Part of Muntjac Issue 2: Insurgency & Counter Insurgency
Margaret Kimberly The Caribbean island Martinique, is an overseas department of France, but its people are in protest against the government in Paris. The most recent protest occurred because of the high cost of food due to the presence of food distribution monopolies. Roddy Rod is an anti-kepone activist, a pan-African, anti-imperialist resident of Martinique. He is also a resident of the African nation the Ivory Coast. He speaks on behalf of other anarchists in Martinique who are engaged in disruptions on behalf of the people there. He joins us from Martinique.
Roddy Rod Thank you margret, it’s an honor to be here.
MK I don’t think Americans know much about Martinique, people think of it as a colony when in fact it is France, just as Hawaii is the US even though it’s far from the mainland. Despite being a part of France, people there do not have the same material conditions that other citizens of France have. There have been protests, intermittent protests and there were some recently about the high costs of food. What is it that causes these differences in treatment and the difference in food prices?
RR The obvious response is that it’s 7,000 Kilometers from France, Martinique has a colonial history. You see, Margret, colonisation has multiple faces it can be destroying Haiti, as France has done, it can be through false decolonisation within West Africa and keep the money and it can also be through departmentalisation where its a still a french department but you always have to fight and to scream to have the same treatment. Some people still choose to fight for equality, I don’t have the pretension to speak for those people, I respect them, but I’m not part of them.
As far as the situation here, there is an association that started with claims, the strict claim was in response to a commission against the monopolies in Martinique, in 2023. Monopolies within the food distribution industry have been made to answer as to why the cost of food distribution is so high. In regards to that there is an association who started claims saying “you say that Martinique is france, then the prices then the food has to be at the same price as in france” that is when everything really started. Its nothing new, that fight against the monopolies has been going on for centuries, mainly within our modern history in Martinique, it has erupted and never really stopped, its calmed down but its not gonna calm down anymore, in 2009 and then for other reasons in 2019, 2020 and now in 2024.
So, that association, their strict claim is “nothing more” they don’t talk about colonisation, they don’t talk about imperialism, their claim is France has to manage something in order for the food to be at the same price as in france. That is the starting point in September, 2024.
MK It’s interesting, I use the example of Hawaii, being a US state, even though it’s far away. They also have very high food prices. It seems, there is a connection between these places that are allegedly part of another country which prevents them from doing what’s right by their people. It seems that Martiqnue should secure food from the rest of the region, the Caribbean and other nations. Is that not possible?
RR That’s when the historical context comes in, thank you for that and yes I believe it would be a very rich conversation with people from Hawaii and from Puerto Rico as well. The historical context within Martinqiue is that there is a colonial pact that doesn’t say its name anymore, that is still in place with its economic function Martique, as with many countries in the Caribbean, has gone through the genocide of Natives and then the deportation of Africans forced through slavery to work. Then thanks to the brave people of Haiti, we have gone through a process of abolition of slavery.
Slavery in Martinqiue was abolished in 1848. What happened at that time? Descendants of enslavers, who were enslavers the day before. They were compensated for the loss of the forced labor, they kept much of their land and they kept their connections with the French elites. They kept the same economic model we have today in Martinique in which we plant an aggressive monoculture. We plant bananas and sugar canes, some of these are for rum. These are exported on boats as raw products. These same boats come back with products from france. 80% of what we consume in Martinique comes from the imports from France.
The individuals who are within the export and import industry are in a community, that we call the Bekes and there are big names within the Bekes, they are a caste, they have a racial way of functioning which is white supremacism. They are descendants of enslavers, that’s the issue we still have in Martinique.
MK So, the people who control Martinqiues economy are white people, descended from the slaveholding class?
RR It’s not just white people, because even white people in France are against this, there are a lot of French people who are against this way of functioning, it’s caste, it’s white supremacy, it’s not white privilege. Which is a different problem, it’s white supremacy at its purest. We have people whose ancestors have been compensated for the loss of their workforce when slavery in Martinqiue was abolished. They kept lands, they kept economic power. They kept growing through the centuries, through the next generations. So I’m oppressed by the same last names that my grandmother, my great grandmother, my great great grandmother were oppressed under. Those are the same last names, its caste.
MK So, it is a class issue?
RR Yes, it’s a capitalism issue. We have white people as allies, it is just capitalism at its purest. The consequence is not just the food price, everything is more expensive here. Another consequence is Kepone, Chlordecone and in the US Kepone was manufactured by in the US by Allied Chemicals.
MK So, Kepone is an insecticide, correct?
RR Initially, it was not authorised on US soil for us, it was authorised for Export. In 1974, at the warehouse of Allied Chemicals, there was an issue with AlliedChemicals. The workers were infected, the river was infected as well, it is a highly toxic pesticide. In the US, this issue was handled quickly, banana producers that were importing this pesticide in Martinique went and bought the authorization for them to bring production somewhere else. They knew of its toxicity since 1975. As of today, the use of this pesticide was stopped in France in 1990, in Martinique it was used until 1993. That lobby bought a lot of the pesticide before the ending date came in.
MK So this pesticide was banned in the US for 50 years but it was allowed to be used in Martinique. Is it still being used in Martinique?
RR Not officially, since 1993. The reason why I’m very meticulous in what I say is because of the arguments in courts. The consequence is, a lot of our soil, our rivers and some of our seas have been poisoned for more than 500 years. It can poison the Chickens, the Fish, it is an environmental catastrophe. There is a UN report that classifies Martinqiue and Guadeloupe as two of the fifty most countries polluted on earth.
Why I talk about Kepone is the same people, the same companies that plant bananas are the same ones importing food.
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MK The protest over these conditions, in this case, high prices. What is it that people want? Do they want to be treated more equitably, do they want to be independent of France? What is the demand of the protest?
RR Martinique, in my opinion, is at a crossroads. There is a consensus, things need to change. Everybody agrees, even in France. There are three camps;
– The majority of people want to fight for quality.
– There are people who want to start the process of autonomy
– There are more radicals, like myself, who want to go through the fight for independence.
The people who want to fight for autonomy and those who want independence are allies. We don’t agree on everything but we want to push the line forward for emancipation, whether it has to go progressively or it has to be more radically more drastic.
MK What is the outlook for any of those things happening? For autonomy or independence?
RR I’ll take some time to explain to you, what has happened in terms of protest in the last 15 years. Before I say this, Martinique has a rich history of fighting against colonialism and for independence, even through minority camps.
We have the insurrection that took place in 1870 led by Lumina Sophie. We have many radicals throughout our history, we have Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire the L’OJAM (Organisation de la Jeunesse Anticolonialiste de la Martinique / Anticolonialist Youth Organisation of Martinique) who faced répression. We had Martiniquans joining the ARC (Alliance révolutionnaire caraïbe / Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance) after the ARC was banned and brought down, some people in Martinqiue kept going like the Sons of Telga. Telga was one of the major figures of the 1870 insurrection in Martinique.
What I’m trying to say is, even if it’s a minority, we still have members of the independence camp who keep fighting for independence and we have a rich history of fighting. Even if the people of Martinique continue fighting for equality.
The French didn’t push forward equality in our history through kindness. People fought, people died, for equality.
The consequences of what happened in Martinique in the past few weeks. You have 134 small and big businesses that have either been vandalized, looted or burned down. You have more than 560 people that have lost their jobs, you have losses between around $70 million dollars this is all spread between 19 towns. Coming down to this, it’s very sad. Martinique is 1,128 square meters. It’s 360,000 people. 200 people were arrested as France sent elite troops.
In Guadeloupe in 2009, the fight against the high cost of food distribution began. It began there and had a domino effect in Martinique, 15 years later, nothing has changed. Under the camp for independence you had youth that I was a part of that had a different approach in 2019, throughout the Kepone commission. When the state starts a commission, sometimes it is to protect some people, it is not to bring people to justice. We knew where it was going. We, a small group of radicals started disruptions against stores, against colonial statues, against plantations. We had a different approach saying; the problem is colonial, people have to realise it. Through reforms you reinforce the colonial power.
We have to face that colonial power, our approach was to make disruptions so people can see that we’re not scared of the police and the repression. I was highly injured myself, I was shot in the face by the police during protests in 2020. Not just me, Kéziah Nuissier who was almost lynched by French white police. We were prosecuted, many others went to jail. Some for two years.
The response, then and now from the French state is to send in the French elite police troops called the CRS. In 1959, following a fight between a white and black person in Martinique, following that there were protests that were repressed by the CRS. There are three people who have been assassinated by them, the response from the Martinquian deputies was “the CRS needs to go”
There is an association, who wanted to start negotiations with the food distribution enterprise companies, the response from the government was to send the CRS. That is what sparked violence, looting and insurrection in Martinique.
The interview has been abridged and edited for ease of reading. For the full conversation, listen to the original audio. soundcloud.com/user-92939733/martiniques-history-of-resistance