Panama Census

Last Sunday was census day in Panama. Like the U.S., they do a census every 10 years. However, the methods here in Panama are a little more draconian than I remember in the U.S. We were told that we could not leave our houses until we had been counted. If we were found on the streets on census day without a card showing we had been censused, we would be arrested and taken to the nearest police station, where we would be fined (and counted). No one was exempt, including tourists, inhabitants of remote villages & islands, transient biologists - anyone who spent Saturday night in Panama was supposed to be counted. I don't know how (or if) they actually counted the really remote places, like the villages in the Darien accessible only by long canoe treks.

We did not have to wait long. The census worker assigned to our street arrived at 10:30 am and seemed very friendly, very young, and very efficient. He said he had only 10 homes to do--so something like 20-25 people. If that was the typical ratio of census workers to people being counted, Wow, that would be a lot of census workers! After he left, we were given the pink sign shown above to put on our front door, and some pink cards to carry around should we encounter the police (we did not).

I had downloaded the form off the Web and spent a good amount of time translating and deciphering the questions the night before, so filling out the form was pretty easy once the census worker arrived, even though it was 13 pages long. Some of our favorite questions:

Q: Of what material are the exterior walls of the building or house you live in composed? (check one)
Block, brick, or stone
Wood (boards or logs)
Quincha or adobe
Metal (zinc, aluminum, etc)
Palm, straw, stalks, cane or bamboo or sticks [This is where I realized, We are not in Kansas anymore]
Other materials
Without walls

Of what material are the floors of the building or house you live in composed? (check one)
Mosaic or tiles, marble and parquet
Concrete
Brick
Wood
Earth
Other materials (cane, sticks, garbage, etc) [garbage?]

How many days per week does drinking water come to your dwelling- during the wet season? during the dry season?
How many hours per day does drinking water come to your dwelling - during the wet season? during the dry season?

Does your dwelling have sanitary facilities? (check one)
Hole or latrine
Connected to sewerage
Connected to a septic tank
No sanitary facilities

If your dwelling has no sanitary facilities, where do you most often deposit excrement? (check one)
Mountain [or cliff or bush or woods - not sure on the translation here; "monte" - anyone?]
River or stream
The sea [We have seen this; many places in San Blas just have a hole emptying into the ocean]
Use a neighbor's facilities

Other

Interestingly, the census did not ask about race, except you could check a box if you were "considered black or of African descent," or another box if you were indigenous. If indigenous, you were asked to specify what indigenous group you belong to: Kuna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Naso/Teribe, Bokota, Emberá, Wounaan, Bri Bri, or Other.

We later heard the census had been somewhat of a disaster, with many people not counted at all, left waiting all day in their houses. Supposedly, the new Panamanian government that started in Aug fired all the old census workers and got new ones, and so lost the benefits of prior experience. We're not sure what the state of affairs is now; last we heard the census counting continues in an attempt to include all those who were missed. We're hanging on to our pink cards just in case.