Tonight one man is detained for the murder of Dr. Ivan Garcia. According to our reports, the Belize City based creole male had been seen visiting his house in the Belama Phase one area before.
As we reported, the 46 year old Doctor was found dead in his home yesterday morning. He had been strangled to death and was partially nude.
Today Dr. Garcia's colleagues at the KHMH observed his loss by launching a protest - in his honor, and against violent crime. 7news was there every step of the way. Here's the story....
Jules Vasquez reporting
At noon today, close to 100 Doctors, and KHMH Staff started streaming out of the facility - placards in hand to join a march to remember their fallen colleague.
There were plenty of police around - this was a legal protest - staged at the height of the rush hour to make their point most emphatically and dramatically.
Their signs put out the message very clearly - the protest was about societal violence, but the march when it started at 12:20 was to mark the loss of one of their own.
Dr. Alain Gonzalez - Colleague Of Deceased
"We want the public to know that we are walking because we want to honor or colleague who passed away yesterday. Dr. Garcia was killed violently, and we are actually having this march to honor his memory. Mr. Garcia doesn't have anyone who is from his direct family living here in Belize. He doesn't have a brother, sister, uncle - anyone. His wife and all his family are back in Guatemala. But what Dr. Garcia does have are friends, and we at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital are his friends."
Dr. Emmerson Mungia really wanted us to see this sign - which speaks about prisoners in our own homes
And Dr. Martha Habet held her solution high in the air, while Caleb Orozco spoke about unsolved murders, and we'd probably need to be a doctor to figure out this one.
They walked around the roundabout three times at a solemn pace - bringing midday traffic to a halt.
Dr. Nelita Zayden - Colleague of Deceased
"We are doing this peaceful demonstration because of all the violence going on in Belize. It's not just because Dr. Garcia died. It's because of everything that has been happening throughout these past months."
Jules Vasquez
"Because you have witnessed at the KHMH so much violence, children being killed, old people being killed for no reason, but then, when it's one of your own, you come out and take a stand. Why didn't you take a stand before?"
Dr. Nelita Zayden
"Um, it's very difficult to answer that question. What I can say is because it struck us at home, you understand, and I believe that a lot of us would have wanted to do this a long time ago, but because some of us are afraid - I can't say much on that because it would bring me into much more difficult situations, and I would not like to voice my opinions when it comes to that."
Jules Vasquez
"But at the same time you all have to be put up to scrutiny. People have been inconvenienced because you all cancelled your specialist clinics. I don't know what's holding up at the hospital right now, but I'm saying that you all abandoned your posts."
Dr. Nelita Zayden
"No, we never abandoned our posts. We are at the hospital. We cancelled our clinics in respect to Dr. Garcia's death."
Jules Vasquez
"But how is that respectful of his death? How is that not holding the public hostage?"
Dr. Nelita Zayden
"We are not holding the public hostage? I don't want to get into an argument here, but we are not holding anybody hostage. Emergency services are still being done. We closed our patient clinics, yes, but the thing is that even though we closed the out-patient clinics, we are still seeing patients."
Dr. Adrian Coye - Director of Medical Services, KHMH
"The hospital is being run and operated by the main people who are on call, and we made sure that the patients are being taken care of as it is."
Jules Vasquez
"But there was a cancelation of specialist clinics."
Dr. Adrian Coye
"Well, yesterday and today, we've had some curtailing of our clinics, yes, and this is part of the process for us to allow our doctors and obviously shell-shocked staff to cope and deal with this loss, which you as you realize, is a great tragedy. But it's not that we aim to have an indefinite prolongation of this form of restriction of services. They are upset; their emotional unhappiness is not only to the fact that we've lost a loved-one, but we think that our country is suffering from violence in a way that it is probably never experienced before. My time in Jamaica, I've seen the same, and we pray that we don't have to reach that point. But that fact is the change that has to happen. It has to come from all members of society, and the doctors are expressing that they too are unhappy, and they want to be part of that change."
And while no one would argue with the assertion that something has to change, it's hard to say whether this event can trigger it. It was certainly visually striking and unprecedented - but ultimately it's one more protest against crime when there have been many before.
But more than provoking change, it is - they say - a way of coping:
Jules Vasquez
"These doctors themselves have witnessed so much death, so much unnecessary death, so many children dying, blamelessly being murdered, however, it seems that it is, as soon as you come in my backyard, well then, that's too much. Is that a reasoned decision?"
Dr. Adrian Coye
"Well, I am not part of that decision process, but I can say that we are humans, and feel in the same way. If this person, being a member of our family, was injured or killed, then I don't think that it is unreasonable for them to express grief, and to be as they are just now."
Dr. Alain Gonzalez
"Violence is getting so rampant in this country now, that it's even affecting doctors. We saw a couple years ago that it affected a lawyer, Rodwell Williams, and now it's affecting a doctor. And so, we just want to make a stand and say, 'We, as a medical community, don't agree with this killing. We don't don't accept the way it happened.'"
Jules Vasquez
"Your statement implies that there are some special nature about professionals, that while violence affects us all, you all - lawyers and doctors - should not be tainted by it because you all occupy some airy plane - that you all are on another level. And when a doctor gets killed, well, that's when we have to take it to the streets. That seems to be the message being sent."
Dr. Alain Gonzalez
"Not really, Jules, what happened, it's not that we are upset that it's a doctor. But we are upset because it's one of our own people who actually got affected by it."
Dr. Adrian Coye
"It's - as they say - maybe like a tipping point or maybe breaking the camel's back with just a pin. The fact remains that we have to say something at some point."
Dr. Nelita Zayden
"Yes, it would look like scrutiny on us because we've decided to do this now, but somebody has to start something somewhere."
And while the murder of their colleague in his home is certainly a heinous crime - it is arguable whether it is part of the crime wave:
Dr. Alain Gonzalez
"Definitely, it's not the average type of crime. According to the feedback that we got, it was strangulation, and of course, those are not common. It's not the average type of killing or murder where it's a shooting or stabbing. To me, a crime is a crime. It doesn't make a difference how it happened or transpired, but a crime is a crime. You might think that the crime is different, but to me, we feel the same burden, sorrow and grief for our friend and colleague who died."
Jules Vasquez
"So, is it fair to say that this is part of the crime wave, when it really is an isolated type incident by mode?"
Dr. Adrian Coye
"Well, as you rightly said, people might get the impression that we've taken apples and call them grapes, but the fact remains that when you were growing up, I'm sure if you heard about a murder, or a death of a violent nature, that was something very rare. Now, we hear of deaths in a violent way as a common occurrence of the day. At what point then, as a society, has it become acceptable to us?"
Jules Vasquez
"But then, how is it morally justified to penalize the public for it by suspending specialist clinics?"
Dr. Adrian Coye
"Well, this is a very transient thing, and what I cannot say is that it's morally appealing. We have given instructions that urgent cases and emergencies are dealt with. It's not a total withdrawal of services."
The protest on the ground ended at 2:00 pm - but the silent protest and grieving process continues tomorrow when specialist clinics and elective surgeries will also be suspended - as the mass for Dr. Garcia is held.
The mass will be held tomorrow at 6:00 pm at St. Joseph's Church. Director of Medical Services Dr. Adrian Coye says he expects that medical services should return to full capacity by Thursday.
