Surinamese Americans

Last updated
Surinamese Americans
Total population
2,833 (2000 U.S. Census) [1]


10,000 - 15,000 (other estimates)
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Florida.svg  Florida (mainly South), Flag of New York.svg  New York
Languages
English, Dutch, Sranan Tongo, Sarnami Hindustani, Javanese
Religion
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, other
Related ethnic groups
Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans, Guyanese Americans, Indo-Caribbean Americans, Caribbean Americans, Dutch Americans, African Americans, Indonesian Americans, Chinese Americans

Surinamese Americans (Dutch : Surinaamse Amerikanen) are Americans of Surinamese descent. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 2,833 people reported Surinamese ancestry. [1]

Contents

History

The Surinamese immigrant Jan Ernst Matzeliger worked in Lynn, Massachusetts, developing and patenting an automated lasting machine in 1883 that was essential for the mechanization of shoemaking, immediately improving quality, halving prices, and ending the previously necessary putting-out system.

A substantial Surinamese community in United States has existed since at least 1975. For much of the 20th century, many Surinamese immigrants moved to the U.S. via a permanent residency visa, which enabled them to acquire U.S. citizenship. However, it became easier to immigrate to the U.S. because of the open door policy the U.S. had for many refugees. Some Surinamese were political refugees that fled the Bouterse regime.

Surinamese have immigrated to the U.S. due to both push and pull factors. Although many migrate to the U.S. to escape poverty, many have migrated for work, study, and tourism. Thus, many Surinamese who traveled to the U.S. with tourist purposes to study at their universities, definitely settled there. Most Surinamese that settled in U.S. cities were lower and middle-class individuals who arrived from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Also, Surinamese families already being in some U.S. cities boosted further emigration from Suriname. [2]

Demography

Most Surinamese organizations estimate that about 10,000 to 15,000 Surinamese live in the United States. Most Surinamese Americans reside in South Florida and New York City. Other places with relatively large Surinamese communities include but are not limited to Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; California (primarily San Francisco); and other cities in Florida. Most Surinamese settle in places similar to their land, from residential architectural style to flora and fauna to tropical climate. For that reason, the highest concentrations of Surinamese are in Florida (Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Tampa.) Most Surinamese in the U.S. are of Chinese, East Indian, Creole, and mixed descent. Trace amounts of other Suriname ethnicities are also represented in the U.S. Some Surinamese in the U.S. are also white (especially those of Dutch descent) and some are of Javanese, Amerindian, and/or Maroon descent. The racial variety in the Surinamese community is displayed especially in New York City. The Surinamese community experiences disunity and mistrust among other issues. The Surinamese community of New York is more tightly knit than that of Florida. [2]

Organizations

Most organizations try to maintain the identity of Surinamese cultures, particularly Indian, Creole, and Javanese, organizing many activities and events throughout the year. Florida contains all these organizations, and all but one operate in Miami -- the Surinamese Moravian Fellowship of Miami, Surjawa, the Organization of Surinamese people in Miami (OSIM), the Surinamese American Network Incorporation (SANI), the Surinam Heritage Foundation, Heri Heri, and Fayalobi (the only one in Tampa.)

The Surinamese Moravian Church in Miami tries to promote social unity through Christian faith and organization of events. [2]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

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Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Suriname</span>

According to the official data, the Muslim population of Suriname represents about 13.9 percent of the country's total population as of 2012, which is the highest percentage of Muslims in the Americas. Though the majority belong to the Sunni sect of Islam, there are some Shi'a, and a small population of Ahmadiyyas.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surinamese people</span> Ethnic group

Surinamese people are people who identify with the country of Suriname. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Surinamese, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Surinamese.

Chinese Surinamese people are Surinamese residents of ethnic Chinese origin, majority of which are Hakka. The earliest migrants came in the 19th century as indentured laborers; there was another wave of migration in the 1950s and 1960s. There were 7,885 Chinese in Suriname at the 2012 census, constituting 1.5% of the total population. They constitute the largest component of the 'other' ethnic category, which makes up 2.3% of the population as per the CIA World Factbook. The majority of the Chinese Surinamese consider Hakka of Guangdong as their ancestral homes. There is a small minority of Heshan, Jiangmen origin Cantonese and Hakkas as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese Surinamese</span> Ethnic group of Javanese descent in Suriname

Javanese Surinamese are an ethnic group of Javanese Indonesians descent in Suriname. They have been present since the late 19th century, when their first members were selected as indentured laborers by the Dutch colonizers from the former Dutch East Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Suriname</span>

The history of the Jews in Suriname starts in 1639, as the English government allowed Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy to settle the region, coming to the old capital Torarica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesia–Suriname relations</span> Bilateral relations

Indonesia and Suriname established diplomatic relations on 24 January 1976. Both had a special relationship, based upon shared common history as former colonies of the Dutch Empire. Large numbers of Javanese migrated to Suriname to work on plantations during the late 19th and early 20th-centuries. Indonesia has an embassy in Paramaribo also accredited to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, while Suriname has an embassy in Jakarta. Indonesia and Suriname are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Suriname</span>

Women in Suriname are women who were born in, live in, or are from Suriname. Surinamese women may be ethnically East Indian, Creole/Afro-Surinamese, Javanese, Amerindian, Mixed, or of other ancestry. Many women of Suriname work in the informal sector and in subsistence agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban immigration to the United States</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese diaspora</span> People of Javanese ethnicity residing outside Indonesia

The Javanese diaspora is the demographic group of descendants of ethnic Javanese who emigrated from the Indonesian island of Java to other parts of the world. The Javanese diaspora includes a significant population in Suriname, with over 13% of the country's population being of Javanese ancestry. Other major enclaves are found in Australia, French Guiana, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, Singapore, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

References

  1. 1 2 "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Surinamese Immigrants in the United States of America: A Quest for Identity?. Pages 32, 34, 41, 75-77.