This is what solidarity looks like
Under freezing temperatures of 10 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit, several members and friends of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) spent about four hours outside the migrant refugee camp at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. We came to distribute donations of clothes, shoes, suitcases, coats and bedspreads, collected by comrades and friends. We were received with great gratitude by all those who came to meet us during this day, many of them were without coats, women in flip-flops and children with just a sweatshirt, under that temperature that made everyone tremble because of how cold it felt.
It was painful to feel what they told us through their testimonies, all the work they spent in that shelter where the coldness is terrible and more because that shelter is in a broken place near the coast. The bathrooms are outside the tents and the heating is not felt. We also provided a breakfast consisting of latte and hot chocolate, bread, sweets, donuts, biscuits, cream cheese, etc. that they gladly received and that served to warm us up a little.
The children were very happy because many of them received toys, crayons and books. It was a very nice day that despite the cold, the solidarity and gratitude shown among all warmed our hearts.
Many received our newspaper and a special bulletin of CHALLENGE. We also received the telephone number of most of those who came to collect the donations and we agreed to make a group chat on WhatsApp so as not to lose contact, since many of them are being taken out when they are two months at the shelter. The rest of the more than approximately 2,000 that remain will be taken out on January 15 or 16 when the mayor closes this shelter, leaving the uncertainty of where they’re going to end up.
Is communism possible? Yes! It is possible. Today it was demonstrated once again in this small day of solidarity.
Today I visited the Migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field for the first time; it was enlightening to say the least. I work for the Department of Education as a high school counselor in a title one school. The students I serve are predominantly Black and Brown children from all over New York City with many different cultural backgrounds. When people ask me what I do for work, I always like to tell people that “I’m doing the lord’s work” for a living. While I consider being a school counselor in 2024 one of the hardest jobs in America right now, I have developed a brand new respect for people who spend their free time and energy serving the working class and welcoming migrant families who are housed here in NYC.
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Visiting a concentration camp
When I first got to Floyd Bennett Field, the housing establishment immediately gave me the impression that it was a concentration camp, the only difference is that there were no keys and locks on the gates, but there was 24/7 security monitoring the migrants that were allowed to go in and out of the compound. Checking ID’s making sure the people coming in and out were accounted for. When we got to the compound we were only allowed to wait in front, a few hundred feet away from the entrance. Families came pouring out of the compound headed out to the nearest highway to either catch a bus to go run errands or look for work. Most of the families that came to get donations from us just so happened to stumble upon us as they came outside. There were kids and adults without coats and proper winter clothing. I saw people with shorts, skirts, t-shirts, flip flops on a very cold day in November. In Floyd Bennett Field, there aren’t any buildings, just miles of land, so the wind that swept across the field made the temperature feel 10-15 degrees colder than normal. But the look on the faces of the children and members of these families were unbothered, as if their bodies had adapted to living with this discomfort and cold temperature.
There was a moment that I stood and looked at all the people who came to help the migrants, and how bundled up we were because of how cold it was, and we were shivering and visually extremely cold, while the migrant workers were unbothered, while wearing half of what we had on. It was disturbing to know that people had to adapt to living like this, just to survive. I could go on for hours pointing out the inequalities I witnessed while being at the shelter, but what really left an impression on me was the smile on the families’ faces I witnessed, after they got a hot cup of coffee or found a winter coat that fit. The smile on the little girl’s face after she sipped her hot cup of cocoa and picked up a Dora the Explorer book. This experience is a must for helping our class see the humanity in the workers who are often derided by Trump and the racist media as “criminals” and “invaders”and it was humbling to say the least. I can honestly say that I haven’t felt that good about myself in a long time, despite serving our NYC youth everyday. This was different and a must for any person who calls themselves an honorable human being.
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Unity warms up migrant families and me
On a cold and windy Sunday at Floyd Bennett Field, while other volunteers were helping people sort through the clothing donations, I was serving cups of hot chocolate and coffee to migrants on the other side of the fence and inviting them to come look at the donated items. Chocolate? Cafe con leche? I was offering in broken Spanish. People were gracious and grateful for a hot drink and good will. Most were families with young children. Many were native Spanish speakers, some weren’t, although most seemed to understand both Spanish and English.
Just as my feet and hands were starting to get numb from the cold and wind, I felt someone hug my legs. A smiling young girl in a blue jacket with a red bow in her curly dark hair was wrapping her arms around me and saying gracias. I will never forget this warm and sweet gesture. My hope for this child, her family and all other new migrants is that they find a safe and prosperous life here.
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Capitalism can’t insure health
The January 15, 2025 editorial of CHALLENGE describes the failures of U.S. healthcare, from Covid-19 deaths to antivax propaganda. It also aptly criticizes the absence of conditions that predict health like housing and income.
For decades, workers have fought for health care for all. During the late 19th Century, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck instituted a health insurance program to counter the socialists’ demands for reform. Other countries modeled healthcare after a health insurance model but also never achieved equality among different economic groups. Even today, the highly praised systems of France and Sweden maintain differential care for the poor and wealthy.
The U.S. system also maintains multi-level coverage, from employer based and public, to no coverage. COVID benefits increased Medicaid eligibility, but in 2023 the federal government used bureaucratic rules to cut it, and 23 percent are uninsured. Undocumented immigrants and those in the U.S. for less than five years are ineligible for public benefits like Medicaid. Among Black workers, 60 percent had no insurance yet represented only 40 percent of the population. While workers from Asia in the U.S. live, on average, until 84 years of age, Native Americans, on average, only reach 64 years.
Health activists have continued to struggle for single-payer and Medicare For All reforms. Single payer would provide healthcare through workers’ contributions like taxes that the government and the government would pay as does Medicare. Medicare For All would cover everyone, be public, and have no profit.
Such provisions are essential to eliminate the big insurance companies like United HealthCare which restricts providers, denies care, and increases the charges of care from 22-44 percent. Private insurers cut expenses for Medicare with their Medicare Advantage plans that restrict access. Over 200 rural and many urban hospitals have closed, and many surgical hospital patients are kicked out after a day or treated as an outpatient. Meanwhile, funds are plowed into expanding wars and billionaire pockets.
The weaknesses of these reforms include the lack of benefits for the social determinants of health (although some health centers now offer social and legal services to patients). Having everyone in one plan could make it even easier to ration care as England has done with its National Health Service.
Advocates are writing legislation for Congress to implement it, a strategy that has been used for decades. In a period of declining capitalism and increasing threats of World War III, it is unlikely to succeed. However, we can learn from history when the urban rebellions, the Civil Rights movement, and the fight for the Charles Drew hospital in Watts, L.A. won Medicare, Medicaid, and hospital desegregation during the 1960s. Strikes by unions have also secured health insurance for its members. Struggles like these are more likely to succeed than legislation. Ultimately, maintaining good health and health care will require workers to run society. In the early days of the Soviet Union and China, the government wiped out catastrophic diseases and increased life expectancy and infant survival. Until workers run a communist society, we can engage in struggles for benefits, housing, public Medicare, unrestricted Medicaid, better staffing for hospital workers, and safe working conditions for all while building a revolutionary movement.
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