Visiting the Pamaka Community

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am working for UNDP in the Suriname country office. UNDP streamlines its projects in Suriname through three main portfolios: (i) governance; (ii) social protection; (iii) environment. I have been mainly working in the governance portfolio, engaging actively with the government, who is the main partner. 

However, when I first landed in Suriname, I knew that I wanted to make the most out of my internship. I wanted to take these 12 weeks to learn as much as possible and to understand the different work the UN does in the field. For this reason, I was very active trying to gain exposure with my other colleagues and convincing them to take me to field missions. Thanks to their kindness and their support, I was able to go with the environment and social protection officers to a field mission in Langatabiki to meet with the traditional authority of the Pamaka Community. 

Short Overview of the Pamaka People 

The Pamaka people are from the Aukan Tribe, which is one of the six maroon tribes in Suriname. They are descendants of African slaves brought to Suriname to work in the Dutch plantations who escaped from the cruel conditions in the Dutch plantations. The eloped slaves created their  their own society, culture and language in the jungle of Suriname: 

The main village of the Pamaka people is Langatabiki, which is the residence of the granman (the paramount chief). There are a total of 13 villages where Pamaka people live including a village in the neighboring French Guiana. 

The authority of the Pamaka people is comprised of the Paramount Chief, four head captains, captains, head bassia’s and the village elders. 

The Field Mission 

This mission was done under the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA). NAMA is a policy action plan created with the support of UNDP and the Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP). The overall purpose of NAMA is to contribute in combating the effects of climate change through mitigating GHG-emissions from fossil fuel burning, as well as to contribute to sustainable development benefits such as poverty alleviation, access to clean and sustainable energy and income generation through the establishment of renewable energy electrification solutions in in rural Suriname.

UNDP interventions under the NAMA intends to provide clean energy to the rural areas of Suriname, where most of the maroon communities live. The purpose of the mission was to request the community’s consent to conduct studies that will allow UNDP and the government to gain sufficient inputs to design and potentially implement a project as part of the NAMA. 

Together with the Minister of Natural resources and his team, UNDP met with the Traditional Authority. The meeting lasted about two hours and it was held in the traditional Paramaccan language, a dialect of Aukan. 

Although I did not understand anything, UNDP officers understood the language so they translated the meeting for me. What struck me the most was how the meeting was held. Everyone was sitting in a table and every time one of members of the Traditional Authority spoke another member would say a word in confirmation of what had just been said. Moreover, they explained to me that they do not speak directly to a person, rather they use indirect communication referring to the person who is being addressed in the third person. 

I have no words to describe how incredible this experience was. It was a truly a wonderful and unique experience that I will never forget.