Local woman brings taste of Panama to Clarksville

By ANN WALLACE The Leaf-Chronicle

Clarksvillian Daisy Pickett loves to bake.
"If I could bake life -- I would bake it," says Daisy, this week's Leaf-Chronicle Cook of the Week.
Daisy, 60, was born and raised in the Panama Canal Zone.

"It was so beautiful and we lived close to the beach. My schools were so close to the canal that our classroom teachers would let us wave to people on the huge ships like the Queen Mary as the ships moved through the locks," she says.

She loved to spend time with her mother in the kitchen and picked up cooking shortcuts quickly.

"I liked to try out new recipes, but I didn't much like fixing the regular everyday stuff, I wanted to bake. By the time I was in the fifth grade, I was pretty much the baker for our house," says Daisy, the mother of two adult children and grandmother of two.

Under the guidance of her mom, "who rarely used a measuring cup," Daisy learned a similar culinary approach -- "a pinch of this and a dash of that."

And she doesn't recall any "major flops," which is quite amazing when you consider the type of stove that Daisy used in her childhood home.

It was a kerosene stove with a separate oven compartment placed on top for baking. There were three chimneys with three separate small windows to monitor the burning wicks, "There was no thermostat, so you really had to watch the food."

But, Daisy mastered the technique and managed to create family favorites like lemon meringue and mango pies and cakes.

She married Arthur Pickett when she was 23, and the young military couple moved to Fort Campbell in 1973 -- Clarksville has been her home ever since.

Tanya Pickett, Daisy's daughter, recalls the family kitchen was a hub of activity growing up.

"Mom didn't mind you coming in and asking questions and wanting to help," Tanya says. "She loves pecans. Anything that she can incorporate pecans into -- she will. She really likes to do different things with everyday ingredients."

From a child's perspective the wonderful thing about having a mother who loves to bake are the leftovers.

"You know the batter left inside the mixing bowl was a magnet for Tanya and Arthur Jr. They were always waiting for me to hand them the bowl," Daisy says with a laugh.

Now Daisy has taken her 10-year-old granddaughter under her wing to pass along recipes.

"She wanted to learn how to make cheesecake tarts, so I showed her how to whip it up, my way without a recipe," she says.

One baking tip passed along to the third generation: "Put a pan of water on the lower oven rack when baking to ensure moist cakes."

"My son wants me to write down all of the recipes and type them up, so my granddaughter can practice. I think he just wants to make sure his favorite dishes don't die with me," says Daisy with a chuckle.

For the last two years, Daisy has been taking culinary classes on the Fort Campbell campus of Austin Peay State University. She will graduate in December with an associate's degree in restaurant management.

She says the classes and her involvement with the Clarksville Chapter of the American Culinary Federation have been avenues to explore her fascination with food.

"I like the camaraderie of the classes, and I love learning presentation skills. For example, when I now see carved fruit centerpieces, I know how much work goes into making food attractive visually," she says. "Someday, I hope to do baking for people. For now, I guess I'll work on getting those recipes together for granddaughter."

Ann Wallace can be reached at 245-0287 or by e-mail at annwallace@theelafchronicle.com.

Commentary: Black Panamanians: Canal Builders and Warriors Date: Thursday, February 12, 2004 Author: Gregory Kane

PANAMA CITY, Panama -- All it takes is one visit to Panama to leave you positively bewildered about where, exactly, the "lazy black folks" stereotype took root.

Visit the Panama Canal -- arguably the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century -- and you have to give the white American engineers who designed it their props. But what about the folks who did the hardest work?

What about the Afro-Antilleans, the blacks who emigrated from the West Indies to Panama to place the dynamite used to move chunks of earth, who did the digging and the other backbreaking physical tasks?

According to the Afro-Antillean Museum in Panama City, some two-thirds of the 45,000 canal workers came from the West Indies.

During a trip to Panama with a group of American journalists last week, that fact was hammered home more than once.

"That’s the most important part," Rathburn Springer, 82, said last Thursday of the critical role black people played in the building of the canal. Sitting in his home in the Caribbean coast Panamanian city of Colon, Springer continued.

"The canal was built by her parents," Springer said, gesturing to his wife sitting across the dining room table from him. "My parents. Without us, there would be no canal, one of the great wonders of the world."

Without West Indians living on the isthmus, there may not even have been the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed school segregation in the United States. Yes, the long arm of Panamanian Afro-Antillean achievement extends even to these shores.

Hugo Wood-Lyder has held quite a few jobs in Panama. He has been a journalist, radio commentator, a United Nations delegate twice, president of his country’s social security fund and its deputy minister of health. His grandparents came from Barbados, as did over 19,000 of the 30,000-plus Afro-Antilleans who emigrated to Panama.

During an interview, Wood-Lyder made sure not to let the opportunity pass without mentioning a man he called Kenneth Bancroft Clark.

"Kenneth Bancroft Clark was born the year the Panama Canal was inaugurated," Wood-Lyder said. That was in 1914, the year the canal (work started in 1903) was finally completed.

Clark, a descendant of Afro-Antilleans, was born in Panama City in July of that year. According to Wood-Lyder’s story, since verified by other sources, Clark’s mother took him and his younger sister to live in Harlem when both were still children.

Kenneth Bancroft Clark is better known to blacks as Dr. Kenneth Clark, the psychologist whose study on the negative impact of segregation was crucial to the Supreme Court finding that separate but equal schools were "inherently unequal."

"A Panamanian-born," Wood-Lyder said with more than a trace of pride, "was instrumental in one of the most important legal decisions in the world."

But there were blacks in Panama even before the arrival of Afro-Antilleans, who came in three separate waves. The first landed on Panama’s shores in the 1850s and built the railroad that linked Panama’s Pacific coast to its Caribbean coast. The second came in the 1880s when the French tried -- and failed -- to build a canal. The third came in the early 1900s to build the American canal.

Before them were Panama’s Afro-colonials, descendants of slaves brought by the Spanish. Many of the slaves became cimmarones, those blacks who escaped from slavery and fought their oppressors tooth and nail at every opportunity.

It is those blacks who gave Panama what may be -- other than the canal -- its most famous bit of history: the Black Christ festival, celebrated in the city of Portobelo every Oct. 21.

There is much legend, folklore and myth surrounding the statue of a black Christ figure that stands in Portobelo’s Church of San Felipe. It’s said the statue was bound for Cartagena in Colombia when a storm forced ships carrying it to land in Portobelo. Each time the ship left for Cartagena, the legend goes, a storm drove it back to Portobelo.

Another story has residents of Portobelo being spared when a cholera epidemic decimated thousands of others in Panama.

Those tales may or may not be true, but they inspire the question of why Spaniards were shipping a black Christ figure in the first place. But that’s a story of the influence black people have had on Europe.

Subject: Support

Hello all! For months the most asked question from Essence readers has been "When are you gonna write a story about Shoshana Johnson?!" As most of you know, Shoshana Johnson was captured last March 23 in an ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company in Iraq and held captive for 22 days, becoming the first African-American female prisoner of war. After the POWs were rescued, much was written about Jessica Lynch, a member of her unit who was also captured.

Lynch garnered a million dollar book deal, a television movie and countless newspaper and magazine articles. But Shoshana was largely ignored. No one in the press told her story. Until now. Please pick up a copy of the March 2004 issue of Essence, turn to page 166 and read Shoshana's story of courage, faith and survival. It's been a privilege for me to write her inspiring and powerful testimony and to get to know her as a friend. The article is truly one of the highlights of my career.

Please help us get the word out! Forward this email to 10 friends, family members, coworkers, sorority sisters, community leaders or church members. Ask them to send the email to 10 more people. Shoshana's story is an addition to our history as African-Americans in this country. And we must make certain that our stories are told and our contributions in history acknowledged. And please tell us your thoughts! Send any comments to me,our Editor-in-Chief, Diane Weathers, at dweathers@essence.com, or letters@essence.com. Thank you! Veronica

Raúl Leis R. Sociólogo y escritor

Los afropanameños le recuerdan al país los cinco siglos de su presencia y todas las contribuciones que han realizado y efectúan para el desenvolvimiento de la vida nacional. Y tienen toda la razón para recordarlo, pues fueron arrancados de su tierra natal como esclavos en los buques negreros, y luego llegaron como trabajadores que abrieron el camino de hierro ferrocarrilero, los canales franceses y estadounidense, pero son aún hoy víctimas del racismo, la pobreza, la discriminación y la exclusión socioeconómica y política.

Por ello que levantan su voz y proclaman una "Plataforma Política de los (as) Afropanameños(as)", que busca ser herramientas de concienciación, organización, negociación y visibilización a partir de la cual será posible planificar coherentemente las actividades de este amplio grupo étnico. Resumimos algunos puntos de la plataforma:

1. Inclusión en la Agenda de Estado de los próximos años de las propuestas de los afropanameños relacionados al desarrollo integral del país.

2. Reconocimiento e incorporación de los planes maestros, proyectos y programas de los afropanameños en los programas nacionales de desarrollo social, económico, políticos y cultural y de medio ambiente.

3. Inclusión de la variable etnia en el sistema nacional de indicadores para el desarrollo y en los estudios socioeconómicos nacionales, lo que permitiría visualizar y visibilizar a la población afrodescendiente en las políticas públicas con igual nivel de importancia que otros grupos humanos

4. Iniciar el proceso que haga efectivo el reconocimiento de las tierras ancestrales ocupadas y trabajadas tradicionalmente por afropanameños, las que se convertirán en zonas destinadas al desarrollo sostenible.

5. La inclusión de recursos en los presupuestos centrales y regionales del Estado para que sean utilizados en la ejecución de políticas públicas, planes y proyectos dirigidos a la población afrodescendiente.

6. La inclusión en el sistema educativo de la documentación sobre la presencia afroantillana en la formación de la nación panameña.

7. Creación de una comisión nacional en el ámbito de Estado de asuntos afropanameños.

8. Inclusión de representantes de la población afropanameña en las mesas de diálogos nacionales y regionales y en los organismos de tomas de decisiones.

9. Propiciar, a través de conductos estatales, el acceso a fondos de organismos internacionales dirigidos a la población afropanameña, sin desviación por razones políticas partidistas.

10. Constitución de una Comisión Nacional para discutir las lesiones, pérdidas, injusticias y discriminaciones sufridas desde la esclavitud; es decir, el tema de las reparaciones a los afropanameños, de conformidad a lo emanado de conferencias y acuerdos internacionales.

11. Apoyo a una legislación y reglamentación del voto del panameño (a) en el exterior.

12. Participación de una representación afropanameña en una Constituyente, para incluir en la nueva Constitución todo lo necesario en espíritu y ley para que se elimine toda forma de discriminación y se garantice un régimen de igualdad real y efectiva entre todos los componentes étnicos del país.

El 27 de noviembre de 2003, con la presencia de representantes de las comunidades y organizaciones afropanameñas, se realizó el Primer Foro Nacional Afropanameño, con la asistencia y representación de tres aspirantes a la presidencia de la República, quienes firmaron un Protocolo, que enuncia:

"...los candidatos a la Presidencia de la República para el período 2004-2009, consideramos justas y pertinentes los principios sobre los cuales los/as afropanameños /as sustentan sus demandas y aspiraciones..."

"Nos comprometemos, como gobierno u oposición, a realizar lo necesario dentro del orden constitucional y el interés general de toda la sociedad panameña a buscar conjuntamente con el sector afropanameño organizado las políticas y decisiones que eliminen, de una vez, las barreras que impidan que todos los panameños tengan las mismas oportunidades a los recursos y las condiciones a que tienen derecho como seres humanos y como ciudadanos" La pregunta es: ¿Se cumplirán estas justas demandas?

Retired US Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson will join Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in Times Square to signal the lowering of the New Year's Eve Ball and lead the final sixty-second countdown to the New Year.

The selection of Specialist Johnson as the Special Guest was announced today by Mayor Bloomberg along with Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Business Improvement District (the BID) and Jeffrey Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment, co-organizers of Times Square 2004, and Jennifer Kang, Project Manager at Discover Financial Services, Inc..

Specialist Johnson attended today's announcement.

On New Year's Eve, Specialist Johnson will represent all the men and women of the Armed Services who put their lives on the line for us every day.

Since her return to the United States, Johnson has received numerous awards and recognition for her valor and service to the United States.

She officially retired after serving in the military for over five years on Friday, December 12, 2003, at Ft. Bliss, Texas.

Ms. Johnson has been selected by the organizers of the event for her extraordinary courage and resilience and to send a message of support to the men and women of the armed forces as well as their loved ones, during this holiday season.

In a statement, Ms. Johnson said: "It is with great honor and pleasure that I accept your invitation to serve as the honorary Special Guest to officially ring in the 2004 New Year with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Times Square in New York. I humbly appreciate being a part of this prestigious event and following outstanding individuals like Muhammad Ali and Christopher Reeve."

Mayor Bloomberg said: "I am proud that I will be standing with Shoshana Johnson during New Year's Eve in Times Square - one of the most magical moments of the year in New York City. She is truly an inspiration; fully deserving the decorations she has received including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Prisoner of War Medal. We are honored that she will be sharing New Year's with us. She exemplifies the proud, indomitable spirit of New Yorkers and Americans."

Tim Tompkins said: "When choosing a special guest, we contemplate the message we want to send to the world from the heart of Times Square. The New Year is a time when many of us look back and take stock of the past year, and we also look forward and set new goals.

Specialist Shoshana Johnson exemplifies the courage and steadfastness to which so many of us aspire. Her will and determination make her a role model for all of us."

Jeffrey Straus said, "Shoshana Johnson is a testament to the courage of thousands of unrecognized heroes who place themselves in harm's way and ask for nothing in return. As we bring n the new year with half a million revelers in Times Square and a billion viewers worldwide, we will honor Shoshana and all the men and women of the armed forces."

Specialist Johnson's awards and decorations throughout her military career include the US Army Service Ribbon, Army Commendation Ribbon, National Defense Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, and the Prisoner of War Medal.

Ms. Johnson's selection continues the tradition established by the Times Square BID and Countdown Entertainment of honoring outstanding individuals whose spirit and courage are an inspiration to others.

In addition to the selection of Shoshana Johnson as the Special Guest, the organizers of New Year's Eve in Times Square announced new program elements today that will entertain as well as actively involve the revelers in Times Square.

At approximately 10:00 p.m., Discover Card, the worldwide presenting sponsor of Times Square New Year's Eve, will help five people start the New Year on the Fasttrack to Cashback with a chance at winning up to $100,000.

Celebrity host Ben Stein, from the Emmy Award-winning Win Ben Stein's Money, and each of the pre-selected contestants will grab for cash inside a special money machine on the main stage on Duffy Square in Times Square.

Discover Card will also make a matching donation to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. "Discover Card is thrilled to be participating in the main stage program at this year's New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square," said Jennifer Kang, Project Manager at Discover Financial Services Inc..

At approximately 11:15 p.m., superstar Cyndi Lauper will perform at this year's Panasonic New Year's Eve Performance and Sing-A-Long, with three selections from her new CD, At Last. More than 500,000 New Year's Eve revelers are expected to join her in song as the lyrics are featured on giant Panasonic Astrovision Screens in Times Square.

Hi Gang,.........The Group UPSCALE PRODUCTION INC from NY recently had their Independence Queen Dance in Panama on Oct 31.2003, in which they honored several persons from the USA and the Class '63 PMA/USA was among the honorees.The plaque was received by *your truly* and I was truly honored to accept it in behalf of our class.,...*Unity forever*,....Attached are photos of the presentation and a few members of the class who were able to attend.

God Bless.
Bas

HOW IT ALL STARTED!

1973 was the year of our first class reunion after ten years of graduating from Paraiso Junior Senior High School in the former Canal Zone.

The plans for this specific event started approximately two years prior to the date, to raise funds for a successful reunion. December of 1973 was the big memorable event with a whole week of planned activities and when it was all over, our organizing committee met to decide on what to do with the sizable sum that still remained after the excitement, activities and the expenses were over.

Hence the birth of PHS Class'63, as you now know us

Not thinking of ourselves, it was unanimously decided to donate the funds to some group, organization, or persons in need.

Of all the suggestions for assistance that was brought in, one specific find stood out among the others that we considered to be most deserving and needed immediate assistance "since yesteryear".

Our group decided to visit and donate the funds to Miss Brown Old Folks Home in Rio Abajo. While visiting the home we viewed the poor condition of the dwelling and the conditions that this courageous and dedicated little woman was living and going through to care for the elderly and sick persons she had there. There was not a dry eye among us as we witness, shared and departed.

Base on the facts we'd seen there, our group decided to commit our future purpose to Miss Brown Old Folks Home and adopted her so to speak.

She became affectionately known to us as MISS CATHY and would look forward to seeing us all the time.

Now how would we meet this adopted challenge? We'd asked. Their needs went much beyond our physical presence there.

So we started a drive to have fund raising activities and established goals with the proceeds to go to a charity, MISS BROWN OLD FOLKS HOME, to meet the needs the best we could.

Throughout the year, we'd pay dues, have picnics, pay parties, raffles, bingos, dances, food sales, you name it, to raise funds to meet our commitments and we also had, and provided fun in doing it that we then became know as a "Fun Group" , the group to be with.

As we met our commitments to Miss Cathy and the home, we also realized that we weren't alone in these efforts. The supporters of all our activities played the biggest role.

Our group decided to acknowledge that support by having a yearly party in reminisce of our memorable December '73 reunion on New Year's Eve and have them as guest in appreciation.

Presto!, Our yearly New Year's Eve Party was born which eventually evolved into the actual, Class'63 Annual New Year's Eve Ball.

A few short years after our first class reunion, the members of our graduating class living in the USA got together to form the extension of the Class '63 NY Chapter and has followed the same guidelines in giving a sizable donation yearly to MISS BROWN'S OLD FOLK'S HOME among many other charitable works in the USA. The Class ' 63 has extended our charitable donations to other recipients such as in local disasters, drug rehabilitation centers and many other persons in needs and we feels very comfortable, with deep sense of achievement and pride in doing so without publicity.

The Class ' 63 has been/still is and will remain a nonprofit organization in which all proceeds from our activities goes to charitable donations and we sincerely want to thank all who has supported and attended our activities for helping us to do so.

Proud to be of the Class of '63.
B. M. Wilkinson
President
Class'63
Panama Chapter.
October 9,2003

Panama Trip, 9-2003 -CLASS OF '52

I was in Panama 3 years ago, and again 3 weeks ago with the BHS group. This trip was 10 days. However, because I had to be home for the Bar Mitzvah of my grandson, I only stayed 4 days. The first day and a half I was alone, hired a driver, and made tracks all over the Pacific side. There was a marked difference in the state of things from the last time I was there.

Panama is now asserting itself in the old CZ. They seem to know what they want, and are proceeding with their plan. There is major construction all over Balboa and Amador. At the start of the causeway there is a new exhibition hall where the Miss Universe Pageant was held, a new major hotel is under construction, and a promenade with restaurants. Three years ago that was a stalled project. Amador Beach is being rebuilt, with a new pool, shops, and restaurant. There is a new cruise ship terminal with upscale stores at the end of the causeway. It surpasses the one in St. Thomas. Seventy additional tour guides are needed for the coming cruise ship season, which starts soon. Land is being cleared in the area for more restaurants and a hotel. We stayed in the Country Inn on the banks of the Canal at the 15th Naval District. It's new and beautiful with a TGIF Friday. Three years ago that was a stalled construction project.

The fences around BHS are gone and the inside is pristine, clean, and polished. The building is a training center for Canal employees. The library is as beautiful as ever. The halls are full of exhibits of memorabilia from US days, including commissary books, dinnerware from the Tivoli Hotel, and portraits of all the Canal Governors. There's even a bench from one of the PRR train stations in the hall outside Mr. Hatchett's room. (Realizing that I am crossing generational lines here, I mean E.W. Hatchett, Sr.) On a nostalgic note, all that remains of the flag pole is the pedestal, which is surrounded by a memorial to those killed in the Flag Riots of 1964. Panama now has a Memorial Day (January 9, I believe) as a result. The dead are considered martyrs because Panamanians believe it was the flag riots that started the process of the US relinquishing the Canal. Each pillar in the monument has a plaque with the name of one of the dead.

It was striking that my driver (whom I hired because I arrived a day ahead of the group) did not know where I meant when I told him to take me to the Prado. It is now named for Roberto Chiari. He had to think about where Balboa High School is/was. The fact is, most Panamanians spent little or no time in the Zone. It was another country for them. Now that it is theirs, all the names have been changed, and the days under the Americans are almost to them what the days of the French were to us. They neither doubt nor deny that Americans built the Canal, but that was then and this is now. It's a new day and a new era.

If you hurry you can still buy the Balboa Club House. It's for sale. The theater is being used and remains classy. They need to fix the sign, though, as its missing letters. The clubhouse and dispensary are the two eyesores in downtown Balboa. The dispensary is fenced, and the closed clubhouse is missing its second floor and is in disrepair. Someday they will remove the carcass of the stadium. The atrium of the grade school is landscaped and painted, as are all the houses on the Prado. Three years ago there were cracks around some of the buildings. No more!

Far Fan Beach is recognizable from a distance. Problem is, there is no beach. It has been removed by landfill and construction debris. But standby; two developers are bidding on the site and have all kinds of grandiose plans for it. Palo Seco is no longer a leper colony, but a home for old timers who simply don't want to move.

Gorgas Hospital is now part health clinic and part Panama Supreme Court. The security guard gave pause when he heard I was born in Gorgas. He then remembered that he had heard it was the American hospital.

A new bridge across the Canal is under construction at Paraiso. No one lives in any of the American houses on Barnaby Street, Balboa Road, or the Prado. Only those in Tavernilla St., Gavilan Area and Williamson Place are occupied. New construction has taken place on Carr St. and continues in the flats.

It appears that the concrete structures of the CZ will remain unaltered on the outside. The houses on the Prado are being used for offices. There doesn't appear to be a plan to sell or rent them. The last concrete structure in the Mechanical Division is presently being demolished. The dry-dock remains. Apparently the Panamanians have an appreciation for the beauty of the Prado, Balboa, and Gorgas Hospital.

I saw only 2 Americans other than our group: One was Nina Brown, an expatriate who came to greet us. The other was the administrator of the American Cemetery at Corozal who was on the job 2 weeks. The grave markers at Corozal are a trip through time, to say the least. The cemetery does not belong to the US, as is the case with other national cemeteries. The land is loaned to the US under the terms of the treaty. I believe it is probably one of the few places where the American flag flies in Panama other than at the embassy.

The train to Colon is unforgettable. It is modern, with hostesses in conductor uniforms. It leaves from a new station at Corozal. I'll never get used to the Balboa train station with a McDonalds and no tracks. I think the structure has a tenuous future at best. It is in the shadow of a highway overpass under construction. I would guess that all the buildings on that side of Roosevelt Avenue will someday be gone as the port expands.

Panama is making an effort to cater to tourists. When we visited the Old Sea Wall and Church of the Golden Alter, there was at all times a Panamanian cop on a bicycle about 10 feet behind us to make sure we had no problems.

Cristobal High School was an experience. We entered 2 classrooms as a group. In each case, the students stood, faced us, smiled and waved. They were in clean, trim uniforms, and certainly seemed happy to see us. Kids on the upper floor were looking over the balcony and also waving. If there was any anti-American sentiment, I did not detect it here or anywhere else on the trip. We were told that all public school students in Panama wear uniforms, no long ha ir or inappropriate attire. I think the names Cristobal High School and Balboa High School are now only ghosts of the past to the Panamanians. The kids we saw have no ties to them. They don't hear the echoes I heard in the hallways.

Balboa Theater is still elegant. When I entered, the lights were on and the stage was set up for a concert. I expected to see the BHS orchestra and Mr. Branstetter enter from the wings. The reason for the equipment was a concert the night before by the Chinese School. However, I never saw a Chinese on this trip or on my trip 3 years ago. There is, however, a big new Chinese school.

There is a huge monument to Arnulfo Arias across the street from the YMCA. It is on the spot where the Balboa Police Station once stood. No one seems to know the significance of the figures. The present President was Arnulfo's wife.

We went to Gatun Locks, where, from the observation tower, we watched the lockage of the Carnival Pride, a huge passenger liner. People on the ship were only feet away and were talking to us. They were surprised when we told them we were Americans. When they heard we were on a reunion, they couldn't figure it out, but we explained that we were a remnant of the days when the US ran the Canal. I think they figured they were seeing a little bit of Panama Canal history.

The Gamboa Rain Forest is well worth the trip. The view from the 90-foot-high tower is spectacular. The hotel is as posh as anything in the US and the tram could have been a Disneyland "E" ticket ride when there were "E" tickets..

Americans such as we are like dinosaurs to the Panamanians. They have less than no idea of how things were in the Zone, and don't really care. It is their country, and they are going build it to their best advantage. It is my opinion that Panama is on the way to great success if it stays the course. They are doing this without the Americans and seem to be doing it well. I believe that five years from now it will be hard to recognize the Zone we knew. I had trouble finding even minor remembrances.

I think that all the concrete buildings in downtown Balboa will survive; that is, the Prado, the Admin, Barnaby Street, Balboa Road and Tavernilla Street. Everything else is in question. The rule seems to be that if it's wood, it's gone or going. The women's bachelor quarters on Balboa Road survives for now and is used as a maritime school, and there are some 12-family quarters still standing in Williamson Place. There are probably plans for the clubhouse and dispensary in Balboa. A multi-story bank building is under construction on the site of the Balboa commissary annex at Balboa Road and Roosevelt Ave. That seems like an unlikely location, but there is probably a master plan to make other changes so that it will fit in.

The houses at Albrook have been sold and are being remodeled into mansions in some cases. There are new houses being built in the Balboa flats. You get the feeling that the whole place is on the move. I was told that the economy is ok, but I don't know where the investment is coming from to make all the changes.

There is an election coming and political signs and banners were everywhere in Panama City. The betting is that the president will be replaced. More important, free speech and democracy seem to prevail.

The part of the trip I was on was highly successful. The accommodations, food and arrangements were excellent. There were no glitches. Davis Stevenson did an outstanding job.

Irwin Frank, BHS '52 October 1, 2003

Hi,

Since the arrival of our ambassador to Panama at the beginning of the year, the Honorable Linda Watt has crisscrossed this country getting to know the people, the different cultures, attending different functions that the government of Panama holds and giving speeches.

Back in April, she was up in Chitre, Herrera, at the International Fair of Azuero and spoke about the discussions and dialogs between the US and Panama in reference to the Free Trade Treaty. She addressed the concerns of the subsidized products that the producers were worried about, but she also told them of the initiative of the Caribbean Basin where agricultural products of Panama enter the US market without paying import duties. She also added that the diplomatic relations with Panama were classified as excellent. (The majority of this stuff comes out of La Prensa with other information coming from the press release out of the Embassy and off the TV.)

Then in September, she gives a speech at Ft Sherman when the US Government, through the US Embassy, turns over six rebuilt "Eduardono" style fast boats to the National Maritime Service (SMN), that will be used to patrol the waters around Panama. There were be a total of 10 rebuilt patrol boats (though the article in La Prensa stated 16) that were seized during anti-drug operations and will sport twin 200 HP outboards, radar, GPS, and other improvements.

Linda Watt reiterated that the US will continue in its fight against terrorism and that these boats will help Panama combat the international drug traffic.

At the end of September, she gives a speech, in Spanish, at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture of Panama where her topic is "Towards a Democratic Culture". Her core elements were; An open dialog between government and open society, including the business sectors; Public administration that is fair, transparent, and professional; Judicial security and rule of law.

Her opening question to the audience was: Which would be the best way to assure that Panama develops its potential and encourage its democratic society?, or ¿Cuál sería la mejor manera de asegurar que Panamá desarrolle su potencial y fomente su sociedad democrático?
She mentions the up coming elections, relations with governability, frustration in what Panama is and what it could be, her trips throughout the country, her opportunity to appreciate the capacity of the Panamanian and that she has the confidence in that this capacity will help it towards its success. Her speech is fairly long and can be seen, in Spanish, no translation, at the American Embassy web page. She made reference to the "World Competitiveness Report" where 80 countries are compared where it takes into account the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in world commerce. Out of 80, Panama falls in at 50. On the plus side, some advantages identified with Panama are its low inflation (No 15), a sophisticated financial system (No 22), and solid banking (No 20).
But in other categories, Panama's classification in public confidence of the politicians is low at No 72, favoritism in government decisions (No 69), and frequency of brides (No 75). These characteristics are identified by experts in international commerce and translate to millions of dollars in investments and creation of jobs. She mentioned the phrase by Abraham Lincoln "of the people, by the people, and for the people" as she touched on governability being the responsibility of all, in any government and in any place. She acknowledged the work of CIVITAS and the United Nation's Program for Development.

Then she went into the subject of transparency and equal treatment, basic elements of good government. I'm going to try and translate this one paragraph as best as possible.
"All voters should demand, first of its candidates and later of its elected public officials, a performance of model citizens that comply with the laws and respect ethics. If those leaders violate the ethical morns, they should not be elected, much less re-elected. In this sense, it bothers me a lot the parliamentary immunity. It is a concept that harms the democratic system because it establishes that certain people are above the law. This also destroys the confidence that the citizen should have in their political leaders. This immunity converts inevitably in freedom from punishment (impunity) of the legislators, and the public has demanded a change. I applaud the initiative of Jacobo Salas to dignify the actions of the Legislative Assembly and sanction the faults (or failures) of its officials, for example, of removing salaries (or maybe not paying the salaries) of the legislators that do not carry out their duties."
She continues with dishonesty, corruption, and bribery and follows that with Transparency being the answer to corruption. Panama does have a Law of Transparency but the "gag laws" (leyes mordaza) have a negative effect in public debates and the public does have the right to know what is going on through the media. She adds that many government positions are subject to change of personnel as the government changes and that the stability and neutrality of the state leaves a web of doubt and that in 2004, there will be another change of competent and dedicated public officials that will lose their positions when the new government names new people. A positive step she mentions is Law 9 of 1994 towards a stable administrative system. She gives two examples of government entities that are models in results in investments in training and education, as in the Panama Canal Authority, and recognized internationally for its transparency, professionalism and respect for the law, as in the Tribunal Electoral.
Ambassador Watt continues her speech with her 3rd sub topic reference Panama's Judicial security and rule of law where she has seen positive signs but they haven't gone far enough. She concludes with democracy not being a destination, but a process and how the United States has not reached the final step of perfection, how her objective was not to compare Panama with other countries but to compare where Panama is today and what it could be. She was not directing herself to any political party, no individual, nor administration. The U.S. will continue to collaborate with Panama in its search to a better road.

As I said, her speech was long and it was hard to put it in a nutshell and I'm sure I missed some points and as I shorten it, it may have lost some of its punch.

She finished her speech and those government officials that were present, as well as those participants, and that had other places to go, spread the word of her speech and what a can of worms that opened up. Our ambassador was said to have interfered with the internal affairs of the country. Members of the Legislative Assembly, President Moscoso, and other political figures hit the newspapers and TV debate segments and interviews to express their concerns over the ambassador's remarks. Our ambassador had left the following day after her speech to attend Panama Week in Washington D.C. and they would have to wait for her return. Her speech was cleared by the U.S. State Department prior to her giving it and they stood by her statements.

As the debate hit the streets and the media, the politicians were trying to counter her remarks by calling her interference and answering questions if her remarks were true and more or less confirmed what has been known. Strange to see these people agree with what she said but still insisting she was interfering with the internal politics of the country. Still, the President wanted an explanation to her inappropriate statements, as did the Chancellor's Office and when Ambassador Watt returned to Panama, she headed to see Harmodio Arias, at the Chancellor's Office. They emerge smiling in front of the news media that had gathered at the base of the stairs up at old Bldg. 88 Q.H. now Ministry of Foreign Relation, and explained that the relations between both countries were excellent and special. After the three hour meeting, Ambassador Watt stated that they talked about the positive aspects of her discourse and that they were well balanced. Our ambassador even stated that in the U.S. there is still corruption.
The local chapter of Transparency International found Panama's level of percieved corruption 3.4 in a scale of 10 and at 66 in the list of 133 countries with Finland the least at 9.7 and Bangladesh the most corrupt at 1.3. In 2001, when the first survey was done, Panama had a 3.7 percent and in 2002, a 3.0 percent.
The political opposition to the Mireya government had a field day with the ambassador's remarks and added that her government has been a grand deception during the last four years. Besides the perception of a corrupt government, there are claims that 40% of the population is now poor and that 26 % suffers from extreme poverty, and that she has not been able to complete any of her promises. Guillermo Endara, one of her political opponents, did say that with all her negatives, there were some positive aspects of the government. Jose Miguel Aleman, candidate for president of the Arnulfista Party, came out with some of the accomplishments of the present government such as; benefits in the rural areas, increases in the tariffs, granting 25,000 property titles, increasing the number of sustainable farms from 13 to 320, electrical grids to different parts of the country from 24 to 500 and water mains from 48 to 500, and that this government has invested more money in sectors such as education and housing than the past government.

So, we heard what the politicians and officials in high places had to say. What about the general public. La Prensa requested a survey taken by LatiNetwork Dichter & Neira, as they asked 1,226 adults across the territory, except those in Darien and San Blas. Of those people asked, 19.3 % answered that they thought the Legislative Branch of the Government was good to excellent. A good portion of the Panamanian people, some 72.1 % were in agreement with what Ambassador Watt said and 20.4% were in disagreement. Of those surveyed, 56% thought the US diplomat was within her rights to give those opinions, whereas 35.3% had the contrary opinion. When asked about the immunity of the legislators, the perception was not favorable as 66.3% thought it bad to really bad (entre "mala "y "muy mala").

It seems our ambassador had faired the criticism well.

The American Community, as well as other communities, was invited to participate in the parade set for the 4th of November to help Panama commemorate its 100 years from the separation of Colombia. It doesn't look like someone is going to grab to bull by the horns on this one as it will also cost $5,000 to put a float or truck in. Rita Sosa is still trying to rasie funds to complete the $40,000 each community was to come up with to be recognized at the Plaza de la Cultura y Ethica on Amador and is about $17,000 short. I've got a few photos of that event and well post them later.

Take Care,
Art

Irwin Frank, BHS '52 October 1, 2003