Panama

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The Introduction Page

        I selected this country because my mom is of Panamanian Decent. She was the first of 4 children to be born in Panama. I myself am Panamanian and Jamaican and I was fortunate enough to go and see Panama for myself and meet some of my own family two years ago in 2014. I knew of Panama before going there because my mom talks about it all the time and my step father is also from there but I never really had any desire to want to know about my heritage until I found out that I was going to visit the country myself. I’m amazed at how diverse Panama is and how accepting they are of other cultures.

        The objective of my report is to give the readers an inside look on how panama became the island that they are today. What I would like to know more about is why the canal zone and people who are from the canal zone are considered better off and why nobody really took care of Panama City. Panama City look like a whole different country then the rest of Panama. Its very dirty, not well kept, too many stores and not enough space and way too many squatters. A lot of Panama’s people living within Panama City are squatters which I will talk about later in my paper. I want to learn about ways we can help change the level of poverty and also provide equal opportunities for women.  I knew that men and women are not treated equally and do not have a fair opportunity and position for employment as men do.

        I hear stereotypes about panama that is not true like how Panamanians are very lazy people and that’s why we have so many squatters in our city. That were not really Spanish because a lot of people there speak both Spanish and English. Even for the Afro Latino Panamanians like me I always heard “I don’t consider you Panamanians to be Spanish”. You guys are more west Indian to me.” I hope to show people that there were completely wrong about Panama and its culture and its people. We are a very hardworking people and we take pride in our country, look at the Panama Canal for example. Yes, the United States may have built the Panama Canal but we work hard to maintain it. The Canal Zone had provided many jobs to the Panamanian people that we are grateful for.

The Country Profile Page

History

Explored by Columbus in 1502 and by Balboa in 1513, Panama also known as “Panameño” was the principal shipping point to and from South and Central America in colonial days. In 1821, when Central America revolted against Spain, Panama joined Colombia, which had already declared its independence. For the next 82 years, Panama attempted unsuccessfully to break away from Colombia. Between 1850 and 1900 Panama had 40 administrations, 50 riots, 5 attempted secessions, and 13 U.S. interventions. After a U.S. proposal for canal rights over the narrow isthmus was rejected by Colombia, Panama proclaimed its independence with U.S. backing in 190 in the capital of Panama City, Panama.

For canal rights in perpetuity, the U.S. paid Panama $10 million and agreed to pay $250,000 each year, which was increased to $430,000 in 1933 and to $1,930,000 in 1955. In exchange, the U.S. got the Canal Zone, a 10-mile-wide strip across the isthmus and considerable influence in Panama's affairs. On Sept. 7, 1977, Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera and President Jimmy Carter signed treaties giving Panama gradual control of the canal, phasing out U.S. military bases, and guaranteeing the canal's neutrality

Statistics

• Area in Square Miles: 30,185
• Environmental Concerns: Water pollution, deforestation, land degradation and soil erosion
• Geographical Features: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and rolling hills
• Population: 3, 242,173 (2007 est.)
• Major Languages spoken: Spanish, English
• Ethnic Makeup: 70% Mestizo ,14% West Indian, 10%White,6% Indian and others
• Religions: 85% Roman Catholic, 15% Protestant and others
• Life Expectancy: 73 years (Males) 78 years (Female)
• Adult Literacy rate: 92 % Compulsory ages: for 6 years between 6-15; free
• Government Type: Constitutional Democracy
• Independence Day: November 3, 1903
• Head of State: President Martin Torrijos is both president and head of government
• Political Parties: Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement, Panamanian Party, Patriotic Union Party, Democratic Change, Popular Party
• Currency: 1.00 balboa = $1 Per Capita Income/GDP: 9000/18.17 billion
• Unemployment Rate: 7.2%
• Natural Resources: Copper, Mahogany, Shrimp, Hydropower
• Agriculture: Bananas, Rice, Corn, Coffee, Sugarcane, Vegetables, Livestock, Fishing
• Industry: Construction, Petroleum, Brewing, Sugar, Canal Traffic/Tourism
• Exports: 9,662 Billion (Primary Partners United States, Sweden, Costa Rica)
• Imports: 12.1 Billion (United States, Central America and Caribbean)

Contemporary Social Problem Page

Poverty

        Even though Panama’s people tend to have a higher generated income, 37 percent still live below the poverty line. Of this 37 percent, 19 percent live in extreme poverty and ½ of all Panamanian children are poor. However, although there are a lot of “squatters” in the city a lot of those living in poverty and extreme poverty are concentrated in the countryside. Of those living in poverty and extreme poverty, a lot are concentrated between the provinces and Colon. Where there’s poverty there are also child malnutrition. Seeing as though almost half of the poverty line are children 16% of those children under 5 suffer from some form of malnutrition and malnourishment compared to the 4 percent of the “non-poor”.

        Panamanians living in poverty do not have health insurance or good quality health care so their health is on the decline. People who live in the city mostly suffer from Diabetes and nutrient deficiencies due to a lack. This only relates to the women living in the more urban environment. The women out in the country side don’t necessarily have a sustainable am0unt of food so they partake in what is called geophagy. Geophagy is a form of pica when you ingest earthy materials such as clay and soil.  They are consumed for things such as rituals to even stopping nausea in pregnant women. The issue with that is the risk of soil borne parasites such as hookworm and even lead poisoning in pregnant women.  Within rural communities, geophagy was most notably linked to lower levels of education, and may be linked to poorer nutritional status of more children and seniors.