https://themilitant.com/2019/09/21/hurricane-dorian-exposed-depth-of-class-divisions-in-the-bahamas/
Hurricane Dorian exposed depth of class divisions in the Bahamas
??By Seth Galinsky
Vol. 83/No. 35
September 30, 2019
Hurricane Dorian exposed the class divide between the wealthy ruling
families and working people in the Bahamas, the disregard of the
government for the lives of the majority who live there and the class
values of the U.S. rulers, who dominate the islands??? economy.
It is seen in who was hardest hit by the storm. In the way thousands of
working people were left to fend for themselves during and after the
hurricane. In the inadequate search operations for the dead that the
government admits won???t finish for months, and in the continuing chaos
in getting aid to tens of thousands who desperately need it.
???Everybody???s been hit, the rich and the poor, but for the rich it???s less
severe because they live in better buildings,??? Jean Claude Timothy, 41,
an electrician, told the press visiting the Great Abaco island???s Mudd
neighborhood in Marsh Harbour, which was destroyed in the storm. ???The
people you work for for years don???t send a private plane for you ??? don???t
give you any food, any vacation pay.???
Abaco and Grand Bahamas ??? the two hardest hit areas ??? are well-known for
their resorts, marinas, luxury condos and golf courses. The wealthiest
residents there abandoned the islands well ahead of time.
But those living in the poorer neighborhoods, including what the
government calls shantytowns, mostly populated by Haitian immigrants and
their descendants, were stuck, at best taking shelter in churches and
schools, many of which collapsed during the storm.
The Washington Post reported Sept. 13 that Baker???s Bay Golf & Ocean Club
on a small island not far from Great Abaco hired 16 private security
guards equipped with helicopters and assault rifles to protect their
property, including homes for the rich and famous.
While many roofs were damaged, Baker???s Bay homes survived the storm. Not
so the Mudd shantytown across the water and nearby Pigeon Peas. The
flimsy homes there, many which have never had running water or
electricity, were leveled.
Eager that company bosses can get back to making a profit, Baker???s Bay
Chief Executive Mike Meldman told the Post he???s considering docking a
???mini-cruise ship??? off the coast to get the resort back up and running.
Some 2,000 mostly Haitian workers used to commute daily to Baker???s Bay
by ferry.
Discrimination against Haitians
Whether or not the workers of Haitian descent will be able or allowed to
rebuild is an open question. The Bahamian government has long fostered
discrimination against Haitians to divide the working class and
facilitate the bosses??? efforts to push down the wages and conditions of
all working people.
The Bahamas-born children of Haitian immigrants are not automatically
granted citizenship. Thousands of Haitians have been deported over the
last several years.
The Bahamian government had been threatening to bulldoze the Abaco
shantytowns, claiming they are illegal.
On Sept. 16, the Ministry of Housing and the Environment issued an order
prohibiting anyone from rebuilding the shantytowns for at least six
months on the pretext that it would interfere with removal of storm debris.
As of Sept. 17 the government has still refused to update the official
death toll beyond the 51 reported a week ago. Everyone knows the figure
is many times that. According to the government, there are still 1,300
people missing.
Some 7,000 people from Abaco and Grand Bahamas were evacuated to New
Providence, the most developed of the islands, about 2,000 of them to
shelters. At a shelter in Nassau, Timothy Rolle, one of the few
Bahamians there, told the New York Times that Haitians and Bahamians are
all being treated badly. He was so emphatic that a soldier warned the
reporters who were interviewing Rolle that they were ???inciting a riot.???
Everyone is worried about where they will live when they leave the
shelters, and finding work. For those without official documents there
is even greater uncertainty.
Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson told the Times that the government
has suspended deportation roundups in the areas damaged by the storm and
the shelters. ???Eventually persons will come out of those shelters,??? he
threatened, ???and if they???re not properly documented, then we apply the law.???
Teachers who lost everything
???More than 200 of our members in Abaco and twice that in Grand Bahamas,
lost their houses, their clothes, everything,??? Belinda Wilson, president
of the Bahamas Union of Teachers, told the Militant in a phone interview
from Nassau Sept. 14.
???Our biggest concern is that they get housing and clothing,??? she said,
???and they need time to heal from the emotional trauma.???
School authorities have still not decided where to send as many as
10,000 students displaced by the hurricane.
U.S. imperialism overwhelmingly dominates the archipelago. U.S-based
companies run many of the hotel and resort businesses there, which
comprise more than 50% of the country???s gross domestic product. More
than 80% of the Bahamas??? imports come from the U.S.
And despite some measures clamping down on ???money laundering,??? since
9/11 the Bahamas still serves as a haven for U.S. and other capitalists
to set up businesses and avoid paying taxes.
Two weeks after the storm, the Bahamian government has still not even
been able to organize the orderly arrival and distribution of donated
aid. The three Bahamian airports had been so congested by uncoordinated
flights from international aid and charity organizations that aviation
authorities stopped all takeoffs for several hours Sept. 5.
Some food shipments have spoiled while waiting to be distributed.
U.S. government aid is being dispensed with an eyedropper. As of Sept.
14 it had approved a measly $10 million.
Many Bahamians would like to go to the United States, at least until
more progress is made in restoring jobs and housing. But President
Donald Trump has said that he will not extend temporary protected status
to any of the country???s residents. The status would allow them to come
to the U.S. and work temporarily.
The revolutionary government of Cuba is setting an example of what is
needed to aid the people of the Bahamas. A group of 55 Cuban
internationalist volunteers, who were in Bahamas prior to the storm as
part of the Felix Varela Brigade, have been joining in the recovery
efforts, including helping to repair damaged schools.
Cuba has offered to send experienced linemen to help rebuild the
electric grid, volunteers with chain saws to clear roads, and doctors
and nurses to provide medical care.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Build solidarity with striking GM workers!
???GM workers, Blackjewel miners, fight for all of us
???Coal miners at Blackjewel ???stand up for what???s right???
???US hands off Iran! End all Washington???s sanctions now!
???SWP campaigns, wins support for workers organizing to fight
???Hurricane Dorian exposed depth of class divisions in the Bahamas
???Walmart is just ???a modern day sweatshop???
Feature Articles ??????There will be a clash between the oppressed and the
oppressors???
Also In This Issue ???Albany SWP runs on ???program that can defend working
people???
???NYC forces homeless workers to turn over ???savings???
???In race to speed up deliveries, retail bosses squeeze workers
???Cops fire Taser on customer in Walmart, drawing outrage
???Over 150,000 attend Manila book fair in Philippines
???Anti-union outfit targets UAW as auto workers strike
On the Picket Line ???Uniform workers in Puerto Rico, make gains, end strike
???Los Angeles truck drivers strike for right to join a union
???Health care workers rally against two-tier contract, for wage hike
25, 50 and 75 years ago
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York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxxx
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Clarence Darrow
??? I have always felt that doubt was the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of
God was the end of wisdom. ???
??? Clarence Darrow,