In the Spotlight - Suriname
Hazukashii
In the Spotlight – Suriname
By Ed “Hazukashii” Howell
29 May 2022
Suriname is located on the north-east region of South America, with Brazil to the south, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Suriname is one of the smaller countries in South America, but also one of the most culturally diverse. The ethnic makeup of modern Suriname is amazing, and much more detail can be reviewed here.
According to excerpts from the Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Factbook, what is now Suriname was originally explored by the Spanish, but the English soon followed and settled. Soon after, the Dutch found its rich resources very lucrative, and ended up trading their stake in New Amsterdam (now known as New York City) to England, for control of what was deemed Dutch Guiana. The inner city was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002, and the rich history has been captured on their website. The downside to being designated as a world heritage site, is that many people cannot afford to meet the strict building standards required, so while some parts are fresh and new, other buildings are dilapidated and beyond repair. Some examples can be seen in this walking tour of the inner city, but overall, the inner city is fascinating.
Although it still maintains a very Dutch flavor, the region gained its independence in 1975, when it became the Republic of Suriname. A short five years of civilian control were ended by a military coupe, and several years of control as a socialist state. Civilian control was eventually reestablished in 1991 as a multiparty republic, with one legislative body, the National Assembly made up of 51 representatives.
The first and only hash in Suriname, is the Paramaribo H3, founded by Eddy Middledorp on 24 Aug 1989. There is still one hasher running, who was part of the original planning team coordinated by Eddy Middledorp in 1989. He unfortunately missed the first 2 runs due to family holiday back in The Netherlands, but has been very active since run #3. He told me that Eddy was a Dutch Diplomat, and had been in Paramaribo since 1987, but did not meet enough people to feel comfortable to start the hash until 1989. After just one year, Eddy was off to his next posting, having created the hash, but was basically never heard from again.
On a recent visit I was able to run with the Paramaribo H3. The hash is normally all done in Dutch, but for non-Dutch speaking visitors, they very kindly speak English to accommodate. In chalk talk at the start, it was explained that they use shredded paper in the jungle, but they use spray paint in the city. So, for this trail the marks were painted in green or light blue, and the marks could be found on posts, walls, or on the ground. A standard mark was a blob the size of your fist, but lines of 6” by 1” were also used on the ground in some areas. Circles were checks, but not often used, as the trail could randomly turn left or right, which you did not find out until you ran out of marks. From a check, you needed to find 6 marks to know you were on, only 4 or 5 marks and the trail could just end. You could also go more than 6 marks and find an X, which was a back check, and then you turn around and find the trail going left or right somewhere else.
We had 28 hashers on trail, with 4 runners doing all the checking. Even with checking, we came in at under 2.5 miles, so three of us went for a run around the block to get up to about 4 miles, thus earning our beer for the day. It was explained that the hare was setting trail for the first time, and trails were normally longer and more diverse. The pack was very friendly and welcoming to visitors, and the circle was very entertaining. One illustrious hash, Cigar Sucker, even made it a point to not only pick me up at my hotel, but also to show me around including a visit to the family house out by the airport, where some crazy hash weekends have been held (I may have to make another trip to Suriname if I hear about one of those weekend away trips). The Paramaribo H3 is active and can be found running every Monday evening in the greater Paramaribo area, if you are ever in town you will not want to miss it.
For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html