Nine Degrees North is the approximate latitiude at which Panama is found. Panama runs basically east to west rather than north to south as a lot of people who have never been here believe, and when the isthmus is shown with the Ninth Parallel, it kind of looks like a somewhat deformed shrimp skewered for grilling on the barbecue, with 9°N representing the skewer. (Here in Panama, as hardcore fans of the 1960s ABC- TV "Batman" show will surely recall, it's possible to see the sun come up over the Pacific Ocean and go down over the Atlantic, or more properly speaking, the Caribbean Sea.)

This book, a diverse sampling of six years of articles, photos and cartoons about many facets of Panama's existence, has received some good reviews, in such an odd assortment of publications as The Washington Times, La Prensa and The Lonely Planet Guide to Panama.

You can order "9°N" by sending a check for $25 (which includes the price of the book and postage), made out to Eric Jackson, to:

Teddy Roosevelt’s church ~ Bus ride through Hell ~ Puerto Caimito kids ~ City floods ~ Gold miners ~ Prison riot ~ Ngöbe land claims ~ Historic restoration ~ Vernacular architecture ~ Political prisoner ~ Colombian invaders ~ Fallen heroes ~ Sharp real estate practices ~ Obnoxious developer ~ Socialized medicine ~ Historical absolution ~ Globalized bribery ~ Guns for food

Labor militants ~ Street poet ~ Embera anthem ~ Wild women in office ~ Garvey’s legacy ~ Pastry chef ~ SAMAAP ~ Parties ~ Olympics ~ Missionaries ~ Sci fi ~ Rural school ~ Scamsters ~ Retiree’s lament ~ China policy ~ More Colombian invaders ~ Murder trial ~ Vice-presidential getaway ~ Olivia holds out

Her Excellency ~ Blades campaign ~ Fake doctor ~ Mayín strikes back ~ Toro’s win ~ Foreign influences ~ Street battles ~ Ministers’ greed ~ Ka-BOOM! ~ Colon’s complaint ~ Toro’s loss ~ Mayín struck back ~ Mireya’s win ~ Lame ducks ~ Fraudito’s exit ~ Student radicals ~ Influence rules ~ Immigration man ~ Feuds

Port dog ~ Pilot death ~ Street bust ~ Gangland hit ~ Legal drug ~ Toxic balance ~ Vacant premises

Firing ranges ~ Bases talks ~ Jungle warfare ~ UXO mess ~ Skipping out on the bill ~ Tsuu T’ina ~ Latin American skeptics ~ DU ~ Unethical tests ~ Winning hearts and minds ~ Reversion ~ Conversion

Ports ~ Political shifts ~ Dams ~ Transition ~ Horror ~ Terror ~ Contraband ~ Gene pirates ~ Cash wash ~ Regional cuisines ~ Campus riots ~ Ghouls ~ Kuna Nega ~ Place names ~ Red devils ~ Strange signs ~ Toxic tourism ~ Chef Willy ~ Bank secrecy

Hillary’s visit ~ Panamanian English ~ Ethics ~ Information control ~ Strike coverage ~ Pols vs. press ~ Necro-porn ~ Betrayal ~ Abuse ~ Anti-press law

Surfing ~ Effigies ~ Carnival ~ Theater ~ Boxing ~ Linehandlers ~ Mariano ~ Cayuco race ~ Fishing ~ American football ~ Lissette ~ Jazz ~ Tuira ~ Lord Cobra ~ TV ~ Prostitution

In the book reference was made to an article that was later removed in the editing process, but the reference was not also removed. This was an annoying little error, as are ALL errors, but it provides us the opportunity to include "the missing article," an historical piece which appeared on our science page, here:

June 1999

At the June 25 anti-discrimination forum sponsored by the Society of Friends of the Afro-Antillean Museum of Panama (SAMAAP), noted Panamanian surgeon and pathologist Dr. Gil A. Sánchez spoke and fielded questions about his review of more than 4,000 Canal Zone autopsy reports from the canal construction years 1904 through 1914. He said that in several ways these records, along with contemporary Canal Zone death certificates for persons upon whom autopsies were not performed, and medical history manuscripts, document that era's discrimination between Gold Roll (white US citizens) and Silver Roll (all other races and nationalities) employees.

In a lecture entitled "The men of ebony and the canal's construction: medicine at the turn of the century and how it cost the lives of Afro-Antillean workers," Sánchez said that the causes of death clearly showed that black workers got the most dangerous jobs. Even taking into account that the Silver Roll accounted for some five-sixths of the work force that built the canal, he said this is indicated by the presence of very few whites among those who died in accidental explosions, landslides and railroad accidents.

Sánchez noted that while the Canal Zone authorities usually did not perform autopsies when West Indian women died, the death certificates clearly show high rates of childbirthing deaths associated with the lack of obstetrical and gynecological care. "In the American canal construction era the quality of medical care that Americans and others received was very different," he added.

The pathologist called for further historical and medical research on the living conditions in black Canal Zone households, to learn the reason for their high tuberculosis rates. "Environmental factors in the homes of that time must have played a part," he opined.

On the other hand, Dr. Sánchez noted that many infectious diseases were not so discriminatory. "White Canal Zone police officers died just the same as black ditchdiggers," he said. He did not reach any definite conclusions on the controversy about whether blacks tend to have more immunity to malaria and other tropical diseases than to whites, but said that the autopsy reports indicated that black cadavers had more parasites than white ones. "Despite the reputation, blacks were very susceptible to malaria," he said.

The physician draws certain social and political conclusions from his inquiry. He laments the way that the canal's history is taught in Panamanian public schools, the lack of recognition for the black majority of canal construction workers and the way that some writers treat Afro-Antilleans only as victims, rather than as a community with all its joys, sorrows and complexities.

Most of all, Dr. Sánchez points to the sacrifices indicated in the medical record: "West Indians were 80 percent of the canal construction work force, and by their labor they earned a place in Panamanian society."