World

Maya Indians near Cancun need aid, too

NARANJAL, Mexico - While Mexico sweats to repair storm damage to Cancun's luxury hotels and beaches, Maya Indians nearby have been left to fend for themselves as a lake of floodwater the color of black tea swallows their homes. A rickety raised path built over the putrid water from old wood and cinder blocks is the only way in and out of the tiny farming hamlet of Naranjal, deep in the tropical forest inland from Cancun, since Hurricane Wilma tore through last month. A dozen homes are flooded, some to thigh level, and the debris-filled lake - 300 feet wide and stretching for several miles - is growing as rainy weather continues. Their drinking wells contaminated and the stagnant water causing fever and rashes, residents are scrabbling to shift their tiny village, house by house, to higher ground. "We thought the problem was over but it's getting worse. Instead of receding, the water is advancing a little bit every day. Basically, it's swallowing us up," said village councilor Gregorio Tun Cupul in front of his waterlogged home. While repair efforts focus on Cancun, which is losing millions of dollars a day as hotels stand empty, Naranjal's 125 inhabitants are going hungry after Wilma flattened the maize and bean crops and killed off the honey and charcoal businesses that were the main source of cash. Locals are skeptical that help promised by the government will materialize.