Hunting Objectivity
Sabanitas, Panama
3,293 miles from San Francisco
We had driven over 8,500 miles and successfully navigated the roads of Mexico and the entirety of the Central American isthmus, yet our biggest logistical challenge would be found here: at the only break in the Panamericana between its Alaskan origin and Ushuaian terminus. We spent nearly a week sorting out the details of shipping the vehicle around this intense jungle, tackling tasks ranging from inspections in Panama City - the country’s large, urban center - to the eventual successful send off from Colón, a port city on Panama’s southeastern Caribbean coast.
Prior to reaching Colón, we were oft-warned of its dangers. A confluence of poverty and narco activity, this narrow strip of Panamanian land in particular, and Central America in general, serves as the connective tissue between drug production hubs in South America and eager consumers in the United States. All warnings were quickly confirmed upon our arrival at the outskirts of Colón via a city called Sabanitas. Entering this zone brought on a familiar feeling, not felt to this degree since parts of northern Mexico. The entire town seemed suspended in a malaise of fear, the faces on the street full of apprehension. Of heightened awareness. Soldiers armed with sub-machine guns designed for close-quarters combat occupied the front stoop of the small grocery store.
We were transient inhabitants of Sabanitas for our final days in Central America, venturing in and out when in hunt of supplies. Before departing, we aimed to investigate the substance behind the hostility that we’d both heard about and felt. To that end, we visited the source deemed most objective: the local police.
The police sub-station in Sabanitas can be described accurately, and without slight, as a wooden shack. Upon our approach, the officers inside were surprised to see us, to be sure, but further expressed immediate concern for our presence in the area. We discussed Panamanian perspectives, life in Sabanitas and the truth, or lack thereof, to our impression of the place.
Our longstanding suspicion quickly confirmed, this crew of young and shy officers stated solemnly that the role of a policeman isn’t viewed with respect by their community. When queried as to whether that is trend or exception, they replied firmly that under the government of Juan Carlos Varela (elected President in 2014) there has been a consistent decline in the perceived authority of law enforcement. These officers, despite their youthful enthusiasm, feel as though they are not taken seriously. The most telling evidence thereof is undoubtedly that the crime rate in Sabanitas - a city with less than 20,000 residents - is equal to Panama City’s, the nation’s capital and home to just shy of 900,000 residents. They described a drug problem, one of trafficking more than usage, of dramatic scale. According to them, “everyone has guns and everyone wants to rob supermarkets (among other places with stores of cash).”
Our instincts and sad suspicions proven correct, a dense silence hung in the air for several long beats. But, just as our feeling of grief for this community was on the verge of carrying us away and onward, the conversation shifted abruptly. “Como están las chicas en California?” What are the girls like in California? This first question ruled the conversation for several minutes (they’re all blonde, of course!), but was fast-followed by a plethora of inquiries regarding US pop culture, fashion, music and more. Interestingly, their opinion of US involvement and intervention in Panama was the first positive one we’ve encountered on our travels. In their view, the building of the canal and the resulting revenues are why Panama is where it is. Better off than so many of its Central American neighbors. In the end, this crew of young men in their early-to-mid twenties, despite being charged with a seemingly impossible task, is just a group of friends. No different than us, nor the friends we’ve left at home.
In another showing of the most consistent thread that has been present throughout the conversations that we’ve had, we left Sabanitas stunned by the sheer power of human will against all odds. By the optimism highly disadvantaged people are able to draw from to continue their daily fight. And how similar we all are at our core when differences of circumstance (however brutal they may be) are removed from the forefront.