For almost three years, beginning in July of 1936, Spain was torn apart by civil war as Republicans fought to defend their democratically elected government against a fascist uprising led by General Franco. It is believed that hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, with many more displaced or left to suffer in bombed-out cities under constant threat of starvation. In January of 1939, as the war neared its end, celebrated Haitian poet, novelist and activist Jacques Roumain wrote the following letter to the director of the Haitian Red Cross and urged them to show solidarity with the people of Spain.
Mr Director:
The person addressing you is neither acting as a politician nor as a militant; I aim to represent only a tiny part of the universal conscience that suffers and rises up in the face of the spectacle of martyrdom imposed on Republican Spain.
Even though our country is far from the theatre of war, the radio and newspapers echo the tragic events that are bleeding that admirable nation. I won’t dwell on the fact that the trenches, where the loyal army of the Spanish Republic heroically resists, now trace the boundaries between civilisation and barbarism. I speak of the rearguard, of the defenceless cities, bombarded mercilessly day after day, where tens of thousands of children, women, and the elderly are perishing.
Beyond the terrifying danger of aerial assaults, at the threshold of a harsh winter, millions of beings are falling victim to hunger. Thousands of them are already in slow agony. The most essential food supplies for life—meat, bread, butter, sugar, milk—are lacking. The absence of food is wreaking as much havoc as the bombs. And yet this heroic people do not complain. They fight off hunger with stoic dignity. However, they must be helped at all costs. Thinking of our dear sisters, our children, our women, our fathers, it is imperative that we use our humble means to alleviate some of this suffering, to save innocent children from a terrible death.
I know the Haitian people are poor; I also know that they are noble and generous. Even when circumstances have prevented us from playing the historic role assigned to a nation that rose from slavery through the force of arms, that has always stood alongside threatened justice and liberty, I am convinced that the fiery spirit of our ancestors, who fought for the independence of North America, who helped Bolívar, who welcomed Maceo and Martí, still lives within us. Haitians remain those men sensitive to suffering, still those men sensitive to human pain.
I propose that the Haitian Red Cross organise a Day of Aid for the mothers and children of Spain. Through festivals, theatrical performances, film screenings, concerts, etc., for which the government will surely grant authorisation, we can collect supplies that will constitute our modest contribution to a work of solidarity and kindness.
By doing so, we will earn, in addition to the gratitude of the Spanish people, the satisfaction of having fulfilled our duty.
Jacques Roumain
This letter was later printed in the Cuban newspaper, Noticias de Hoy. A PDF of that edition exists online here (this letter can be found, in Spanish, in the bottom right-hand corner of the PDF’s seventh page).
I have great admiration for the Haitian people and do what I can to support Midwives of Haiti. It is a great sorrow that the Haitians and the people of Spain and so many other countries have undergone such tragedies in the face of merciless dictators. It's hard to believe these horrors continue.
No cats or dogs at risk, either. I knew a wonder American woman and a Haitian