Indigenous People, the Poorest in Panama
Panama, Aug 10 (Prensa Latina) The Panamanian indigenous people have no reason to celebrate their international day, because they have the worst poverty rates in the country, according to La Prensa daily.
The newspaper report published this weekend also said that since the date established by the United Nations in 1994 to draw attention to aboriginal people, sociologists and human rights entities have spoken in a pessimistic tone about their situation.
It has been estimated that 300,000 people in Panama belong to the seven local ethnic groups: the ng be, bugle, bri bri and naso, in the western region, and kuna yala, embera and wounaan, in the eastern part of the country.
All of them experience a common reality: 98.5 percent live in poverty and 89.7 percent in abject poverty, said the daily, which quoted the Government Standard of Living Survey, published in 2005.
To Psychologist and Panama's University Professor Marcos Gandasegui, the country has taken a significant step, regarding recognition of the indigenous people, especially in the last two years of the 20th century.
Gandasegui referred to the creation of regional territories, which he said have been good to keep traditions and, at the very best, their languages, the newspaper said.
However, those territories they obtained are now transferred to transnational companies for hydroelectric, mining or tourist projects, he said.
Social Development Ministry Social Policy Director Rubiel Cajar recognized that in the regions a development strategy that respects these people's idiosyncrasy was necessary.
There is a whole spectrum of activities that can be developed in the indigenous areas that will not affect necessarily the environment or their cultural characteristics, he said.
The government has developed social assistance programs I those indigenous areas, as Red de Opportunidades (Network of Opportunities), which hands over $50 monthly to the 56 poorest families in the nation.
Panama, Aug 10 (Prensa Latina) The Panamanian indigenous people have no reason to celebrate their international day, because they have the worst poverty rates in the country, according to La Prensa daily.
The newspaper report published this weekend also said that since the date established by the United Nations in 1994 to draw attention to aboriginal people, sociologists and human rights entities have spoken in a pessimistic tone about their situation.
It has been estimated that 300,000 people in Panama belong to the seven local ethnic groups: the ng be, bugle, bri bri and naso, in the western region, and kuna yala, embera and wounaan, in the eastern part of the country.
All of them experience a common reality: 98.5 percent live in poverty and 89.7 percent in abject poverty, said the daily, which quoted the Government Standard of Living Survey, published in 2005.
To Psychologist and Panama's University Professor Marcos Gandasegui, the country has taken a significant step, regarding recognition of the indigenous people, especially in the last two years of the 20th century.
Gandasegui referred to the creation of regional territories, which he said have been good to keep traditions and, at the very best, their languages, the newspaper said.
However, those territories they obtained are now transferred to transnational companies for hydroelectric, mining or tourist projects, he said.
Social Development Ministry Social Policy Director Rubiel Cajar recognized that in the regions a development strategy that respects these people's idiosyncrasy was necessary.
There is a whole spectrum of activities that can be developed in the indigenous areas that will not affect necessarily the environment or their cultural characteristics, he said.
The government has developed social assistance programs I those indigenous areas, as Red de Opportunidades (Network of Opportunities), which hands over $50 monthly to the 56 poorest families in the nation.
