Lots of Germans, Not a Lot of Justice

Trip Start Dec 07, 2005
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Trip End Apr 10, 2007


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Flag of Paraguay  ,
Sunday, April 16, 2006

This is some history from someone elseīs blog: Filadelfia itself is one of three Mennonite colonies that were established in the Gran Chaco area of northern Paraguay early in the twentieth century. Fleeing religious prosecution in Russia, Germany and even Canada, many Mennonites took advantage of the Paraguayan government's offer of religious freedom, political autonomy and huge expanses of inhospitable wilderness. True to fashion, they worked diligently to create productive farms and establish contemporary communities, complete with schools, hospitals, co-operatives, radio stations, and of course their many churches. Noting the business signs along the wide but dusty streets of Filadelfia are vivid reminders of the Mennonite heritage: 'Farmacia Hiebert', 'Lavadero Rempel', and 'Penner Automotive'.

This is from our blog: It felt as if we were in a Twilight Zone episode THe bird at the stand we ate lunch at
THe bird at the stand we ate lunch at
 . Maybe itīs because nothing was open and the town was a flat expanse of sparsely populated, wide, dusty avenues. Or maybe itīs becuase there is a stark mennonite vibe to everything, including our hotel, where the service was brusque at times and the decor austere. to be fair, we did meet a nice elderly german man who shared the history of his family with us. also, helen and justo (who arrived in town just after us) invited us to meet with a paraguayan who works with indigenous groups in the area, and that was pretty interesting. the highlight of our time in filadelfia was piling into his 1969 citroen and bouncing down avenida hidenburg to see the local guarani community. the lowlight of our trip was seeing the contrast between fenced-off the shanty towns where the 3,000 indigenous paraguayans lived and the sturdy and well-ordered houses and neighborhoods of the mennonites. it was good to leave.
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