CFP: Passages of Water and Labor Cultures of the Coastal South and the Caribbean
In Edwidge Danticat’s short story “Without Inspection,” an undocumented Haitian immigrant, Arnold, dies from unsafe working conditions at a construction site in south Florida. In the news coverage about the event, the construction company and developer release a statement in which he is referred to as Ernesto Fernandez, probably from the false documents Arnold offered to be hired. Danticat’s story illustrates the blending of Caribbean cultures in the U.S. South through worksites and migration processes, centering labor and labor conditions in immigrant and refugee life.