Riding with Pablo

Riding with Pablo

I enjoy talking with strangers on the bus. I learn a lot that way. Yesterday, my seat-mate was not a stranger, but my friend Pablo from Ipeti. Our friendship started last year and was instant – we share a similar world view, work ethic and love of construction. A few times, we have come to a similar solution independently, making our collaborations a joy. Not to mention the fact that he has THE best collection of tools in the area and lets me borrow them. I have always enjoyed watching him work with the Global volunteers, as he talks to them the whole time about his life and the construction they are doing. He is a great teacher to the young masons.

So, it was a treat to spend some time learning more about Pablo on a more personal basis. The most interesting fact was that Pablo is a grandson of the last “Grand Chief” of the Embera Tribe in eastern Panama selected by bloodline. His wife is also a grand-daughter and Pablo’s cousin. After his grandfather, Chiefs were elected, as they are today. Pablo was interested to hear about my children and grandchildren. He and his wife never had children. He has been president of the village and the water committee. His wife is one of the leading craft artists. She and my friend Elsa are the two ranking female elders in Ipeti.  He has loved building things since he was a boy and was a foreman on the Bayano Dam project. He says the Americans “paid him LOTS of money”. He is happy because he works only because he loves it, not for the money. Amen to that dear friend.

Pablo was born in 1946 and has seen some huge changes in the Torti area. He remembers the time before the PanAm Hwy, when the only route to Panama City involved a long-boat ride through the rivers that now form Lake Bayano. When they built the big bridge that now spans the Lake and the heavy equipment rolled in, many people were fearful and wanted to stop the road construction. Many fires were started and several workers were killed.

Then came the deforestation and burning of the jungle to make way for cattle ranches, big chicken farms and later teak plantations. First came the loggers in HUGE trucks and equipment. Some of the virgin old growth jungle trees were “4 men across” and had to be quartered just to fit on the trucks. After that came the fires. Pablo says the sky was black and the ashes rained down on everything for days. They could see the lights from huge fires all around them at night and were sure they would be swallowed up in the flames. As soon as that started, he says the rivers died and the water became dirty. They had to let the water settle in water tanks and barrels for weeks and then scoop off the top for drinking water. Then the government built the current water systems, which worked great for a year or two and then started to fall apart. They also had to switch to eating chicken and beef since the fish were all gone.

The next great event was when USAID built the Bayano Dam and hydroelectric project. Pablo started as a laborer , but was promoted to foreman. Before the dam, river travel was a way of life for the Embera. There were lots of “big fat fish”. From his description they were long thin fish with lots of bones, usually eaten in a soup. He says the tilapia that were introduced into the lake pushed the old fish up rivers. Everybody likes the tilapia better.

Through it all, it seems Pablo has rolled with the punches and maintained his equilibrium and sense of humor.

video