The daily worker., 1934-05-18
A Criticism of the
Article on Haiti BY
Langston Hughes
By S. JUsTE ZAMOR

The article on Haiti written by
Langston Hughes and published in
the Daily Worker on May 7. makes
me realize the Importance of clari-
f1cation on the situation Of the Hal
tian workers in relation to their
oppressors. Hughes made a num-
Der OF statements which are con-
fusing, if not actually distortions.
For example, he says: "All work
which keeps Haiti alive, which pays
for its occupation and enriches the
foreign merchants is done by Ne
groes without shoes" Does Hughes
wish to imply that those workers
who are working for the electric
companies, railroad companies. ice
companies, etc, and for the Hal
tian-American factory in Portrait
Prince, although badly exploited by
these foreign capitalists. are also
barefoot? This is not true. In Haiti
this type of work, badly paid though
it is, is considered the aristocracy
of labor, and the people usually
found working in these jobs are
middle class people. These people
wear shoes.
Despite the extent of the shoe
industry in the Island, why is it
that 65 per cent Of the people are
still walking barefoot? And who is
responsible for such conditions?
Hughes directs his criticism against
the mulattoes alone. But are the
Negro politicians in Haiti any bet
ter than the mulattoesP Almost all
the friends Of the Haitian toilers
fail to understand this inter-rela-
ton between the Negro and mu-
latto politicians of Haiti. Most of
the writer's who have written about
Haiti show tendency to generalize
on the question Of mulattoes and
blacks, What is the situation in
Haiti? There, we find besides the
classes, a caste system, which Gre
ates division among the mulattoes.
division among the blacks, and
sometimes, the alliance of the rich
mullatoes on the top, and poor mu-
lattoes and blacks from below.
When speaking about the exploit
tation of the Haitian masses by the
foreign merchants, Hughes says:
There are no important factories
in the country and the very few
which exist are in the hands of
those who are not native" To say
that is absolutely incorrect. It
means that the Haitians themselves
are not exploiting the working
masses in the industrial field. How
about the cigarette factories, where
there are hundreds of young girls
working for two dollars a week as
wages? How about the numerous
distilleries? How about the hat fac
tories in -Prince2 All these
are factories exclusively controlled
by Haitians. We must not over
look the ruthless exploitation of the
Haitian toilers by the foreign capi-
talists, but it is not to any extent
greater than that of the Haitian
ruling class. This is precisely the
basic cause for the stagnation in
the development Of the Island. The
Haitian bourgeoisie. in order to per-
petuate It's parasitical way Of liv-
ing, hampers all forms Of agricul-
tural and industrial development in
the country. After leaving school,
both mulattoes and blacks, in order
to become a part Of the Haitian
bourgeoisie, take big leap and
plunge into the disastrous politics
of the country.
Any statement or article which
tends to expose only the treacher-
GUS policy Of the Haitian mulatto
politicians against the masses, while
CLOSING over the fact that the Hal
tian Negro politicians play an iden-
tical role, is thoroughly mislesd-
ing.
In spite Of the division which ex-
lists in Haiti between the mulattoes
and Negroes, the poor mulattoes
get no mercy from the exploitation
Of the foreign merchants and the
Haitian ruling class. When writing
about the exploitation Of the Hal
tian masses, one must never forget
the part played by the Haitian Ne
gro bourgeoisie. For the mulatto
rulers and the Negro rulers have
formed United Front from the
top in order to crush down still
further the living standards of both
the mulatto and Negro worker.
In closing, I should like to say
that there is some good revolution
ary material in Haiti today among
intellectual and middle class muIat-
toes.