The first Chinese immigrants voluntarily came to Suriname with their families to build a new life. After their contract period, they left the plantations and settled in the city or in one of the districts. There they started running supermarkets or eateries. In later generations, more and more mixed marriages took place. Much value is attached to education. That is why there are many intellectuals and physicians in Suriname who have a Chinese background. The new flow of immigrants lives in just as closed a community as the first Chinese who settled in Suriname. They speak very little Sranan Tongo and often no Dutch.

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