmopan Humane Society today for more details on the dangers of this practice. Here’s that story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Upon encountering a hungry or injured dog, there are many people who would take the time to care for the animal, offering food, shelter and possibly a home. But can the same be said for a wounded chicken or an abandoned horse? Often, livestock animals are not afforded the same sympathy as domesticated animals and Diamne Habet, Vice Chair of the Belmopan Humane Society, says that organizations often struggle to find resources to rehabilitate them.
Diamne Habet, Vice Chair, Belmopan Humane Society
“There aren’t many resources for livestock in Belize when it comes to horses that you see on the side of the road that are that should be watered daily but are left there for two to three days without water and grazing on nothing but grass and not getting the full nutritional aspects that an adult horse requires when you’re seeing horses where you can see their ribs. They are reported to the Humane Society, but the Humane Society doesn’t have the resources to give aid. So we tend to report them to our municipal council To see if they can render aid. The most aid we can do legally is offer feed and water to an animal left in that kind of conditions.”
“That’s how this person came on our radar in the first place, media sources that covered the incident that happened in the U.S. and knowing that this person fled to Belize and had the plans to basically reopen a farm here in Belize was very concerning to us because while there is an R.S.P. C.A. where she is from that was able to rally the community and was able to save these animals, the consequences, if that were to happen to Belize would, they would be far more devastating. We simply would not have the resources available to save a hundred farm animals. In particular, humane societies and rescue groups in Belize tend to focus on domestic animals. So having the resources to rescue a hundred goat, chickens, sheep, anything in that range, I can’t even foresee something that, like that being possible for a community in Belize to do.”
“If she could remain under the radar for that long, to the point where it got to such horrifying conditions and still advertise to have people go to her farm, still make money off of it, in our country, it would just, it would be absolutely devastating.”
The Belmopan Humane Society encourages the public to do its part in ensuring the wellbeing of animals by staying current with vaccines and spaying and neutering animals in their care. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Climate Change Fuels Coral Bleaching
Climate change and the environment are taking center stage at the Fifty-fifth Caribbean Broadcasting Union’s Annual General Meeting in Belize. In collaboration with the regional organization, the Caribbean Climate Change Community Center is hosting a group of journalists from across the region to discuss the importance of climate reporting. News Five’s Paul Lopez has been in Placencia since Saturday. On Sunday, he joined the delegation on a trip to Laughing Bird Caye where he saw firsthand how a non-governmental organization is fighting back against the impact of climate change on one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, coral reefs. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Coral reefs play an important role in many aspects. They provide coastal protection from storms and floods. Coral reefs also contribute to economies across the world, particularly through the tourism industry.
Monique Vernon, Coral Reef Practitioner, Fragments of Hope
“Without the barriers reef the storm in the area would devastate the corals. So, for us it plays and important role, because we know they absorb carbons. They also slow down the storm, wave actions and so forth. They provide food and livelihood to many of the people on the coastlines. We get a lot of tourists coming out here to view the corals we have.”
Belize has the largest barrier reef or the largest coral reef system in the western hemisphere. It is under threat from coral bleaching.
“The way how coral bleaching works is first of all, corals are animals. And there is an algae which is a plant that lives inside the animal. Because they that allows corals to get the colors they have. When the temperature gets too hot for the corals and the algae, the algae say I got to go, because it is too hot, and I can’t stay. They expel themselves from the coral and the coral loses its color and that is what the coral bleaching is. But when corals lose their color, they are not technically dead. We at Fragments of Hope say they are dead when it is white, but you see other algae’s goring on top the coral.”
Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
“Ironically you ask because this year has been one of the worst year for coral bleaching across the world, why because ocean temperatures have been one of the hottest it has bene since recorded history. But more importantly we are working with organizations like Fragments of Hope, looking at how you replant corals with climate resistant variety of corals. While this is a small example it is a pilot that once it is successful it can be scaled up across the region.”
One non-governmental organization is fighting back against the effects of climate change on corals. Fragments of Hope works to restore corals destroyed by natural disaster and impacted by coral bleaching. The organization’s largest and longest standing nursery exists just off the coast of Laughing Bird Caye. A media trip to the island gave reporters a firsthand look at their work.
Natasha Gibson, Coral Practitioner, Fragments for Hope
“What you will see personally today is sixteen-year-old standing elk horns out here surviving from tremendous devastation, climate change, natural disaster caused by humans, it is still standing. After sixteen years we have standing out planted corals out here. We have tiny, small baby fragments that we planted just before the bleaching session last year. That is looking alive as well. When we choose genets to plant, when we go and collect from our mother coral, whether it is closer to the reef or in the reef whereby we take stuff from nearshore simply to see how these coral genets and species are working with the different climate temperatures when we move them around.”
Dr. Colin Young
“These impacts are small, and the scale is tiny. And if you think about the size of the reef, not only in Belize, but across the world there is no better way to stop this deterioration than for us to stop putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We cannot adapt our way out of climate change. It is too costly. It is happening to face and these species have evolved under a set of stable conditions, stable climate over a long period of time.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
“Climate Change is the Single Greatest Threat to Humanity”
Doctor Young also spoke about the global impacts of climate change and the immediate actions that must be taken. He contends that Earth is on a trajectory to not only exceed the one point five degrees outlined in the Paris Agreement, but to potentially exceed three degrees within the next eight decades. As a result, the current effects of climate change would be significantly magnified. Here is how he puts it.
Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
“The U.N. has called climate change the single greatest threat to humanity. Our leaders across the region, pick your country. They will tell you that climate change is an existential threat. It is undermining our ability to meet our S.D.G.s and we are paying for it in lives and livelihoods and worst of all it is something we did not cause. So, it is a socially unjust situation and the truth of it is, the absolute truth the world is heading in the wrong direction despite all the public commitment we heard from those who are responsible for causing climate change. The science is very clear when to come sot climate change. We know that in order for us to keep one point five alive that we have to cut emissions by forty-five percent in 2030. So we have to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We have to look at transitioning food and food production from fossil fuel energy. We have to electrify and move away from coal and go to things like wind and solar. But when we look at all the pledges and promises countries have made, COP twenty nine Is coming up, COP twenty-eight past like eight months ago, we came back with some sense of hope that the world will do more fast. Ironically and unfortunately for us they are not.”
Bridging Climate Change Knowledge Gap Through Journalism
Five Cs has entered a strategic partnership with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union to sponsor C.B.U. awards and host regional journalists in climate change workshops. This week, the organization is engaging a group of journalists from across the Caribbean in climate change related topics, ahead of the Caribbean Media Awards. Doctor Young spoke on the importance of this partnership.
Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
“The Five Cs have based on the research we have done in the region we have found out there is a tremendous knowledge gap between those who work in climate change and the regular persons on the ground, the farmers, fisherfolks and those who work in areas affected by climate change. So, the events of the C.B.U. is intended to help bridge that knowledge gap by helping to build knowledge gaps of the Caribbean public towards climate change. The stores and reporting we will tell are important to build that knowledge, whether print, digital, TV, news, it is important for journalist to effectively communicate the stories to understand the science of climate change so that they can engage audiences in an effective manner.”
Hurricanes are 2024 B.E.B.L. Champions
The Benny’s Belize Hurricanes are your 2024 B.E.B.L. Champions. The organization secured its fourth chip on Friday night inside the Belize City Civic Center. They are now the organization with the most championships in Belize. The Hurricanes defeated the Belize City Defenders in a controversial five-game series that saw six games being played. Depending on who you ask, the series ended in a tie with both teams winning three games. But technically, the third game was replayed and even though the Belize City Defenders won that game it was their second and last win in the final’s series. Hurricanes fans showed out in numbers for a win or go home match that resulted in the Defenders’ season-ending defeat with a score of six-nine points to the Hurricanes’ eighty-nine points. We spoke with members of the championship team immediately after the victory. Here is a clip of that story.
Police Identify Body Found at Sea
On Saturday, the body of 23-year-old Victor Bol was discovered floating in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Punta Gorda. Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero confirmed Bol’s identity during a briefing today.
Bol, a resident of Punta Gorda Town, had been reported missing by his common-law wife after their last contact last Friday.
Police told reporters that Bol was last seen drinking alcoholic beverages at Central Park before his body was found floating in the sea.
Authorities found no signs of injury on Bol’s body. Police continue the investigation.
Seven Armed Robbers Target Courts Belmopan
The Belmopan branch of the furniture and appliance store, Courts, was burgled on Monday, August 12, 2024, at around 4:30 a.m.
The building’s security guard reported that he was confronted by seven armed men while on duty. The suspects restrained him and then broke into the building.
In today’s police briefing, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero stated that the suspects stole several phones, laptops, and an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe.
An official notice was announced on Court’s Facebook page, advising their customers of the “Temporary Closure of COURTS BELMOPAN store until further notice.”
The investigation is ongoing, with surveillance footage to be reviewed.
Bat-tastic Study, Belizean Scientist Explores Bat Behaviour to Strengthen Conservation Efforts
During the sixteenth “Bat-a-thon”, a group of 80-some researchers converged at Belize’s Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in early May to study close to 80 species of winged mammals—bats.
Gliselle Marin, a PhD biology student at York University in Toronto, is the only Belizean participant of the study in northern Belize.
Marin, who sports bat-themed earrings and a bat tattoo, emphasised the unique behaviours and adaptive abilities of bats, which she believes are crucial for understanding broader ecological impacts. “When I actually started working with them and realising we have close to 80 species of bats,” she says, “I was like, ‘Okay, it’s kind of crazy that I’ve been in science my whole life and was never taught that we have this diversity of bats in Belize.’”
Marin’s research focusses on the dietary flexibility of bats, analysing bat faeces to determine their food sources. This allows a better understanding of how habitat fragmentation affects the diet and overall survival of bats.
As Belize faces increasing deforestation and climate challenges, Marin’s grassroots conservation efforts act as a bridge to local knowledge through scientific research.
For Marin, the core message is straightforward: Everything is interconnected—people, bats, and the forest. “We’re as special as everything else around us,” she says.
5Cs Engages Caribbean Journalists on Climate Change Forum in Belize
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has again partnered with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, which is holding its 55th Annual General Assembly (AGA) and 35th CBU Caribbean Media Awards in Placencia, Belize. CCCCC is the sponsor of seven climate change categories in the media awards. This marks the second consecutive year of the CCCCC’s sponsorship in these categories.
The CCCCC, with funding from the EU-GCCA+ Project, is today hosting a media forum on climate change as the culmination of an impactful media engagement program that began in 2023. This forum coincides with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union’s (CBU) annual general assembly and awards ceremony, where the CCCCC will present awards for excellence in climate change coverage.
The forum aims to enhance knowledge of climate change impacts in the Caribbean, increase media interest and capacity for better climate change reporting, and present preliminary findings from a content analysis of entries in the 2022 and 2023 CCCCC-CBU climate change media awards.
The CCCCC brought together 13 journalists for the forum.
The workshop began with welcome remarks by Dr. Claire Grant, President of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), followed by introductions and an icebreaker led by Tecla Fontenard. Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director of CCCCC, presented on current climate change facts and essential knowledge, which was followed by a plenary session for questions and discussions. After a brief break, the workshop resumed with a presentation and discussion on strengthening media coverage of climate change, delivered by Dr. Cleveland Sam, Director of Communications at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). This was followed by a presentation on covering climate change by Tecla Fontenard, Communications Specialist at CCCCC.
After lunch, the workshop continued with a content analysis of excellence in climate coverage, examining notable entries from the 2022 and 2023 CCCCC/CBU Climate Change themed media awards. This session, led by Steve Maximay, a member of the CBU CMA Judging Panel, included examples of award-winning content, lessons learnt, and best practices for media coverage. The day concluded with plenary discussions on the content presentation and closing remarks by Danelle De Coteau-Campbell, Lead Communications Specialist at CCCCC.