The Crisis of the Panamanian-American

Railway

The Chinese coming to work on the railroad.

By: Weston Karper and Rhea Mukhi

The Beginning of the railroad

The Panamanian
Railroad was begun 159 years
ago, and completed in June 27
1855. The railroad is 47.6 miles
long and connects the Pacific
and Caribbean coastlines. It
was a huge undertaking to
make this, the first
transcontinental railway.
It took many years, dollars and
lives to build. One of the
important groups of workers on
the railroad was the Chinese.
Many Chinese left their country
to go to Panama to work. They
were escaping famine,
corruption, war and difficult
pasts.
They arrived in Panama on
March 30th, 1854. 11
passengers out of 705 died
during the 61-day journey by
sea. The ships they were riding
on were called the floating
hells because of the inhumane
environment of the ships. Many
of the workers later on died of
diseases or suicide in Panama.

Map of the panama railroad

The Chinese were

Tricked!
One of the reasons there
were so many Chinese in the
railroad project is because of
special recruiters that were
hired to being in workers. The
recruiters were paid $109 per
Chinese worker brought to
Panama. Some of these
individuals, tricked by the
recruiters, came to Panama to
escape laws they had broken,

people they had mislead, or

poverty that was slowly
creeping up on them in China.
Some also had gambling debts
or addictions to opium. They
didnt really know what awaited
them in Panama, but they knew
it would help their families to
leave behind the bad things
that they had done. The
Railway Company lured them
by promises of a better life but
delivered a life of hardship,
work, pain and death.

Life in a New Country

The newly arrived
Chinese were unable to
communicate in their own
language and the change from
their customs to Panamanian
customs was a terrible shock to
them. This, combined with
missing home and their
extended families, fostered an
attitude of depression.
There were 2 ways the
Chinese could get paid for their
hard labor. The railway paid
them a low wage of 10 cents an
hour. They could also be paid
8 cents an hour and have a
daily supply of a calming drug
called opium. Many of the
Chinese, familiar with opium
from their lives in China, chose
the lower pay and the comforts
of the drug. The problem with
the opium was that it was

addictive. They made less

money to feed their families
and had a drug addiction as
well. This drug addiction also
leads to conflict with their coworkers, the Irish.
The living conditions for the
Chinese were terrible. They
lived in temporary railway
housing. The rooms were dirty,
had thatched roofs and very
packed. The workers slept
close to each other in cheaply
built housing. The workers
would spread disease and
sickness due to the unsanitary
living conditions. There was no
clean water, toilets, or
electricity.

Temporary worker housing for the

Panamanian railroad.

Discrimination Against
the Chinese
When the Chinese arrived in
Panama they lived under the
apartheid system of skilled and
unskilled laborers. The skilled
laborers were the ones who
had an education. These were
usually Europeans and
Americans. The unskilled
workers were like the Chinese
and Irish. The apartheid
system further evolved into the
Gold role and the Silver role.
The educated, white workers
were paid in gold coins, and the
other workers were paid in
silver. As time when on, it
turned from a role system into
complete racial discrimination.
Anyone with the title as silver
was frowned upon. The
Chinese were the lowest of the
low and were discriminated
against in many ways. Normal
workers in the silver role would
be paid 25 cents an hour but
the Chinese were paid 10 cents
an hour.

sent a letter to New York

describing the usage. It was not
regarded until one journalist
pointed out the cost of opium
as a whole. The railway owners
realized that it was costing
them $150 a day for the
Chinese and their opium. The
owners ordered the overseers
of the railroad to reduce the
flow of opium to the Chinese.
This angered the Chinese and
increased tensions between
them and the Irish. It also lead
to an increase in suicide for the
Chinese as they lost one of the
only sources of comfort they
had in Panama.

The Opium Conflict

One major conflict surrounding
the Chinese was the opium
conflict. As mentioned, the Irish
were shocked to find the
Chinese using opium. They

The Chinese smoking opium.

It is not known how many

Chinese were killed in the
construction of the Panamanian
railroad. They did not keep
careful records of workers and
deaths. On June 30th, 1870, a
Sacramento newspaper
reported that over 20,000 lbs of
bones were dug up from graves
in and around the
railway. These bones were
believed to belong to Chinese
workers. This was used to
calculate an approximate death
count of 1,200 Chinese.

The Chinese became an

important part of the
Panamanian community by
entering mixed marriages,
adopting Christianity and by
participating in Panamanian
education and society. The
Chinese are an important part
of modern day Panamanian
culture and society. Without the
Chinese influence, Panama
would be a very different place.

Chinese in Modern Day

Panama

The Chinese worked hard and

diligently. They brought many
different practices and beliefs to
panama. Because of this, the
Chinese have made panama
what it is today. Without the
Chinese schools, and
Organizations, panama would
be so much different. The
Chinese feared that the second
and third generation would
forget all about their culture; so,
they made schools that would
teach them regular school
subjects with a hint of Chinese
culture. For example there is a
school call Chino-Panameo. In
this school they teach kids
about their own beliefs and
practices to keep the culture
alive.

Many Chinese died in the

construction of the railroad, but
not all of them. There are
many Chinese in Panama
today who are descendants of
the original railroad
workers. Chinese have been
involved in many aspects of the
Panamanian society, including
helping with large construction
projects, such as the Panama
Canal, and helping with
industry.
Chinese merchants have
opened many corner grocery
marts around Panama. They
are widely known as Chinos,
which some feel is a racial slur
against their nationality.

The Unity of the

Chinese

Also, there is The Chinese

Association. They choose 1

representative from each

Chinese clan. My Father was
elected to be the representative
of the Chungsan clan. An
organization called the Chinese
Association helps the people
who come from china and puts
them into their designated
ethnic groups, gets newcomers
confortable, organizes events
and helps any Chinese
individual if they have any
debts. Mr. Chan says, a teacher at The
MET

Panama has always had a

diversity of cultures, religions
and beliefs. The Chinese took
part in creating a country with a
variety of traditions from all
over the world that still
continues today.
Within the Chinese groups,
they had the same beliefs, and
practices in common with each
other, which were very different
from that of Panamanians; they
were an ethnic group. The
Chinese had to leave their
homes to go to whole different
country work. They had nothing
to remember from home just
themselves. Their collective
identity and beliefs were
preserved through Chinese
schools, and organizations.
Even today day we appreciate
the achievements the Chinese
have accomplished.

Bibliography
"Chinese Panamanians - Minority Rights."
Minority Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2016.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.
05 Feb. 2016.

"FAQs." Chinese Railroad Workers in North

America Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
"Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and
Indigenous Peoples - Panama: Chinese
Panamanians." Refworld. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
Feb. 2016.

"The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution." The

Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution. N.p., n.d.
Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
"Panama Rail Road Maps." Panama Rail Road
Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.