Migrants’ fear as read between the lines in a newspaper: The sa k pasé (1992) from the guantánamo naval base

Abstract

In 1991, thousands and thousands of Haitians fleeing the country in precarious boats were arrested and taken to the Guantánamo Naval Base. Despite the unprecedented circumstances of their detention and forced return to Haiti, and the fact that this migration by sea has been one of the most notorious in terms of the numbers and concentration of the exodus, we know of no commercial journalistic records that bear witness to the lives of these migrants at the Naval Base from the inside. However, the Sa k pasé, a short-lived newspaper, was produced by the US Army at the Base during the first months of 1992. Reading it with ethnographic intent, I explore the presence of migrants as they emerge from the cracks of what has been written. My core analysis deals with their feelings of fear. The originality of this article stems from the source used to map this migrant presence and from its focus on the Haitian migration of 1991-1993, which has been thematically overshadowed by its concomitance with the so called “crisis of the Cuban rafters.” After characterizing the context and role of the Naval Base and describing the Sa k pasé newspaper and its dynamics, I analyze scenarios of fear related to the siege of the body. I conclude that sources such as these can be useful both for the study of Haitian migration by sea and for raising awareness about the right to life of those who migrate.