Life in Panama‘s Canal Zone: A Tale of Privilege, Racism and Segregation
For nearly a century, living near the Panama Canal was akin to enjoying certain privileges, especially if you were American. Locals were known as "zonies", but there was a clear hierarchy: Americans enjoyed higher salaries and luxuries that weren’t extended to Panamanians.
The Panama Canal Zone, a colony of the United States established in 1903, covered 1,380 sq km along the canal. Americans received generous benefits, including subsidized housing, long vacations, well-stocked commissaries, and friendly staff.
The canal was the world’s greatest engineering marvel, and Americans took pride in maintaining it. They created a thriving community with a distinct identity, separate from both Panama and the US. It had its own schools, libraries, sports teams, and social clubs.
But this " Edén" was built on a history of division and inequality. Segregation was etched into its core. Americans had modern facilities and services, while those in the "silver" category, mostly workers from the Caribbean and the UK, had inferior accommodations and amenities.
The end of segregation in schools and the US Civil Rights Act weren’t implemented until the 1970s. Yvette Modestín, a Panamanian who grew up in the Zone, recalls being the first black cheerleader at Cristóbal High School after desegregation. Yet, she didn’t feel any resentment. "We knew we couldn’t have what the white community had, but we didn’t want it," she says.
Life outside the Zone was starkly different. Panamanians resented the special treatment Americans received. The 1964 riots, which left 25 dead, exemplified this tension.
In 1999, control of the canal was handed back to Panama. Most Americans returned home, leaving behind a desolate Zone. Erster Kunkel, who was born in 1976, remembers the sudden exodus. "Of a sudden, everyone was gone. It was clear that everything had changed and there was no going back," he says.
Yet, Panama left its mark on the zonie returnees. Every year, hundreds attend reunions in Tampa, Florida. Although they yearn for the tropical climate and laid-back lifestyle they left behind, they’ve adjusted to life back in the US.
Panama’s Canal Zone was more than just an operational area; it was a testament to the ability of humans to achieve great feats and a microcosm of the complex dynamics between races and nations. Its legacy lives on in the stories of those who called it home.
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