[Noticias] On Being an "Ex-pat"

To the Expat community,

 

          Those of you who follow the local news will be aware of the case of the Spanish reporter Paco Gomez Nadal.  Those who do not follow the local news should be aware of the fate of his good intentions.

         

          There is nothing new in a government blaming ‘outside agitators’ for its own inside political problems. Mr. Gaddafi and Mr. Martinelli are currently sharing this vision. Mr. Gomez Nadal was found demonstrating against the current mining law alongside others in Panama. The easiest voice of protest to eliminate was his in that being a Spaniard, he could easily, and is, being deported. Silencing your own citizens is more difficult.

 

          I know that many expats often feel that their rights and privileges, or the rights of others in Panama,  often are being violated.  And they probably are, just as also happens in N. America and Europe on occasion. However, as much as we may all admire Boquete and feel that it is our home, one needs to bear in mind that we are ‘guests’, and , like Sr. Gomez Nadal, the voice of objection most easily disposed of.  Does the United nations Declaration of Human Rights, to which Panama is a signatory, apply to expats? I do not know, but I do know that testing the notion may be a pretty futile business. This does not mean that one needs to abstain from all social commentary and righting the wrongs – it does mean that care and discretion are necessary.

 

Regards,

Price Peterson, Consular Warden.

         

 

Price Peterson

Hacienda La Esmeralda

Boquete, Panama

tel' (507) 720 3202

cel (507) 6677 3442