The dark history of bananas - John Soluri

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

On a December night in 1910, the exiled former leader of Honduras,

Decembarske noći 1910. godine, izgnani bivši vođa Hondurasa,

Manuel Bonilla, boarded a borrowed yacht in New Orleans.

Manuel Bonilja se ukrcao na pozajmljenu jahtu u Nju Orleansu.

With a group of heavily armed accomplices,

Sa grupom teško naoružanih saučesnika,

he set sail for Honduras in hopes of reclaiming power

zaplovio je ka Hondurasu s nadom da će se vratiti na vlast,

by whatever means necessary.

ne birajući sredstva da to postigne.

Bonilla had a powerful backer,

Bonilja je imao moćnog sponzora,

the future leader of a notorious organization

budućeg vođu ozloglašene organizacije

known throughout Latin America as El Pulpo, or "the Octopus,"

koja je u čitavoj Latinskoj Americi bila čuvena kao El pulpo tj. „Hobotnica”,

for its long reach.

zbog svog dalekog opsega.

The infamous El Pulpo was a U.S. corporation

Ozloglašena El pulpo je bila američka korporacija

trafficking in, of all things, bananas.

koja je švercovala, ni manje ni više, banane.

It was officially known as United Fruit Company—

Zvanično je bila poznata kao Junajted frut kompani

or Chiquita Brands International today.

ili danas kao Čikita brends internašnal.

First cultivated in Southeast Asia thousands of years ago,

Prvobitno uzgajane u jugoistočnoj Aziji pre hiljade godina,

bananas reached the Americas in the early 1500s,

banane su stigle u Amerike ranih 1500-ih,

where enslaved Africans cultivated them in plots alongside sugar plantations.

gde su ih porobljeni Afrikanci uzgajali na placevima pored plantaža šećera.

There were many different bananas,

Postojalo je više različitih banana,

most of which looked nothing like the bananas in supermarket aisles today.

od kojih većina nije izgledala poput današnjih banana iz supremarketa.

In the 1800s, captains from New Orleans and New England

Tokom 1800-ih, kapetani iz Nju Orleansa i Nove Engleske

ventured to the Caribbean in search of coconuts and other goods.

su se zapućivali u Karibe u potrazi za kokosom i drugim namirnicama.

They began to experiment with bananas, purchasing one kind,

Počeli su da eksperimentišu sa bananama kupujući jednu vrstu,

called Gros Michel, from Afro-Caribbean farmers in Jamaica, Cuba, and Honduras.

nazvanu gro mišel, od afrokaripskih farmera iz Jamajke, Kube i Hondurasa.

Gros Michel bananas produced large bunches of relatively thick-skinned fruit—

Banane gro mišel su davale velike grozdove voća relativno debele kore -

ideal for shipping.

a to je bilo idealno za transport.

By the end of the 1800s, bananas were a hit in the US.

Do kraja 1800-ih, banane su postale popularne u SAD-u.

They were affordable, available year-round,

Bile su pristupačne, dostupne cele godine

and endorsed by medical doctors.

i lekari su ih preporučivali.

As bananas became big business,

Kako su banane postajale unosan posao,

U.S. fruit companies wanted to grow their own bananas.

voćne kompanije iz SAD-a su želele da uzgajaju sopstvene banane.

In order to secure access to land,

Kako bi obezbedili pristup zemljištu,

banana moguls lobbied and bribed government officials in Central America,

banana moguli su lobirali i potkupljivali vladine zvaničnike u Centralnoj Americi,

and even funded coups to ensure they had allies in power.

čak su finansirali i pučeve kako bi imali saveznike na vlasti.

In Honduras, Manuel Bonilla repaid the banana man

U Hondurasu, Manuel Bonilja je otplatio banana gazdi,

who had financed his return to power with land concessions.

koji je finansirao njegov povratak na vlast, u vidu zemljišnih koncesija.

By the 1930s, one company dominated the region: United Fruit,

Do 1930-ih, jedna kompanija je dominirala regionom: Junajted frut,

who owned over 40% of Guatemala’s arable land at one point.

koja je u jednom trenutku posedovala preko 40% obradive zemlje u Gvatemali.

They cleared rainforest in Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras,

Iskrčili su kišnu šumu u Kostarici, Kolumbiji, Gvatemali, Hondurasu

and Panama to build plantations,

i Panami kako bi izgradili plantaže,

along with railroads, ports, and towns to house workers.

kao i železnice, luke i gradove za smeštaj radnika.

Lured by relatively high-paying jobs, people migrated to banana zones.

Privučeni relativno dobro plaćenim poslovima,

ljudi su migrirali u zone banana.

From Guatemala to Colombia,

Od Gvatemale do Kolumbije,

United Fruit’s plantations grew exclusively Gros Michel bananas.

na Junajted frut plantažama su uzgajane isključivo banane gro mišel.

These densely packed farms had little biological diversity,

Ove gusto zbijene farme nisu imale mnogo biodiverziteta,

making them ripe for disease epidemics.

zbog čega su postale zrele za epidemije.

The infrastructure connecting these vulnerable farms

Infrastruktura koja je povezivala ove ranjive farme

could quickly spread disease:

je mogla brzo da širi zarazu:

pathogens could hitch a ride from one farm to another on workers’ boots,

patogeni su mogli da se prebace s jedne na drugu farmu u radničkim čizmama,

railroad cars, and steamships.

vozovima i parnim brodovima.

That’s exactly what happened in the 1910s,

Upravo to se desilo 1910. godine

when a fungus began to level Gros Michel banana plantations,

kada je gljivica sravnila plantaže banana gro mišel,

first in Panama, and later throughout Central America,

prvo u Panami, a potom širom Centralne Amerike,

spreading quickly via the same system that had enabled big profits and cheap bananas.

prenoseći se brzo istim sistemom koji je obezbedio veliki profit i jeftine banane.

In a race against “Panama Disease,”

U trci protiv „panamske bolesti”,

banana companies abandoned infected plantations

kompanije banana su napuštale zaražene plantaže

in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala,

u Kostarici, Hondurasu i Gvatemali,

leaving thousands of farmers and workers jobless.

ostavljajući hiljade zemljoradnika i radnika bez posla.

The companies then felled extensive tracts of rainforests

Kompanije su potom krčile ogromne oblasti kišnih šuma

in order to establish new plantations.

kako bi uspostavile nove plantaže.

After World War II,

Nakon Drugog svetskog rata,

the dictatorships with which United Fruit had partnered in Guatemala and Honduras

diktature s kojima je Junajted frut bila u partnerstvu u Gvatemali i Hondurasu

yielded to democratically elected governments that called for land reform.

su se pokoravale demokratski izabranim vladama

koje su zahtevale zemljišne reforme.

In Guatemala, President Jacobo Arbenz tried to buy back land from United Fruit

U Gvatemali je predsednik Hakobo Arbenz pokušao da otkupi zemlju od Junajted fruta

and redistribute it to landless farmers.

i da je preraspodeli zemljoradnicima bez zemlje.

The Arbenz government offered to pay a price based on tax records—

Arbenzova vlada je ponudila da plati cenu zasnovanu na poreskim izveštajima -

where United Fruit had underreported the value of the land.

u kojima je Junajted frut potcenjivala vrednost zemljišta.

El Pulpo was not happy.

Iz El pulpa nisu bili srećni.

The company launched propaganda campaigns against Arbenz

Kompanija je pokrenula propagandnu kampanju protiv Arbenza

and called on its deep connections in the US Government for help.

i iskoristila je duboke veze sa vladom SAD-a za pomoć.

Citing fears of communism, the CIA orchestrated the overthrow

Navodeći strah od komunizma, CIA je organizovala svrgavanje

of the democratically elected Arbenz in 1954.

demokratski izabranog Arbenza 1954. godine.

That same year in Honduras, thousands of United Fruit workers went on strike

Te iste godine u Hondurasu, na hiljade radnika Junajted fruta je stupilo u štrajk

until the company agreed to recognize a new labor union.

sve dok kompanija nije pristala da prihvati novi radnički sindikat.

With the political and economic costs of running from Panama Disease escalating,

Uz političke i ekonomske troškove koji su usledili zbog izbijanja panamske bolesti,

United Fruit finally switched from Gros Michel

Junajted frut je konačno ranih 1960-ih zamenila banane gro mišel

to Panama disease-resistant Cavendish bananas in the early 1960s.

kevendišom koji je bio otporan na panamsku bolest.

Today, bananas are no longer as economically vital in Central America,

Danas banane nisu više toliko ekonomski važne za Centralnu Ameriku,

and United Fruit Company, rechristened Chiquita,

a Junajted frut kompani, koja je prekrštena u Čikitu,

has lost its stranglehold on Latin American politics.

izgubila je svoje uporište u politici Latinske Amerike.

But the modern banana industry isn’t without problems.

Međutim, savermena industrija banana nije bez problema.

Cavendish bananas require frequent applications of pesticides

Kevendiš banane zahtevaju često prskanje pesticidima

that create hazards for farmworkers and ecosystems.

koji nanose štetu zemljoradnicima i ekosistemima.

And though they’re resistant to the particular pathogen

A, iako su otporne na tip patogena

that affected Gros Michel bananas,

koji je pogađao banane gro mišel,

Cavendish farms also lack biological diversity,

i farme banana kevendiš imaju loš biodiverzitet,

leaving the banana trade ripe for another pandemic.

što ostavlja trgovinu bananama zrelom za novu pandemiju.