United Nations and Peace Boat
Panama | Editorial
Photography | Video
Panamá | Emberá Querá
Having faced discrimination in the city of Colón in Panama, a group of Emberá Querá people decided to move outside the city and organize their own community around their native language and traditions. They seek economic independence to ensure the longevity/sustainability of both their culture and the natural world they inhabit. This photo was taken on the way back from their village, a journey punctuated by both moments of laughter and silence.
— Medicine, art and a form of remembrance —
Ink making from jagua fruit
Panamá | Kuna Yala
As an autonomous community established outside of their original *comarca, this particular group of mostly Kuna women shared the challenges and steps taken to preserve their cultural heritage while developing their own community in the outskirts of Panama City.
Historically, the Kuna indigenous community has been marginalized within Panama, and as a collective they currently face many challenges in improving the living conditions of their population.
*comarca: a territorial subdivision of a state for the indigenous communities in Panama
At the community house called “Casa Comunal Dagargunyala”, members of the Kuna shared the women’s hand-woven selection of clothing and artwork. They are very intentional about sharing with visitors the depths of the origins of the Kuna indigenous peoples and the importance of maintaining their traditional culture despite common challenges to conform to the current city life in Panama.
For the Kuna/Guna people in Panama, the first albino or ilamagún -in their language- was sent to them by the gods. From there on, all the ilamagún that came after were known as children of the moon and they held a special place in their society. However, just like many other albino populations in the world, particularly in parts of the continent of Africa, albino members of the Guna historically suffered extreme discrimination, prosecution and even death. This was mostly because at some point in history their condition was mistakenly associated with the blood of many of the White Europeans who violently arrived in their region years back. Although traditional beliefs were re-established and infanticide stopped years ago, today one the biggest challenges faced by albino individuals is skin cancer. The strong embrace of the loving tropical sun is not kind to their skin and eyes, thus more efforts are needed in helping prevent such cancer.
“In 2015, 193 UN member states came together to define 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to shape the global agenda for sustainable development in the next fifteen years and beyond. Achieving the SDGs requires mobilization of young people through entrepreneurship, volunteering, research, education and other endeavors.”
-United Nations
“On every Global Voyage, Peace Boat aims to provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the indigenous people and culture of the countries we visit and have a better historical understanding of their way of life and the impacts of colonization. Moreover, given the challenges of the 21st century, such as rapid depletion of natural resources and an increased dependence on electricity, it is our hope that through these activities, youth will feel inspired by indigenous traditional knowledge.”
-Peace Boat
