30th Anniversary Torrijos-Carter Panama Canal Treaty

The 30th Anniversary of the 2nd Panama Canal Treaty, the Torrijos-Carter Treaty, was celebrated today Monday September 3, 2007. It was also the ‘first blast’ signaling the inauguration of the Panama Canal Expansion project. For me, it was an historic moment that quickly became familiar. Something had to happen…

We arrived at Paraiso 8.30am for an event scheduled to start at 11:00am. School was out for the day, and all government workers got a holiday to participate in this grand 30th anniversary celebration and the start of a new day for the canal.

This is a section of the growing crowd and a view of the hill at Paraiso that would be demolished in order to facilitate the widening of the canal in Panama for larger vessels to transit.

While we waited, we saw a Maersk Sealand vessel which would be the last cargo ship to transit the Canal before the expansion work kicked off. You can see a section of the crowd that I was crazy brave enough to get into.

Former US President Jimmy Carter, who signed the original Treaty 30 years ago was among several heads of government present for the occasion. President Carter brought brief greetings in Spanish no less. Panama’s President Martin Torrijos, son of late President Omar Torrijos (who also signed the 2nd Treaty of the Panama Canal) gave a short cheer-rousing speech. He then hit the switch triggering off the explosives in the hillside. This was the official ‘first blast’ inaugurating the US$5 billion expansion of the Panama Canal. The project is slated for completion around 2014.

Panama Canal Expansion Blast Off
The ‘first blast’ of the hillside at Paraiso. I thought the whole hill was going to be demolished. Oh well…

In this picture you are see an immediate blast of water that formed a wall to prevent the dirt from the hillside reaching us.

The pride in the voices of thousands of Panamanians shouting ‘Viva Panama! gave me goosebumps. This was indeed a historic moment. I stood on the shores of Paraiso remembering that thousands of Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals worked and died building this engineering wonder of the world. Now I was witnessing the start of a new era. I wonder how many more will die……

I heard in the shouts….this canal is ours! But is it? I couldn’t help but recall the stories I have heard about the debate concerning ownership of the canal. Is this Panama’s Canal or is it the Canal of the United States of America located in Panama?

This guy, Robert DeVere Bunn in The Panama Canal Treaty: Its Illegality and Consequential Impacts seem to have an opinion on the matter.

What do you think?

History Goes Awry
And as the red, white and blue balloons rose with the shouts in the air, the sky opened up. Not to receive the balloons but to send down showers of blessing upon thousands of celebrants. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. My warm historic haze was quickly soaked. I did not remember why a sensible woman like me was standing on the shores of Paraiso in the middle of nowhere with one small umbrella to share with my member who accompanied me and a portable chair on my back.

After walking about a mile from where we were to the Paraiso Baptist church trying to find a bus that was going our way – I did not think this was a ‘blast’. At all. We finally found an obliging bus driver who agreed to take us on board. After prayerfully thanking God for this kind man, we discovered that we were on the bus transporting the workers from the Lotteria (Lottery).

You’re crazier than I am if you think I got off that bus and back into the freezing rain. Lotteria or no Lotteria we sat right there, silently choking back laughter!

After 1 hour in the same spot, our bus driver headed in the opposite direction onto the highway. Finally we arrived in another section of Panama City with the sun out in full force, our clothing soaked down to our unmentionables, people staring and stepping a little bit away from us. What did I tell you. Something had to happen….

Viva Panama!
Marvia

* Thanks to Felicia Gittens who shared the last 3 photos of the Panama Canal Treaty celebrations with me.