HAPPY 108TH BIRTHDAY PANAMA - TIERRA QUERIDA

Panama Celebrates Independence Day 2011

with eyes on the near future

Written by:  Terry Layne

On November 3, 2011 the Republic of Panama celebrated its 108^th anniversary of sovereign independence as a nation.  The Houston community and friends salute the Consul General of Panama in  Houston, Alvaro Enrique Dutari Ferrari and staff at the Panamanian Consulate on this special national occasion. 

In fact, this celebration also marks the three year countdown to 2014, when Panama will celebrate 100 years of the opening of the Panama Canal to commercial traffic.  It will also be the year of completion of the Canal Expansion Project currently in progress.  At that time, the Panama Canal will be able to service much larger ships with greater cargo capacity, giving way to increased maritime trade with Houston Port and other sea port cities around the world.  So we are celebrating this Independence Day 2011 with great expectations for future economic growth, not only in Panama; but also in Houston and the Gulf Coast Region as well. 

The City of Houston is positioned to become a major port of call and geographic distribution point for the anticipated increase in goods and cargo entering and leaving the U.S. via the Panama Canal.  This translates into endless economic opportunities for those visionaries who dare to risk in businesses.  “If you can see it; then you can be it;” becomes the guiding principle.  We know, for example, that Home Depot and Wal-Mart Stores already have built distribution centers here in the Houston area.  But I’m not just talking about major investors.  Clearly, economic growth opportunities are potentially global and should not be limited in scope to big businesses; or even to Panama and the U.S.  We have the human resources already in place.

The ties between Panama and the United States go back to 1903 when the U.S. assumed a protectorate role over Panama in establishing its independence from Colombia.  Today, Panama is positioned to become a major player in world trade as an independent and sovereign nation.  We know by historical accounts that there is hardly an independent Caribbean nation, whose citizens didn’t migrate to Panama to participate in the construction of the Panama Canal.  So, it is on this premise, that I invite the greater Afro-Panamanian & Caribbean communities of Houston to envision all possibilities of participating in the anticipated “economic after party” of the Canal expansion, both individually and collectively.  We were all there when it started; and we all ought to be there when things get to “the next level” in 2014.