Vol. 74/No. 24      June 21, 2010

In Miami, two factory workers—Jean-Louis and Jean-Baptiste—each made a pledge to the Supporters Monthly Appeal in May.

Both are from Haiti. In the 1980s they were part of a movement of peasants demanding land reform and democratic rights during and after the time of the Duvalier dictatorship. The movement faced severe repression from the government and paramilitary gangs.

“My family became very concerned about my safety,” Jean-Louis explained. “I came to live here but never left the struggle.”

Jean-Baptiste, who himself came to the United States some 15 years ago, added, “For 30 years, we’ve been activists demanding justice for the masses of workers. We’re dedicated. Since we got here, we’ve been looking for something.

“So when we met the Socialist Workers Party it was like we found gold.

“We lost a lot of opportunities in Haiti to be able to make a revolution. Perhaps we didn’t have the materials. Perhaps we didn’t have the leaders we needed. But here I’ve learned about Thomas Sankara, Maurice Bishop, Malcolm X, and other leaders of the international revolutionary movement. We had heard about some of them through word of mouth. But now,” he smiled, “we’re swimming in documents!”

“Sincerely, for myself, I want to do everything possible to increase my pledge,” Jean-Baptiste concluded. “It’s a pleasure to be able to do what we can,” added Jean-Louis.
 

Ramona Chavez Lopez, a home health aide worker in Marshalltown, Iowa, recently decided to make a monthly contribution. “Back in 1998 I worked together with a member of the party in a meatpacking plant. What an impact it had. I began to educate myself, and my coworkers and I learned about our rights. We stopped accepting discrimination,” she said.

“I began supporting the work of the party because it became clear to me how its members firmly believe in the necessity of struggle. I know it takes a lot of money to support the party's work because it's a party for workers, not the rich. I don't have much, but I donate what I can.

“I hope more read this and decide to give as well.”
 

In Seattle organizers recently received a letter from someone who had contributed in the past. She explained she stopped contributing a few years ago, “when I realized I had not kept track of politics or read the Militant, and was contributing more for the sake of nostalgia than for anything I actually knew about what the party was doing at the time.

“I have been reading the Militant pretty regularly for the past year now. I like and agree with what I see there, in particular where it relates to immigration issues, but also in general. I appreciated the recent editorial on the census, since I had just been speaking to a friend about how intrusive it is. I feel comfortable making a regular contribution to the party once more.”

Join us! Contact a distributor of the Militant listed on page 8.

Don Mackle in New York, Pete Seidman in Miami, and Lisa Rottach in Des Moines contributed to this column.  
 
 
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