Colony new territory

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City center of Neuland
Logo Colony Neuland
Logo cooperative Neuland

The colony Neuland (Spanish: Colonia Neuland ) is a in 1947 by Russian Mennonite founded settler colony in the department of Boqueron , in the region of Chaco in Paraguay . It has about 3000 inhabitants.

history

The colony was founded in 1947 by Mennonite refugees from what was then the Soviet Union in the Paraguayan part of the Gran Chaco . The settler colonies Menno (1927) and Fernheim (1930) had already been founded in the same region . The new settlers consisted almost exclusively of Russian-German Mennonites who fled the Ukraine during the Second World War and were housed in various camps in Germany for a short time after the war . Characteristic of Mennonites with Russian-German roots is a story of persecution and adherence to Plautdietschen , a variant of Low German .

The move to South America mainly took place by ship. When they arrived, the new settlers were often still affected by the traumatic experiences of the Great Terror under Stalin . Almost half of the newly arriving families were missing adult men, which was mainly due to the deportations of Russian-German men under Stalin, but also to the events of the Second World War .

About 2256 people settled on the land of the new colony, about 75,000 hectares, by 1948. It was located south of the existing neighboring colony of Fernheim and had previously been purchased by the Mennonite Central Committee , a Mennonite aid organization. When they settled, each family was allocated around 12 hectares of land. An area of ​​around 6 hectares was provided for widows. The official foundation day is February 1, 1947. The center of the colony was named Neu-Halbstadt . On January 22, 1948, the colony was named Neuland . The immigrants were spread over a total of 27 villages, some up to 50 km from the center of Neu-Halbstadt.

The economic development of the still young colony was more than sluggish in the first 25 years. The inadequate infrastructure as well as drought , plagues of locusts and ants and a series of bad harvests led to a steady migration of settlers towards Canada and Germany. At times the population fell to less than 1,000.

From the 1970s onwards, the development stabilized, not least with the help of larger investments in agriculture. The economy was centered on dairy and livestock farming as well as growing peanuts and sesame seeds . With the economic development, the social sector could be expanded in the form of educational institutions and a well-equipped hospital. However, problem areas also developed, such as growing social inequality . The positive development of the German colonies has also led to a growing economic and social gap between the Indians and Latin Paraguayans living in the area.

Like the other colonies in Paraguay, the Neuland colony also has internal autonomy in terms of administration and economic development. There is an intra-colonial school system, health insurance and a public order office with unarmed stewards who take on the tasks of the police . The cultural identity of the residents is still strongly shaped by their European-German and Anabaptist-Mennonite origins.

geography

Neuland is located in the heart of the Paraguayan Chaco , approx. 450 km northwest of the capital Asunción . An asphalt road connects the capital of the country with the colony Neuland.

The total area of ​​the Neuland land is 220,000 hectares and is owned by the Neuland colony. The 3000 inhabitants live in the center of the colony, Neu-Halbstadt, and in the meanwhile only 23 surrounding villages. The villages are connected by a well laid out road network of a total of 500 km, which is passable at any time of the year. The maintenance of these connecting routes is realized by the colony and financed by contributions from the colony members.

languages

The colony's colloquial language is Plautdietsch , a Lower Prussian variety of East Low German that originated in the Vistula Delta in the 16th and 17th centuries among the settlers in the Vistula delta , mostly from the Netherlands, Belgium and northern Germany . The standard German is primarily used as school and church language and at official functions application. Through the contact with the surrounding Latin Paraguayans, Spanish is also added as a third spoken language. Since Spanish is also on the school curriculum and is taught to students in other various subjects taught in Spanish, the children usually grow up trilingual. A resolution by the national ministry for education and culture for the schools in the colony, which are privately owned and recognized by the ministry, stipulates that 80% of the teaching at the primary schools (or elementary schools ) is in German and 20% in Spanish Language must be done. Furthermore, some residents from the "settler generation" still have some knowledge of Russian, which in most cases is no longer passed on to the next generation.

Eight different ethnic groups live together in the central Chaco, each speaking their own language and dialect . Many indigenous people , especially the older generation, also speak Plautdietsch, as the first settlers did not yet have any language skills in Spanish. But also some German-speaking residents learn the languages ​​of the indigenous peoples , such as the Chulupí , the Lengua or the Guaraní .

Culture

There are a number of cultural institutions in the colony. For example, there is a youth string orchestra and a brass band .

Every year there is also a rodeo festival, which has since expanded into a national exhibition for agriculture , livestock , industry , trade and services .

Economy and tourism

The budget of the Neuland colony feeds mainly from the contributions of the individual members and is mainly used to cover running costs and debts. The remaining amount will be used for the improvement and expansion of the community property or the community facilities of the colony. The administrative costs of the social, health and educational systems as well as from the areas of security and road construction are also financed by contributions from the members.

The colony is now also working intensively in the tourism sector. Since 2000 there has been a visitor program that follows the concept of educational tourism . Interethnic coexistence in the central Chaco, scenes of the Chaco war , the large estancias and nature reserves are included. In the central place of the colony (in Neu-Halbstadt) there is also a cultural-historical museum .

literature

  • Diether Götz Lichdi: Via Zurich and Witmarsum to Addis Ababa. The Mennonites Past and Present. first edition. Agape Verlag, 1983, ISBN 3-88744-401-9 .
  • Hanne Baltes, Friedrich Fischer: The Mennonites. Farmers and pioneers in Europe and America. A cultural geographic investigation. Self-published, Blieskastel 2001, DNB 965968901 .
  • Peter P. Klassen: The Mennonites in Paraguay. Volume 1: Kingdom of God and Kingdom of this world. Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein eV, Bolanden-Weierhof 1988, ISBN 3-921881-05-6 .
  • Peter P. Klassen: The Mennonites in Paraguay. Volume 2: Encounters with Indians and Paraguayans. Mennonite History Association , Bolanden-Weierhof 1991, ISBN 3-921881-07-2 .
  • Jakob Warkentin: The German-speaking settler schools in Paraguay in the field of tension between state cultural and development policy. Waxmann Verlag, Münster / New York / Munich / Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-89325-672-5 .
  • Jakob Warkentin: Upbringing and education in the school area. Volume 1. Association for the History and Culture of the Mennonites in Paraguay, Asunción 2007.
  • Jakob Warkentin: Upbringing and education in the area of ​​the colony. Volume 2. Association for the History and Culture of the Mennonites in Paraguay, Asunción 2007.
  • Gerhard Ratzlaff: Robert and Myrtle Unruh. Service to the community with lasting effects. Mercurio SA, Asunción, Paraguay 2007, ISBN 978-99953-3000-2 .
  • Jakob Warkentin, Heinrich H. Dyck, Johann, Monika Gossen: 50 Years Colony Neuland, Chaco - Paraguay. 1947-1997.

Web links

Coordinates: 22 ° 39 ′  S , 60 ° 8 ′  W