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ABOUT SURINAME
GEOGRAPHY
SURFACE: APP. 164,000 SQUARE KILOMETERS OR 63,000 SQUARE
MILES.
LOCATED: SURINAME IS SITUATED IN THE NORTH OF SOUTH
AMERICA, BETWEEN 2 – 6 DEGREES LATITUDE NORTH AND 54 – 58
DEGREES LONGTITUDE WEST.
IN THE EAST FRENCH GUIANA IS OUR NEIGHBOUR. IN THE WEST OUR
NEIGHBOUR IS GUYANA. IN THE SOUTH IT IS BRAZIL AND IN THE NORTH,
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN IS OUR BORDER.
SURINAME HAS MANY RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS. THE HIGHEST TOP IS 1.280
M. THE LARGEST PART OF SURINAME CONSISTS OF UNTOUCHED RAIN
FOREST. ALMOST ALL SURINAMESE PEOPLE LIVE WITHIN A 30 KM WIDE COASTAL
REGION.
THE CAPITAL OF SURINAME, PARAMARIBO, LIES ABOUT 20 KM SOUTH OF
THE COAST AT THE WEST BANK, OF THE SURINAME RIVER.
TIME – ZONE: THE TIME IN SURINAME IS TWO (2) HOURS LATER
THAN THE EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST), IN THE USA AND THREE (3)
HOURS EARLIER THAN THE GREENWICH MEAN TIME (GMT).
CLIMATE: AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 27° C – 32° C.
ALTHOUGH SURINAME HAS A TROPICAL CLIMATE, IT IS NOT TOO HOT DUE
TO THE NORTH EASTERN TRADEWIND. BUT EVEN AT NIGHT, TEMPERATURES
RARELY DROP BELOW 24° C.
SURINAME IS KNOWN FOR ITS HIGH HUMDITY. WE KNOW FOUR (4) CLIMATE
SEASONS IN SURINAME. THE LONG DRY SEASON, FROM MID AUGUST TO THE
END OF NOVEMBER; THE SHORT RAINY SEASON IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY;
THE SHORT DRY SEASON FROM FEBRUARY TILL MID OF MAY AND THE LONG
RAINY SEASON BETWEEN MID MAY AND MID AUGUST.
DISTRICTS (STATES): SURINAME IS DIVIDED IN TEN DISTRICTS,
IN THE VS OR THE CARIBBEAN KNOWN AS STATES.
THE TEN DISTRICTS (STATES) ARE: BROKOPONDO, COMMEWIJNE, CORONIE,
MAROWIJNE, NICKERIE, PARA, PARAMARIBO, SARAMACCA, SIPALIWINI EN
WANICA.
THE CAPITAL OF BROKOPONDO IS THE CITY OF BROKOPONDO.
THE CAPITAL
OF COMMEWIJNE IS NIEUW-AMSTERDAM.
THE CAPITAL OF CORONIE IS TOTNESS.
THE CAPITAL OF MAROWIJNE IS ALBINA.
THE CAPITAL OF NICKERIE IS
NIEUW-NICKERIE.
THE CAPITAL OF PARA IS
ONVERWACHT.
THE CAPITAL OF THE CITY DISTRICT (STATE) OF
PARAMARIBO IS PARAMARIBO, WHICH IS ALSO THE CAPITAL OF SURINAME.
THE CAPITAL OF SARAMACCA IS GRONINGEN.
THE CAPITAL OF SIPALIWINI
IS LANGA TABBETJE AND
THE CAPITAL OF WANICA IS LELYDORP.
DEMOGRAPHY
POPULATION: APP. 450.000 INHABITANTS.
CAPITAL: PARAMARIBO, APP. 150.000 INHABITANTS.
GOVERNMENT: SURINAME BECAME INDEPENDENT ON NOVEMBER 25,
1975. SINCE THEN, SURINAME IS A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
BETWEEN 25 FEBRUARY 1980 AND MAY 1987, SURINAME WAS RULED BY A
MILITARY REGIME.
AFTER THE MILITARY PERIOD DEMOCRACY WAS RESTORED IN SURINAME.
THE ELECTED PRESIDENT SINCE MAY 2000, IS RUNALDO RONALD
VENETIAAN. HIS POLITICAL PARTY, THE NPS, THE NATIONAL PARTY OF
SURINAME, IS A PART OF THE COALITION THAT LED TO HIS GOVERNMENT.
BETWEEN 1991 AND 1996, RUNALDO RONALD VENETIAAN, WAS ALREADY
PRESIDENT, OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME.
SURINAME IS A PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY. THE SURINAME PARLIAMENT
OR SENATE, KNOWN IN SURINAME AS DE NATIONALE ASSEMBLEE (THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY),
WITH 51
MEMBERS.
ELECTIONS ARE HELD EVERY FIVE (5) YEARS FOR PARLIAMENT. HOWEVER
THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT, IS HELD IN THE NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY.
LANGUAGE: DUTCH IS STILL, THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF
SURINAME AND IS WIDELY SPOKEN. HOWEVER, THE NON – OFFICIAL
LANGUAGE OF SURINAME IS SRANAN TONGO. EVERYBODY IN SURINAME,
SPEAKS SRANAN TONGO.
SRANAN TONGO IS A LANGUAGE THAT EMERGED IN THE EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY, AS A COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE, BETWEEN EUROPEAN
IMMIGRANTS, AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS AND THE NATIVE INDIANS.
IT CONTAINS ELEMENTS FROM ENGLISH, PORTUGESE, DUTCH, SPANISH ,
FRENCH AND INFLUENCES FROM AFRICAN AND INDIAN LANGUAGES.
BESIDES THESE LANGUAGES THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER LANGUAGES SPOKEN
IN SURINAME.
IMMIGRANTS WHO CAME TO SURINAME MORE THAN HUNDRED THIRTY YEARS
AGO ALSO BROUGHT THE HINDI LANGUAGE FROM INDIA TO SURINAME, AS
WELL AS THE CHINESE LANGUAGE FROM CHINA AND THE INDONESIAN
DIALECT, JAVAANS, FROM THE ISLAND OF JAVA IN INDONESIA.
WE ALSO HAVE NATIVE INDIANS AND SEVERAL BUSHNEGRO TRIBES, WHO
SPEAK THEIR OWN LANGUAGES.
VERY MUCH EVERY ETNIC GROUP IN SURINAME SPEAKS THEIR OWN
LANGUAGE, BESIDES SRANAN TONGO AND DUTCH. THIS MAKES SURINAME, A
REAL MULTI LINGUAL NATION.
BESIDES ALL THESE LANGUAGES, MOST PEOPLE IN SURINAME, BOTH IN
PARAMARIBO AND THE OTHER STATES (DISTRICTS), SPEAK ENGLISH.
FOR LEARNING TO USE THE MOST ELEMENTARY SRANAN TONGO WORDS,
CLICK ON THE SUB LINKS; NUMBERS AND PRONOUNS IN SRANAN TONGO;
SRANAN – ENGLISH MINI DICTIONARY AND ENGLISH – SRANAN TONGO MINI
DICTIONARY.
EMERGENCY
NUMBER:
WHEN IN SURINAME, IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, CALL 115.
ELECTRICITY: THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLIED IS GENERALLY 110 V/ 60 Hz CIRCUITS IN
SURINAME. HOWEVERE LARGE HOTELS AND CERTAIN FACILITIES PROVIDE
220 V/ 50 Hz, IF REQUESTED.
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Official Carifesta Carrier
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CARIFESTA VIII
ACTIVITY PROGRAM
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