Para is a district of northern

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. Para's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

is Onverwacht, with other towns including

Paranam Paranam is a town in the Para District, Suriname. Paranam was created in 1938 for a bauxite factory. In 1965, an aluminium smelter was added. The factories closed down in 2017. History There used to be a little hamlet called ''Klein Curaçao'' at ...

, and

Zanderij Zanderij is a village located in the northern part of Suriname, situated 50 kilometres south of the capital Paramaribo on the Southern East-West Link. The Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport is located near the village. On 7 June 1989, Sur ...

. Para has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 24,700 and an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

of 5,393 km². The district is the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

centre of Suriname, with many large

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

mining operations operating. The district is a mixture of forest and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

History

The northern part of Para is one of the oldest cultivated areas of Suriname, and has been home to sugar and tobacco

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

since the 17th century which were mainly located along the

Suriname River The Suriname River (Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is 480 km long and flows through the country Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it i ...

and the

Para Creek Para Creek ('' nl, Parakreek'' also Para River) is a blackwater creek in the Wanica & Para District of Suriname. It is a tributary of the Suriname River, and was home to many plantations. The area around the creek has been cultivated since the E ...

. The southern part of the district contained wood plantations, and is still in use by logging companies. In 1968, the District was established, and named after the Para Creek. In 1983, the District was quadrupled in size. The district used to be accessible only by boat. The discovery of gold in

Brokopondo Brokopondo is the capital town of the Brokopondo District, Suriname. It is located on the west shore of the Suriname river, just north of the Afobaka dam. Brokopondo can be reached via the Afobakaweg from Paranam to Afobaka. Nearby is a granite mo ...

and Sipaliwini lead to the construction of the

Lawa Railway The Lawa Railway (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Lawaspoorweg'' or later ''Landsspoorweg'') was a single-track metre gauge railway in Suriname. It was built during the gold rush in the early 20th century, from the harbour town Paramaribo to Dam at the ...

and growth of the villages next to the railway line. The railway line was decommissioned in 1986.Armand Snijders
De flop van Lely.
Parbode, Surinames Magazine, 1 April 2008. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

American troops were stationed in Suriname. The existing airport at Zorg en Hoop was insufficient, and the airstrip at Zanderij, was upgraded to a major airport. In 1936, a road, currently named Indira Gandhiweg, had been built parallel to the railway line to connect Paramaribo with Onverwacht, which was extended to the airport. In the 1960s, the

Afobakaweg The Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname) has a number of forms of transport. Transportation emissions are an increasing part of Suriname's contributions to climate change, as part of the Nationally Determined Contributions for the Par ...

was constructed to provide access to the south of the country. The ruins of the city of

Jodensavanne ''Jodensavanne'' (Dutch, "Jewish Savanna") was a Jewish plantation community in Suriname, South America, and was for a time the centre of Jewish life in the colony. It was established in the 1600s by Sephardi Jews and became more developed and wea ...

are in Para district.

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s fleeing the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

established Jodensavanne in the 17th century, but it was destroyed in 1832 by a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

. Jodensavanne was an

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

for suspected

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

supporters from the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Para is home to several

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

villages from the Carib and

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...

tribes.

Economy

The main part of the economy is the bauxite mining. Gold also plays a major role in the economy of Para. The main roads and airport have resulted in companies moving into Para. Agriculture is mainly focused on

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, asparagus bean and

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s. Tourism has seen a steady growth over the 20th and 21st centuries. There are several

holiday resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...

s in the district, and ''White Beach'' in Oost is becoming a main attraction.

Resorts

Para is divided into 5 resorts (''ressorten''): * Bigi Poika * Carolina *

Noord Noord () is a town and region in Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). This town is known for its low rise and high rise hotels, restaurants, beaches, malls, the California Lighthouse, and other places of attraction. Places of interest ...

* Oost * Zuid

Villages

Berlijn Berlijn may refer to: * the Dutch name for Berlin, the capital city, a municipality, and a state in Germany. * Dick Berlijn (1950), a Dutch general * Berlijn, Suriname, a village {{disambiguation, geo, surname ...

Bernharddorp Bernharddorp is an indigenous village of Lokono and Kalina Amerindians in the resort of Noord in the Para District in Suriname. History In the 1930s, Amerindians from the village of Bisri near Zanderij settled in the area which was owned by the ...

* Bethesda *

Cabendadorp Cabendadorp (also ''Kabenda dorp'') is an indigenous village of Kalina Amerindians in the resort of Zuid in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located on the Afobakaweg south of the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport. History The ...

Cassipora Cassipora is an indigenous village of Lokono Amerindians in the resort of Carolina in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located near the Blaka Watra recreation area. It is also near a 17th-century Jewish village, however only the cem ...

* Hollandse Kamp * Matta *

Onverdacht Onverdacht () is a village in the resort of Zuid in the Para District of Suriname. Between 1941 and 2009, it was a bauxite mining town. History Onverdacht started as a wood plantation in 1737. In 1863, the slaves were emancipated, and the planta ...

* Onverwacht *

Pikin Saron Pikin Saron (also Post Saron) is an indigenous village of Kalina Amerindians in the resort of Zuid in the Para District in Suriname. The village can be accessed from the Southern East-West Link, and is located on the Saramacca River. History Pik ...

Powakka Powakka is an indigenous village of Lokono Amerindians in the resorts of Suriname, resort of Oost, Suriname, Oost in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located on the road to Carolina, Suriname, Carolina which connects to the Afobakaweg ...

Redi Doti Redi Doti (also ''Redidoti'') is an indigenous village of Lokono and Kalina people, Kalina Amerindians in the resorts of Suriname, resort of Carolina, Suriname, Carolina in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located near the site of Jode ...

* Republiek *

Sabakoe Sabakoe is an Amerindian hamlet in Para District, Suriname, located near Zanderij. It is also the Surinamese name of little blue herons, which is used as the logo of Surinam Airways. Sabakoe is located in the savannah along the Sabakoe Creek abo ...

Torarica Torarica is the original capital of Suriname. It was settled by Portuguese Jews in 1629. One origin offered for its name is as a Portuguese coinage meaning "Opulent Torah". The Portuguese Jews arrived via Holland and Brazil.Witsanti Witsanti (also ''Wit Santi'') is an indigenous village of Lokono and Kalina Amerindians in the resort of Zuid in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located on the John F. Kennedyweg near the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport ...

Demographics

In the 2004 census, Para had 18,749 inhabitants. This rose in the 2012 census to 24,700 inhabitants, a 31.1% increase.

References

Gallery

Suriname savannah (33153939030).jpg, Savannah near

Colakreek.jpg, Cola Creek Gezicht op de synagoge en het kerkhof vanaf het Cordonpad gezien Gezigten uit Neerland's West-Indien (serietitel), RP-P-1909-1780.jpg, Jodensavanna ( 1860) De fabriek van de Surinaamse Bauxiet Maatschappij te Paranam, Bestanddeelnr 252-6553.jpg, Bauxite factory in

(1947) PBM Airport (cropped).jpg,

Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport , also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, and locally referred to simply as JAP, is an airport located in the town of Zanderij and hub for airline carrier Surinam Airways, south of Param ...

Cabendadorp1.jpg, Amerindian village of

{{Authority control Districts of Suriname