Divers of the Deep: with limited marine resources, the Ngobe-Bugle in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago of Panama face many challenges.

• Author: Kuntz, Neilan M.
• Position: Essay

An outsider might easily call it a test of endurance, but for the few who dive to 100 feet on a single breath of air, it's a matter of survival. "We have two options in life--work for the banana plantations or dive for lobster," explains a member of the Ngöbe-Buglé people of Panama. Most agree that banana plantation work is unreasonable; the plantations are located in remote areas, labor conditions are poor, and transportation is costly. So, more men choose to dive in the open ocean in search of lobsters than to work in the banana fields, even though diving may carry the risk of drowning or encountering a shark. Unfortunately, it is increasingly hard to make a living in lobster diving these days because in Panama--as in the rest of the world--the environment is being degraded and marine resources are being depleted. Lobsters are dwindling in number even as the coastal tribes of the Ngöbe-Buglé continue to cling to this tradition and livelihood.

As the ocean becomes seasonally calm during the fall and spring, men leave their coastal waters and travel a long distance to Escudo de Veraguas, an island located along the outer reaches of Panama's Caribbean. A sense of reverie exists on this large island: passageways of emerald waters travel underneath the jungle's canopy; isolated beaches remain untouched; and the few existing thatched roof huts blend with the dense forest. It is a place of peaceful solitude but also one of fear and respect. Exposed to the open ocean, inclement weather can sometimes seize the island with treacherous surf, making it unwelcoming and inaccessible. Regardless of its seasonality and temperament, however, Escudo de Veraguas is a place the Ngöbe-Buglé call home. And, for three months at a time, it becomes an isolated community of men who hunt the open ocean (along with a small number of women who cook for each camp).

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Substantial gains have been made in human rights in Panama since 1972. Under President Omar Torrijos, the government began amending the constitution to include: education based on the right to preserve, develop, and respect identity and cultural heritage; the right to study and conserve "aboriginal languages;" the freedom of religion and of land ownership; and self-governing bodies known as comarcas for each regional territory. Though it took two decades and civil unrest for the Ngöbe-Buglé--formally known as Guaymi--to be recognized as an autonomous group, the Panamanian government...