letters

Nice paper!! I just got back from a visit to Panama City and Contadora and I'm planning to buy property in your lovely country.

I have a suggestion that should increase readers: Please provide email notification, with a link, each time a new issue comes out. That way, readers can just click on the link and go right to the current edition.

Many busy business people like myself forget to check for new editions of their favorite publications.

An email reminder with an easy link solves this problem.

Gary Doherty

Far be it from me to defend US immigration procedures, or to argue that US immigration and customs officers are endowed with an excess of courtesy, so I found much to agree with in Ms. Paredes's article on her experience in Miami.

On the other hand, I question the relevance of certain observations: "...a swarthy officer, with notable Hindu features and a Muslim name, asked me without any courtesy, in a cold and striking way, the purpose of my visit to the United States."

What does the author's "swarthiness" have to do with his intelligence, competence, courtesy, or lack thereof? What are "Hindu features"? How, pray, could your correspondent divine the gentleman's religion from his face --- or was she guessing because he was obviously not what in Panama is called a rabiblanco --- and how does she reconcile his "Hindu features" with a "Moslem name"? Was the writer, perhaps, offended by the fact that her examiner was a "swarthy" untermensch who was very likely not a Christian, ¡sopla Dios!?

It appears to this reader that perhaps a certain cultural insensitivity on both sides might have colored the transaction.

David M. Fishlow
Washington DC and Volcan
(Blotchy, fair complection, Slavic features, Jewish name, religion private!)

It is with great regret that we announce the passing of Reverend Ricardo Alleyne from the Templo Calvario in Colon, Republic of Panama. Reverend Alleyne did great works for the city of Colon. You can read more on our website, http://www.pajacam.org. Mrs. Patricia Muir, event coordinator, has traveled to Panama to represent PAJACAM and made a presentation to the Templo Calvario in memory of the late Reverend Ricardo Alleyne, RIP.

PAJACAM extends its sincere condolences to his wife Mrs. Marva Alleyne, to his children and to the entire congregation on his loss. We are sure that the entire city of Colon will miss him. Let us pray for faith and blessed salvation for the Alleyne family and the Templo Calvario congregation.

PAJACAM, Inc.
Friends of the Bella Vista Girls Home
224-21 Merrick Boulevard, PMB 1090
Laurelton, NY 11413-2024
Email: contact@pajacam.org
President Selwyn D. King 516-483-4694
VP Lilias M. Edwards-Douglas 718-773-7562

I love it! I love it! I love it! What a beautifully expressed shout of frustration and revenge from the blue morphus! Way to go, Diego! Don't stop writing!

Pat Alvarado

Congratulations on the 10th anniversary of The Panama News, Eric. I wish you many more years of journalistic successes, in your own bold, courageous, and ethical way. The Panama News brings its readers a point of view unequal in the Panamanian press.

You're right when you describe the unfavorable way in which Panama is seen in the United States, but maybe the Panamanian media has something to do with that. There's a TV channel here dedicated to Central American countries: CENTROAMERICA TV. Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, take advantage of this channel to promote tourism in the area and feature the arts and culture of their countries in a pleasing way. Last night I caught a program from Panama, titled LA CASCARA. As a native Panamanian, I felt insulted by the program. It showed the Panamanian man as a lout who lacks manners; as an idiot who doesn't know how to speak the Spanish language; as a vulgar street tug whose only interests are to ogle women, outdo his friends and neighbors when it comes to guzzling alcohol and mouthing vulgarities. It even had a segment when drunken young men vomited on camera and lay on the street passed out. "El Panameño" flashed on the screen while this was going on. The two women who appeared in the program didn't fare any better. They may have been picked from the bottom of the barrel. The script lacked imagination and creativity. I stayed with the program to see where it was produced and because I was stunned at what I was seeing. When the credits confirmed that it came from Panama, I wanted to throw up! If that is what the media chooses to film and export, what other reaction can be expected from the viewer?

It hurts to think that, en mis tiempos, Panama was considered one of the most economically and culturally advanced countries in Latin America and now it has managed to sink low enough to export garbage such as LA CASCARA. I know this program doesn't represent the people of Panama and I wonder about the mentality that considers it appropriate in any respect.

As for the Panamanian government, I wonder how long it will take for it to catch up and become efficient. Snail mail sent to Panama is really the slowest to reach its destination. Even e-mail sent to a government agency, doesn't get a response. I contacted the General Management of IPAT via e-mail a couple of weeks ago with a very simple question and have yet to receive a response of any sort.

Stay well, Eric, we expatriates rely on your reports to give us the unbiased and serious news.

Olga Essex

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