Provincial Haiti, January 1—222 years after its independence, Haiti has once again awakened in the abyss of capitalist misery and violence. The struggle for power and wealth between bourgeois groups, each supported by their favored imperialist groups, plunges the working class into the most appalling poverty.
An antiracist, pro working class food tradition
Workers here will never forget that their ancestors fought valiantly and fiercely to overcome racism, colonialism, and slavery. And this is the importance of the “joumou (pumpkin) soup” eaten on January 1st: slaves were forbidden from tasting it during the period of slavery era. It has become the tradition since the end of France’s colonial rule on January 1, 1804 for Haitians to consume joumou soup as a symbol of liberation. However, day by day, this storied tradition is fading out due to the misery and despair created by capitalism. This system does everything in its power to erase all traces of the victorious struggles of the masses against exploitation, racism, and domination.
The Progressive Labor Party (PLP), in the fight against capitalism and for communism, is striving to revive the struggles of the dominated masses against their oppressors. Thus, every year in Haiti, PLP comrades, with the contribution and collaboration of friends and relatives, prepare and distribute pumpkin soup. We call it “solidarity soup.” This year, several hundred people participated in the distribution of soup in the public square in a small town where there is a PLP club. Our comrades and close friends used this occasion to talk about the history of the independence struggles and relate them to our current local situation as well as national and international politics, racism, and the migration crisis that affects all workers.
“Look! He [Donald Trump] treats our brothers like dogs in his country,” said a 50-year-old man. A family man and hard worker, he feels dismayed by the migration policy of the U.S. president, which impacts him personally because so many of his own friends and relatives have been forced to migrate to the U.S. He doesn’t use the term capitalism, but he angrily says that “they are racists, wild beasts who suck the blood of unfortunate workers from the Global South, then chase them away when they have no more blood left, forgetting that it is these workers who create the wealth they enjoy.” Another young woman followed up by saying, “Dessalines [one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution] knew how to put them in their place.” This conversation continued throughout the day, with more and more people joining in. They denounced capitalism and demanded that this system come to an end one day.
We need to fight the bosses worldwide!
At this point, the Party comrades analyzed the current world situation with them, emphasizing that to save humanity, capitalism must be ended, and to end capitalism, the exploited people of all countries must unite and build an international revolutionary communist party capable of leading the class struggle. They described some of the struggles that had been waged against the aggressions of imperialism by workers, often led by communists—including in our Party—around the world and the heroism of the men and women who resisted them.
There were many children and teenagers who listened closely to these discussions, which continued for several hours in the hot sun. The words spoken today piqued the curiosity of many. It was an exceptional moment in the building and strengthening of the Party in Haiti. We will continue to organize activities to keep alive the memory of the victories in the struggles against the capitalists. Our next mass activity will be around International Working Women’s Day on March 8, when we will join with several local women’s and students’ groups.
Join us, exploited people of all countries! We oppressed/workers have always made history through resistance against the savage will of the racist exploiters. Our strength is solidarity!
