THE CARIBBEAN WORLD
Readers of Robinson Crusoe associate the Caribbean Sea with piracy and
rum, but usually have few other ideas on the subject. Most people of the
United States have scarcely so much as heard that there be any Caribbean
world except that it is somewhere in the tropics.
To be sure, the Caribbean Sea has a way of impressing itself upon those
who sail its troubled tides. Perhaps the shades of the villains who used
to cross these waters on their murderous expeditions still linger to raise
the adverse winds and toss the seasick passenger in his misery. Certain it
is that very few travelers have any affection for the seven hundred miles
of salt water between the Mosquito Coast and the islands so notorious in
the sixteenth century.
It is with something of surprise, then, that the prowler about Panama
learns of a homogeneous population living on the chain of islands that
begins below Porto Rico and swings downward in a graceful curve to the tip
of the South American coast. These Lesser Antilles mark the eastern
boundaries of the famous, or _in_famous, Caribbean Sea. Though small in
size, their considerable numbers and large populations make them
important. If they are not so well known now, at least they have the
distinction of having been discovered by Columbus when he set out to find
a way to the East Indies and discovered the West Indies instead.
[Illustration: COSTA RICA FARM HOME]
The political complexion of these islands varies greatly. Government is
shared by Spain, France, England, and the United States, and the languages
spoken conform to the governing power. The purchase of the Danish West
Indies has given the United States a permanent and prominent influence in
the group.
No account of matters Panamanian could omit reference to the people of
this West Indian world. From the beginning of Panama's history Caribbean
adventurers have crossed the sea in any craft that would float, and have
played a large part in the restless events of the Isthmus. West Indian
influence and blood were mingled with the history of the Isthmus for four
hundred years, and in these last days it has been the West Indian who
furnished the labor that dug the Panama Canal, and who still contributes
the brawn and perspiration for the work of the Canal Zone. Twenty-five
thousand of these people live on or near the Zone and are employed by its
government, and probably as many more live near by and mingle with the
native life of Panama. All through the interior there are always some West
Indians.
Without the West Indian the digging of the Canal would not have been
impossible, but would have been much more difficult. Chinese coolies would
have cost more to import and could hardly have worked for less money.
Considering the cost of living on the Canal Zone, the West Indian has
furnished some of the cheapest labor in the world. In construction days
the nine or ten cents an hour wage was more than the black man had
received at home, but his living expenses on the Zone were very much
higher than on the Caribbean Islands. The wage scale of the West Indian on
the Canal Zone has been revised and increased several times by the
American government in an effort to keep pace with the rising cost of
living; but it must be said that the laborer's wage of about thirty
dollars a month, with from three dollars to six dollars deducted for the
rent of two rooms, does not afford a very sumptuous living for a man and
his family. The "silver" man on the Zone pays the same price for his food
and clothes as does the "gold" white man who receives twenty-five per cent
higher wages than is paid for the same work in the States, and in addition
has a furnished apartment or cottage free of rent cost. The men on the
"gold" rate complain of the high cost of living. What they would do if
reduced to one sixth of their present wages they do not stop to consider.
It is not a pleasant subject to face, but it is hoped that the wages of
the West Indian may be lifted to the point where he can at least buy food
enough to keep him in good physical condition.
The West Indies furnishes the plantation labor of Panama and Costa Rica,
without which there would be little plantation work done. In the hot and
humid banana groves he endures the temperature and handles the huge banana
bunches as though born for the job, as perhaps he is. Out from Almirante
and Puerto Limon range the tracks of the plantation railroads through
hundreds of miles of banana forests, where the black man supplies the
labor for the largest farms in the world. Forty or fifty thousand of these
people live on and about the plantations of the Atlantic coast and without
them the largest agricultural enterprise ever carried on under one
management would collapse.
The West Indian on the Isthmus is not the West Indian at home. He may live
and die on the mainland, but he thinks in terms of the islands from which
he came. Like the American Negro, he is of African descent, but his
African origin is so remote that no trace of it remains in his
consciousness, though it is evident in his psychology. Most of the West
Indians about the Canal Zone dream of returning to the islands again.
These people of the Caribbean world have a decided race consciousness, and
in their thinking and living are a world unto themselves. Separate and
distinct from the Greater Antilles and the mainland, they know very little
of the continental life and customs, and any attempt to classify them with
American Negroes or Europeans raises a set of social problems difficult to
solve.
[Illustration: BANANAS THIRTY FEET HIGH]
To the North American the mental processes of the West Indian are a
psychological jungle in which the explorer is soon lost. Perhaps no one
has yet essayed to really understand this man, and those who have tried to
analyze him maintain that he does not understand himself. Certain it is
that he does not trouble himself with any self-analysis. He has enough
other things to occupy his attention. With the psychological background of
his remote African ancestors, his race characteristics have changed very
little since the days when his forefathers were forcibly torn from their
native land and deported into savage slavery.
[Illustration: SAN BLAS INDIANS HAVE "POKER FACES"]
The social sanctions of the West Indian are rigid and well established.
The list of forbidden things is long and complex, and of signs, and dreams
and portents, strange and powerful, there seems no end. Numerous negatives
appear in his social and personal creed, and he who violates these
prohibitions must be a courageous soul. To introduce any original, new
idea into this scheme of things is a difficult task, and is apt to arouse
a whole chain of reactions, complex and mysterious. This man will follow
literally any able leadership, but the leader must go in the direction of
the established currents of opinion or he will have a hard time of it.
The West Indian has a religious capacity that impresses the visitor as a
remarkable aptitude for things sacred. Such, indeed, it is. And the
religious life of the earnest and conscientious members of this race
exhibits a fine type of devotion and sacrifice. As might be expected,
there is free expression of emotional experience, but on the whole those
who are truly religious match their songs by their deeds and their
testimonies by their lives. Practically nothing is known on the Isthmus of
anything bordering on hysteria. When it comes to familiarity with the
English Bible the average church member will put to shame his white
friend, and in interpretation of scripture some very unique and
interesting efforts are produced.
In matters of doctrine most of these people are rigid immersionists. The
women invariably wear their hats in church, on the ground that Saint Paul
commanded such observance, but they ignore the exhortation of the same
apostle that the women keep silence in the churches. All special occasions
possess thrilling interest, and almost any West Indian will go hungry to
get good clothes. How they manage to dress as well as they do on the
incomes they receive is a mystery that has not yet been solved.
An experienced missionary among these people says that practically every
West Indian at some time in his life is a member of some church. If this
is true, many of the West Indians in Panama are backsliders, as a majority
are not at present showing any interest in Christian observances or moral
living. Possibly many of those who are genuinely devout and consistently
Christian establish a membership in several different churches, one after
the other. Tiring of one church, discontented with the pastor, or
encountering personal difficulties with other members, it is easy and
convenient to join some other congregation, and of split-ups and
break-offs there seems no end. Nearly every church on the Isthmus has had
its deflections and divisions, and anything like the modern movement
toward unity and cooperation of the Christian program is a _terra
incognita_ to this enthusiastic individualist.
A surprising thing is the capacity for financial self-sacrifice of the
West Indian. Out of the pennies that he receives as wages he contributes
liberally to the support of his church and for the education of his
children. Nearly all West Indian churches on and near the Canal Zone are
self-supporting, and nearly all West Indian schools are maintained from
tuition fees. If these people were to receive good wages, they would not
only wear good clothes but would contribute to community enterprises and
keep their children in school as long as possible. That the more dissolute
members of the community would spend their money for rum is no reason for
depriving the laborer of his hire.
[Illustration: WHERE STYLES MOLEST NO MORE]
Living without adequate means of recreation or possibilities of culture or
wide information, life is nevertheless saved from deadly monotony by the
exercise of the high gifts of controversy. When it comes to a straight,
head-on wrangle the West Indian shines in a glory all his own. Not even a
loquacious Oriental can surpass his powers of abuse and lordly contempt
for his adversary. If words were bullets, the whole population would
perish in twenty-four hours, innocent and guilty together. To the
uninitiated bystander it seems that an empire is being lost, but the
old-timers cease to heed the quarreling and go their way indifferent to
the social safety valve of these greatest natural controversialists of the
tropic world. A young woman on the train in Costa Rica left her seat to
speak to a friend and another girl slipped in next to the window. When the
visitor returned the program began. Back and forth flew claims, charges
and counter-charges as to the ownership of the seat. With indescribable
scorn the usurper said, "Do you want a seat in my lap?" which provoked
"Ah, now I see how you was raised."
"Indeed, and you have no manners at all, it is plain to be seen."
Back and forth the duel rages until the first claimant sought another
seat, saying, "I certainly does respect myself too highly to sit by the
likes of you."
The combat closed thus: "When I look upon you I know what you is, for I
can read your face."
All of which falls flat without the wholly inimitable accent of the
Jamaican dialect.
This accent of the British subject in the West Indies is a dialect so
peculiar that it defies the most skillful impersonators. Somehow only
those to the manner born seem able to acquire or imitate the strong
combination of London cockney and African rhythm. The more intelligent and
better-educated people speak intelligibly, but it is common to hear
alleged English that is almost impossible to understand. There is not the
slightest resemblance to the traditional dialect of the Southern Negro,
and as for expressing it in cold type there is no alphabet on earth that
can represent the sounds and inflections produced.
The West Indian in Panama has a certain economic efficiency on the level
to which he has been trained, otherwise he would not have been brought to
the Zone by tens of thousands and retained there through the years of
Canal construction on into the present period of operation and
maintenance. Under a boss this man is faithful and efficient, provided the
task assigned him is within the scope of his training and ability. And
however slow or inaccurate he may be, he can hardly help earning the wages
that he receives. And if he did not work at all, the patience with which
he endures the frequent abuse and cursings of the impatient gang bosses
ought to be worth something. Certainly, the reader of this would not take
what is handed out to the West Indian for ten times his wages. It is true
that he is not strong on independent judgment, and that when left to his
own counsel he may do some strange things and perhaps very little of
anything. But how is a man to develop judgment who has never borne
responsibility?
Deep down in the heart of this man is slowly rising a resentment against
the economic conditions he finds on the Zone, and in many cases silent and
dangerous hate is gradually filling the hearts of the unorganized and
helpless "silver" men. Unless conditions are improved the time may come
when this resentment may flare up in a useless and hopeless protest. But
it is more likely that the wage scale will be readjusted from time to time
and the explosion forestalled. Occasionally some of these people get away
to the United States, but none of them ever return. For them the
patriarchal Canal Zone offers no attractions compared with the free
competition of the States. It is maintained by officials of the Zone that
the wage scale is as high as available funds will warrant; that if the
West Indian had any more money, it would do him no good, and that the
increases in wages already granted have fully kept pace with the rise in
the cost of living.
In matters of personal morals the West Indian is accused of loose
matrimonial practices. A priest said to me one day that if two
commandments--the seventh and eighth--could be omitted from the Ten, the
West Indian would get along all right. This slander is not deserved; but
investigation into facts reveals that the morals of the West Indians are
but little better than those of Panama. Concubinage is widely practiced,
with a system of financial support; but no more so than everywhere else in
the tropics except on the Canal Zone, where moral conditions are
exceptionally good. The remark of the priest may have been due to the fact
that most of the West Indians are Protestants.
Some characteristics of rare merit and interest occasionally arise among
these people. They do not sing as well as their northern cousins, but they
produce orators of no mean ability. Earnest, consistent, faithful,
affectionate, and original in expression, the best of these people afford
promise of what may be expected when better conditions bring large
opportunity.
[Illustration: CHINESE ALWAYS START A SCHOOL]
[Illustration: "SCHOOLDAYS"]
Like other races not long exposed to civilization, the children of these
people show surprising precocity. They give excellent account of
themselves in primary schools, and in performances at public
entertainments they are letter-perfect. Fifty numbers on a program and
never a slip or a failure throughout, and not a complaint or criticism
except that it was a little short. One large church established a record
by producing a Christmas program containing one hundred and eight numbers.
Through the primary years these youngsters sometimes surpass their white
friends, but the economic pressure of living conditions crowds them nearly
all out of school at the end of the fourth or fifth grade. Once they get a
groundwork in the three "Rs" they are considered well educated for life.
As may be expected, the birth rate is high, but large families are rare
because of the distressing and unnecessary high rate of infant mortality.
How could it be otherwise when a whole family lives in one room on
twenty-five dollars a month with food at New York prices?
That the Jamaicans are a gregarious folk is to be expected. The social
instinct is always strong in any people of African descent. Canal Zone
bosses complain that their employees prefer to leave the clean and
sanitary quarters of the Zone and live in the Guachapali and San Miguel
districts of Panama and in Colon, where they are crowded together in a way
that would prove fatal to a white man. The constant company and crowded
conditions do not trouble the West Indians, whereas the rigid restrictions
of the silver quarters of the Zone he often finds objectionable.
What the West Indian most needs is a fair chance. He is cursed and
disparaged on every hand. He is to blame for being ragged and unwashed,
but when he goes hungry and dresses up, then he is a hopeless spendthrift
and a fraudulent dude. It is useless to pay him fair wages because he
would spend the money. Unscrupulous landlords are allowed to extort
enormous rents for wretched quarters in Panama and Colon, because, if the
Jamaican did not spend his money that way, he would pay it out for
something else. He is looked down upon as not being highly educated, and
it is claimed that the more he knows the worse off he is. No matter what
happens he is to blame. If the cholera should appear in Panama, or the
Gold Hill should slide into the Canal, the West Indian would be the guilty
party. Surely, he is worth his wages merely as a target for the verbal
explosions of his boss. Some men would have difficulty in holding their
jobs were it not for the timely assistance of this "goat" of the Zone.
Living conditions in Caledonia and Guachapali would give the New York East
Side something to think about. Rooms ten or twelve feet square are rented
out to families who usually stretch a curtain across the middle, sleep
huddled together in the rear at night, and live in the front of the "flat"
the rest of the time. From some primitive prejudice comes a violent
dislike of fresh air, especially at night, when every room is as nearly as
possible hermetically sealed. In a tropical temperature no one has yet
explained how the inmates live till morning.
Naked children swarm in the streets. At first the visitor is properly
shocked, but soon ceases to notice these ebony cherubs. In time, however,
one does get tired of it. Along the sidewalks and in the doorsteps the
evening hours are turned into neighborhood debating societies and
wrangling clubs, and between the arguments and disputes, and the always
nearby street meeting, there is never a dull moment. That is why they
prefer living there to the quiet and monotonous life in the silver town on
the Zone.
Religious gatherings on the street are a marked feature of the night life
of this part of the city. Torchlights and crowds, vigorous singing and
enthusiastic exhortations mark the visible features of the efforts of
these earnest persuaders of their neighbors to flee from the wrath to
come. If street demonstrations were confined to religious meetings, all
might be well. While ever-present canteenas dispense cheap and deadly rum
there will always be people who will go hungry and ragged to buy
"firewater," and with one or two drinks aboard the West Indian becomes a
very talkative and quarrelsome person. Often have I seen sidewalks
spattered with blood, and a common sight is that of a couple of policemen
leading away a gory victim or culprit.
So scanty is the food ration of these people that the general custom
prevails of eating very little during the day and then making a feast at
night of whatever food can be secured. The Methodist missionary school in
this district established a soup line at noon for the feeding of hungry
babies who came to the school without their breakfast and had nothing at
home to eat at noon. Any sort of "learning" under such circumstances was
impossible.
Three or four things must be supplied if the West Indian is to rise above
his present level. He needs living wages, he needs intelligent and
responsible leadership; he needs a better education, and he needs a
broader social basis and a wider horizon for his circle of life.
There are a few lawyers and doctors and teachers of this race, and there
are a number of preachers, who consider themselves to be the
intellectuals, but there is no concert of purpose or plan for progress
among these people. Each man is intent upon exalting his own personal
prominence, or furthering the interests of the little group to which he
belongs. West Indian life at present is segregated into little cliques and
rings, represented by churches, lodges, dancing clubs, and other
organizations. So far no common cause has united any of these factors in
any program of progress. So intent are they upon individual emphasis that
any thought of the social whole seems almost impossible. Several efforts
have been made to unite in a common program of service the different
churches in a given community, but so far small success has attended these
worthy plans.
Perhaps more than almost anything else the West Indian needs racial
self-respect. He is humble enough before his boss, and if well treated is
loyal and faithful; but for his own kind he has little appreciation. "I
will never work for my own color," boasted a proud cook one day. And one
of the most difficult problems of the missionary grows out of the fact
that the West Indians generally despise each other. To arouse leadership
and stimulate ambition among a people who look down upon themselves is a
big task. The individual man will have to get his mind on something
besides his effort to exalt himself above all his fellows before any great
progress can be made. The fundamental trouble with the West Indian is that
he looks up to those whom he considers his superiors and looks down upon
everybody else. It seems difficult for him to look across or on a level,
and recognize other people as being on the same plane with himself.
The educational equipment of these people needs to be extended beyond the
present mere elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Some
intellectual window into the great world out beyond the Caribbean Sea must
be provided if there is to be deliverance from the superstition and
iron-bound customs that have held them fast for ten thousand years.
What the West Indian needs is not more vigorous swaying of congregations
nor more loudly shouting enthusiasts, but a program of Christian living
that will enlarge the boundaries of life and push back the horizons of
interest. Debating societies, reading courses, study clubs, extension
lectures, night schools, vocational training, good moving picture
programs--all of these will do much to break the spell of the past and
introduce new ideas where they will take root and bear harvest. Here is a
fertile field for a Christian settlement, but the settlement worker should
be a resident of the community. One difficulty with the mission work now
conducted is that it is done from the top down, and from the outside in.
Any attempt toward higher education will need some endowment. It is a
tragedy that these people, out of their wretched poverty, are compelled to
pay tuition fees for the meager education that their children receive.
Some of the plans now being formulated for a broader work in these
communities deserve every encouragement and support.
It is greatly to the credit of the West Indian that he nearly always
manages in some way to send his children to school, cost what it may.
Considering his opportunities, he does well. If the American people were
suddenly asked to pay one or two dollars a month for each child sent to
school, there would be educational revolution.
It is the intention of the Canal Zone government to house its employees on
the Zone as soon as quarters can be provided, but this will require some
time. As all "silver" employees are charged a monthly rent for these
quarters, the project is a business matter for the Zone. Twelve families
are usually quartered in one two-story house, two rooms and a porch
section to the family, with two wash rooms and sanitary quarters for the
whole house. At five dollars per month rent for each family, the house
yields an income of eight hundred and forty dollars per year. In a
building of about the same size four white families would be quartered
rent free.
[Illustration: THREE IN A ROW]
[Illustration: MOTHER, HOME, AND--THE SIMPLE LIFE]
There is abundant opportunity in the Republic of Panama for the
organization of agricultural colonization schemes. Good land is plentiful.
Families could be placed on the land without much housing expense, and if
food could be supplied them for a few months, self-support would soon be
established. Some philanthropist might render valuable service and open up
new opportunities for a large number of these people by placing them out
on the land where each family could have its own house and where better
conditions prevail. A colony of one thousand souls grouped about a central
church and school and store would afford new hope and better living to
these dwellers in the crowded tenements.
What may be the future of the West Indian on the Isthmus is not yet
clearly established, and the Canal Zone authorities have heretofore
regarded the "silver" men as more of a temporary necessity than permanent
residents. As industrial conditions on the Zone become more stable,
however, it appears that there always will be needed a large labor force
with a minimum of about twenty thousand people; and unless some new factor
appears or is imported, the West Indian is going to supply this labor
demand for years to come. This being the case, the laborer is worthy of
his hire and should be paid a fair wage for what he does. And the
missionaries and social workers who are interested in the welfare of these
people need a coordinated and unified program of religious and educational
advance. So long as the present disjointed and unconnected methods are
followed, scattering and sometimes inharmonious results will appear.
So long as there is work for a laborer in Panama, so long the Caribbean
man will be found here in such numbers as may be needed, and so long as he
is here he at least deserves good treatment.