Description

Vol. V No. 9 … The Cover: Familiar to soldiers stationed about the Canal Zone are these sturdy Jamaicans who are known locally as “Silver Workers.” The men commonly work at Army Posts and other Zone installations as laborers. The women are often engaged as household domestics by Army families or civilians. Jamaicans converse in a dialect of their own, known as “Bajian.” A strange mixture blending native tongues with Oxford English. In the constant tropic heat which saps the energy of the native Panamanian and U.S. Soldier alike, the Jamaican goes blithely about his business. Apparently little bothered by the temperature. Many of these people are also employed on the large banana plantations of interior Panama. Harvesting the crops and piling the heavy fruit in the holds of vessels for export to foreign markets.