The term 'Lumpen' refers to a strata of society crushed by the juggernaut of lack of economic change. The Lumpen have been ejected from the old (often rural) economy but have not found a stable place in new formal economic activities. They live by their wits, often resorting to crime. And in Haiti this strata is very large and is growing even larger due to the after effects of the January 2010 earthquake. Young men, unable to find work, and who live by sponging off others, have banded together for survival oftentimes preying on others in the ghettos, slums and squatter-refugee camps that now dot the Haitian landscape.
The Lumpen develop a culture that is adapted to their position in society. Violence and intimidation are their modus vivendi; braggadocio their favored mode of expression; drug trafficking, hustling, prostitution and other illegal activities fund name-brand clothes, flashy cars and bikes, skin bleaching and gaudy (bling) jewelry. Haiti's Lumpen, because of blurred class lines, are sometimes undistinguishable from the law abiding, hardworking Haitian day workers.
The Lumpen are to be found in the informal sector and among the long-term unemployed, especially those who have never been employed. About 52 per cent of Haiti's unemployed in the 15-29 age groups are long-term unemployed. Of this number, about 63 per cent have never, ever worked in any sort of job, formal or informal. This might be a comparatively small number when put against a population of approximately 8.9 million but, when in control of the political situation on the streets and part of the established political parties things can and do get out of hand.
This fickle, violent, fleetingly loyal stratum has been used for various kinds of dirty work since the coming to power of Dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. He dressed them up in blue paramilitary uniforms and called them Ton Ton Macoutes (bogeymen) and used them to unleash a reign of terror on innocent Haitians. Since then various politicians have also bought their services from time to time.
In the recent Haitian presidential elections all of the 18 candidates had their supporters drawn from this stratum. But well-financed campaigns like that of singer/entertainer Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly was able to retain a significant number of hardcore Lumpen. Given the fact that he has absolutely no political base in Haiti he drew his supporters from among the ranks of the Lumpen found in the slums, squatter camps and within the ranks of the unemployed. For a few dollars Haitian politicians bought this fleeting loyalty of a strata that is violence prone.
Martelly's supporters have burnt buildings, threatened to kill people, attacked the police, and generally unleashed a reign of mayhem and terror that is inconsistent with the political process in a civilized nation. The problem for him is that once activated this mob cannot be controlled. It is an illiterate, angry, opportunistic and violent street gang that will kill. maim and terrorize for a few dollars. For this gang political loyalty --" if that is what it can be called --" is about who pays. That can quickly change if another politician pays more. It is a rent-a-gang for hire and it operates in safety in numbers with sticks, stones, bottles, arson, murder and mayhem. Sweet Micky's call for orderly, peaceful protest has fallen on deaf ears because the Lumpen under the guise of "political outrage rooting for their candidate" is now free to loot, steal and plunder.
Today in Haiti, the masses of people have no work, or work for pay which cannot come close to providing a living wage for a family. Because of the soil erosion and structure of agriculture, thousands still pour into Port-au-Prince's dilapidated, earthquake devastated environs looking for work.
Most of them have heard of a friend's friend or an uncle's cousin said to have found work in the tourist industry, or manufacturing sector. But there are few jobs to be had, and the slums grow. These unemployed masses put increasing pressure on the already inadequate city infrastructure. The problems of unemployment and underemployment are caused in large measure by the lack of an adequate infrastructure and the domination of all wealth by the few. The political instability of the present moment does not help.
One of the results of this oppression is a national illiteracy rate which is very close to 90% in the cities, and higher in rural areas. It is hard to calculate the suffering tied to illiteracy and the ignorance of alternatives which comes with illiteracy and lack of education. When an entire people cannot read, they are cut off from advances in knowledge. Thus they are condemned to repeat the forms of life they have developed whether or not those practices have negative aspects and consequences. Haitian life has many disastrous practices and these account for much of the misery today. It is from this litany of misery that the Lumpen arises.
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