Italy, 2017— Thousands of Punjabi workers rally for higher wages and better working conditions
From India to Italy: Unite for a Communist World Without Borders
NEW DELHI (India), April 20— “The last time I saw my son, he was three months old,” said Jasjeet on a Zoom call to his wife Raveena in Punjab, India. “I have been in Italy’s Parma and Mantua areas for sixteen years.” Jasjeet is one of the thousands of Punjabi farmers who, driven by poverty, saved the Italian cheese industry in the 1980s.
Raveena lives in a town 100 km (60 mi) from New Delhi. She occasionally reads Red Flag. ICWP comrades have visited villages in Punjab since the 2020 farmers’ agitations. As our campaign to recruit the masses for communism intensifies for May Day, we spent an afternoon with Raveena.
We invited her to come to May Day with her son. We explained that racism is rising in the US, and many immigrants are deported. When she heard “deportation,” the mood in the room changed.
Raveena told us how hard it was for her to be separated from her husband for sixteen years, and his trauma of not being with their son. She said that being in Italy was a forced separation. He has no legal papers. He has to bribe contractors who keep his passport. He works twelve hours a day in a Mozzarella factory.
ICWP comrades shared the story of how young people in the US are fighting racism. Raveena paused the conversation to read it. After a few minutes, she said, “It is true: ‘For big problems, big solutions.’ I am going to call Jasjeet right now.” As he was just waking up, she said, “I am going to the May Day demonstration with your son.” She displayed Red Flag on the screen for him to see.
Jasjeet’s son doesn’t speak Punjabi. He is taught Hindi and English in school. Jasjeet only speaks Punjabi, and he learned Italian. At that point, we flashed the Spanish Red Flag (Bandera Roja). He agreed to read it because he understands some Spanish. He muttered in Italian, “il grande problema è il capitalism.” We promptly translated it using Google: “The big problem is capitalism.”
Jasjeet had been pleased with Raveena’s participation in the farmers’ agitation. He was even happier that she is reading communist literature. He said that when he came to Italy, Punjab had a large communist movement. But just as in Italy, these communists were reformists. He was always looking for ‘il grande soluzione’ (the big solution).
The ICWP comrades were energized by the story of Jasjeet and Raveena. We realized that we had overlooked great opportunities. There are many people like them. We need to put more emphasis on these potential party members. We should have talked to Raveena a long time ago instead of just giving her Red Flag. But now she will be with us on May Day, and Jasjeet said he will be with comrades in Italy and show them Red Flag.
Our collective in India is similarly making strides in organizing for a communist May Day in auto factories in Chennai and garment factories in Bengaluru. We plan to distribute more Red Flags and recruit more comrades like Raveena.
Under the Trump administration, the US deported plane loads of undocumented Punjabi workers. Now, they are deporting documented workers.
We will celebrate the spirit of May Day to open the world without borders. Big solutions will come when workers, wherever they are, organize and join the International Communist Workers’ Party. Let us confront this big problem and march on May Day for the big solution: communism.