Suriname
By: Avery v.
The languages of Suriname
Dutch is the nation's official language. But the most commonly used language is Sranan Tongo, also called Suriname Creole. Sranan Tongo combines elements of English, Dutch, and several African languages. Don't worry if you cant speak dutch, many Surinamese also speak English.
Get in to the culture of Suriname
Major religions include, but not excluded to Hindu 27.4%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), Roman Catholic 22.8%, Muslim 19.6%, indigenous beliefs 5%.
Roti is generally an Indian bread, made from stone ground wholemeal flour, traditionally known as atta flour, that originated and is consumed in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Bakmi consists of two Hokkien Chinese words literally translated to English as "meat noodles". Bakmi is a wheat based noodle which was brought to Southeast Asia by Chinese immigrants with Fujian or Hokkien origin, generally prepared and topped with minced soy-sauce pork and few sliced of char-siu or barbecued pork, addition of Chinese green vegetable leaf and a bowl of Broth, today Bakmi become one of common noodle dish, and especially in Southeast Asia which have significant Chinese populations.
Just visiting Suriname
The Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge is a bridge over the river Suriname between Paramaribo and Meerzorg in the Commewijne district. The bridge was built during the tenure of President Jules Albert Wijdenbosch (1996–2000) and was completed in 2000. The bridge is 52 metres (171 ft) high, and 1,504 metres (4,934 ft) long. It connects Paramaribo with Commewijne, a connection which previously could only be made by ferry. The purpose of the bridge was to facilitate and promote the development of the eastern part of Suriname. The bridge consists of two lanes (one lane each way) and is not accessible to pedestrians. A relatively new landmark is the Hindu Arya Dewaker temple in the Johan Adolf Pengelstraat in Wanica, Paramaribo, which was inaugurated in 2001. A special characteristic of the temple is that it does not have images of the Hindu divinities, as they are forbidden in the Arya Samaj, the Hindu movement to which the people who built the temple belong. Instead, the building is covered by many texts derived from the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. The beautiful architecture makes the temple a tourist attraction.
Current events of Suriname
Don't be afraid of Ebola if you're traveling to Suriname. According to a protocol issued by the Suriname health ministry, travelers other than Surinamese nationals who, one up to 21 days prior to departure to Suriname, have been in one of the risk countries -- Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia, are not allowed to begin the journey to Suriname, unless they can prove to be free of the Ebola virus with an internationally recognized health certificate.
Dino Bouterse (41), son of the president of Suriname, Desi Bouterse, has pleaded guilty in US federal court to charges of attempting to smuggle cocaine to the US and aiding Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist organization, international media reports indicated.
“In 2013, I knowingly provided a false Surinamese passport to a person I believed to be associated with Hezbollah, an organization I knew to be designated a terrorist organization by the United States," Bouterse said at a hearing on Friday in New York, Reuters reported.He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to import narcotics and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. He is also accused of attempting to assist individuals he believed to be Hezbollah representatives to establish a base in Suriname to attack Americans. He negotiated a payment of initially US$2 million, court documents show. Bouterse faces a sentence of between 15 years and life in prison.He was arrested a year ago in Panama and subsequently extradited to the United States on charges that he conspired to smuggle cocaine to the US. Edmund Muntslag, a co-defendant, was arrested in Trinidad and Tobago at the same time and he is currently fighting a court battle there to prevent his extradition to the US.
Major ethnicity groups of suriname
Hindustanis, who are descendants of people from India, make up more than a third of the country's population. Creoles—people with mixed European and black African ancestry—make up about a third. The rest of Suriname's people are, in order of number, Indonesians, Maroons, American Indians, Chinese, and Europeans. Maroons are the descendants of black Africans who escaped from slavery in the 1600's and 1700's.
political map of Suriname
physical features of suriname
flag of Suriname
Major imports and exports
Exports-
1 2818 Aluminium Oxide $370,937,330.87 35%
2 7108 Gold $251,998,322.00 24%
3 2710 Refined Petroleum $120,954,308.33 11%
4 0803 Bananas $67,821,736.82 6.4%
5 1006 Rice $38,119,292.03 3.6%
6 4403 Rough Wood $29,277,073.96 2.8%
7 0303 Non-fillet Frozen Fish $27,303,278.27 2.6%
8 0306 Crustaceans $25,794,044.36 2.5%
9 7204 Scrap Iron $14,498,826.30 1.4%
10 0302 Non-fillet Fresh Fish $14,345,340.65 1.4%
Imports-
1 8703 Cars $81,141,131.00 6.1%
2 8429 Large Construction Vehicles $55,438,645.00 4.2%
3 2815 Sodium or Potassium Peroxides $52,931,634.00 4.0%
4 8704 Delivery Trucks $51,147,608.00 3.9%
5 0207 Poultry Meat $23,996,506.00 1.8%
6 8431 Excavation Machinery $23,438,673.00 1.8%
7 8413 Liquid Pumps $21,453,003.00 1.6%
8 4011 Rubber Tires $21,225,172.00 1.6%
9 7308 Iron Structures $20,119,041.00 1.5%
10 2208 Hard Liquor $19,712,122.00 1.5%
Suriname history
Christopher Columbus sighted what is now Suriname in 1498, and Spaniards and Portuguese explored the area during the 1500's. In 1651, British explorers built the first permanent settlement there. They established cotton and sugar cane plantations and brought slaves from Africa to work the land. In 1667, the Dutch took control of it and in exchange gave the British what became the state of New York.
Suriname's economy declined in the 1700's because of slave uprisings and Dutch neglect. In the early 1800's, ownership shifted several times between Britain and the Netherlands. In 1815, Britain gave up its claim to Suriname, and the Dutch regained control. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863 and brought laborers from India and Indonesia to work on the plantations. However, plantation farming declined in the early 1900's, and many people moved to urban areas.
Major land forms of Suriname
lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m In 1860, the question was posed from the French side, which of the two tributary rivers was the headwater, and thus the border. A joint French-Dutch commission was appointed to review the issue. The Maroni basin is 68,700 km²; above the island ‘’Langatabbetje’’ (110 km away from the mouth of the river) this area is 63,700 km². Between 1952 and 1973, the average flow rate near ‘’Langatabbetje’’ was about 1,700 m³/second. The minimum was 95 m³/second, the maximum 6,550 m³/second. The estuary is approximately 90 km long; the average tidal range in the estuary is 2 m; in the dry season,
The Climate of suriname
Suriname has a narrow coastal area of flat swampland that has been drained for farming. This area extends inland 10 to 50 miles (16 to 80 kilometers) to a sandy plain that rises about 150 feet (46 meters) high. Mountainous rain forests with about 2,000 kinds of trees lie farther inland, and a high savanna (grassy, thinly wooded plain) runs along the country's southwest border. Rivers flow north to the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname is warm and moist, with an average annual temperature of 81 °F (27 °C). The annual rainfall averages 76 inches (193 centimeters) in western Suriname and 95 inches (241 centimeters) in Paramaribo.
The government of Suriname
The people of Suriname elect 51 members to a National Assembly for five-year terms. The National Assembly passes the country's laws and elects a president and vice president for five-year terms. The president heads the government. The president appoints a Council of Ministers, who help carry out the operations of the government. The vice president presides over the Council of Ministers and also serves as prime minister. A Council of State composed of civilian and military members has an advisory role in the government. In addition, the council can veto laws passed by the National Assembly. The president chairs the Council of State. Suriname has a constitutional democracy.