Attending the Wounaan Congress in Panama

Christine Halvorson
RF-US Program Director

On January 27 – 30, the Wounaan held their National Congress in the community of Cémaco, in the Darién Province of Panama. They hold a Congress – a big gathering of representatives from all of the Wounaan communities across Panama – every two years or so, and this was their tenth. About 400 people attended, coming by truck, bus and boat. For the three days of the meeting, they discussed the priorities in each community, as well as broader issues such as land, health, and education. While most of the conversation was in Woumeu, their own language (of which I can understand “thank you” and “ok, got it,” which don’t go far), as far as I could understand, most of it focused on land rights. Many of the people who spoke complained about invasions of their lands, especially communities located outside the comarcas see the project we’re supporting for more information.

The village of Cémaco lies in the Darién, on the Pacific coast of Panama. There are no roads there, so you have to take a boat from Puerto Quimba, near the Panamerican Highway. And you have to arrive – and leave – at high tide, due to the long mud flats at low tide. Our timing was a bit off, so we had to slog through the mud both ways, on the return pulling heavy boats across the flats into deeper water. Once you arrive, though, there’s a clear path into Cémaco, which is set among forested hills. Cémaco is a community of about 300 people, with traditional thatched houses set on stilts. They hosted all of the Congress participants, so the village was constantly abuzz. Especially in the evenings, after the meetings were over, and there were traditional dance competitions and accordion playing through the night.