Brazilians in Suriname
Total population
40,000
Regions with significant populations
Albina · Paramaribo
Languages
Portuguese · Sranan Tongo
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Brazilian diaspora

Brazilians in Suriname form a large community consisting mostly of miners. The number of Brazilians in the country is estimated at 40,000, nearly 10 percent of the population.[1]

Settlement

Suriname's low population density and abundant natural resources have attracted numerous migrants from neighboring Brazil.[2] Over the past decade or so, as many as 40,000 Brazilians, mostly illegal immigrants, have moved to Suriname, a country with fewer than half a million citizens. Many Brazilians in Suriname work as small-scale gold miners, particularly in the town of Albina, which has become a base for nomadic gold prospectors.[3]

Albina riots

Gold mining in Albina is typically environmentally destructive and it has resulted in clashes between the miners and indigenous peoples.

In late December 2009, a series of riots occurred when local maroon inhabitants attacked Brazilian, Chinese, Colombian and Peruvian gold diggers after a man was allegedly stabbed to death by a Brazilian.[4] The Brazilian government sent a diplomatic mission on December 27, 2009, to attend the Brazilian victims.[5] Five Brazilians returned to Brazil on December 27 on an airplane of the Brazilian Air Force.[6] On December 28, an airplane with capacity for 40 people was sent to the city with the purpose of rescuing more Brazilians.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Guyana: Caught in Brazil's Net?; Small Nation, New to Free Markets, Fears Loss of Its Identity", The New York Times, 30 March 2000.
  2. ↑ "Ethnic Rioting in Suriname", Geo Currents, 30 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Elizondo, Gabriel (December 27, 2009). "Christmas violence in Suriname". Al Jazeera. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Conflito no Suriname levou a pelo menos 7 mortes, diz missionário" (in Portuguese). G1 Globo.com. December 26, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Brasil envia missão diplomática ao Suriname para atender brasileiros atacados" (in Portuguese). December 27, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Suriname: detidos 35 suspeitos de agredir brasileiros" (in Portuguese). iG. December 28, 2009. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
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