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Tale of a West
Indian Sugarcane
Worker in the ’60s
B Y M O N I C A V I C T O R
O It
Florida in 49 years.
n Feb. 28, 2014, Morrison James
flew from Vieux-Fort to Miami.
was his first flight to
“How was your flight Dada?” we asked.
He recounted a moment on the plane.
“The flight attendant asked if I wanted a snack,”
he recalls. “’No, thank you,’ I said – I have no
teeth!” James smiled as he spoke, revealing less
than a half-dozen he’s held onto.
When James was 25 years old, he had all 32 in
his mouth and was looking forward to his first
trip to the states. That was 1965, the same year
the EC$ began circulating in St. Lucia, replacing
the British West Indies dollar. It was also a time
when young West Indian men were “chosen” to
go overseas to “cut cane.”
But the selection process wasn’t easy. It
involved blood tests and background checks.
Applicants had to be in tip-top shape, drugfree
with a squeaky clean record…
James took a shot and applied.
While listening to the radio one day
James heard that recruiters would be in
his neck of woods to scout young men
interested in going to America to cut
cane. At the time he worked in
construction but he made himself
available that day. James met the height
and weight requirements and so he was
handed a card to go get his blood work
done. Soon thereafter, the results were
in, and James and countless other
young men from across St. Lucia were
on a flight to Florida.
Being selected was a huge deal. Family
members and friends often gathered in
the "yard" anxiously awaiting the news
of whether their loved one made the cut
or not.
“Mwen fè’y” (I made it) those selected
would say. Or, “Mar fè’y coo sala. San
mwen pa té bon," (I didn’t make it this
time, my blood work wasn’t good),” said
the unlucky ones. For those who were
not selected, often a lack of potassium
was to blame and the prescription to
make their blood "good" again was to
eat lots of green bananas and spinach
among other things. But James didn’t
have to take those measures because
his blood was "good."
Leaving behind his girlfriend and two
kids, James made the trip to Belle Glade
to assume his duties as a migrant
sugarcane worker.