Iquitos, Peru: Christmas Fire in Belen

Just days before Christmas in the poorest section of the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru, a gas cannister exploded and set the district of Belen (Spanish: Bethlehem) on fire. Many of those who had little in life now have nothing. Approximately 150 houses burned to the ground. A thousand people are homeless. A dozen or so are in hospital. Immigrants from the jungle to the city are set back a decade now as they will have to start again to build their inventories of simple provisions and goods from nothing. Many will return to the jungle from which they came to escape that life of poverty, there being nothing left for them in the city. Belen burned badly on 20 Dec. 2012.

To read the rest of this story, please turn to the following link;
http://www.amazon.com/Iquitos-Peru-D-W-Walker/dp/098776151X

A gentle reminder that my book, An Occasional Walker, is available at the link here:

http://www.amazon.com/Occasional-Walker-D-W/dp/0987761501/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331063095&sr=1-1

And here are some reviews and comments on said book:

http://nodhimmitude.blogspot.com/2012/04/dagness-at-noon.html