In this two-part series, Martha Hawley visits Suriname, 20 years after independence to find out how the country and its people are coping.
This programme focuses on the current economic struggle and the dependence on relatives and friends in the Netherlands for food and cultural nourishment. The visible wealth in Suriname comes from drugs money. Slowly people in Suriname are beginning to realise their future may be in the Caribbean region rather than in the Netherlands, although ties with the former colonial power—where several hundred thousand Surinamese live —are bound to remain strong.
Producer: Martha Hawley
Broadcast: October 29, 1995