A Harsh Reality: Farmworker Reality Tour
By Tiffanie Huang
On October 13th, Mitty Advocacy Project had the privilege of visiting Watsonville’s Crystal Bay Farm and its surrounding neighborhood — more specifically, we participated in a Farmworker Reality Tour to better understand the harsh conditions the farmworker community is facing.
Shortly after arriving at a sunny pumpkin patch, we were introduced to a couple who worked at Crystal Bay Farm. They were kind enough to share their story with us, explaining how they trekked through the desert on foot to California. Little details like the limited amount of food they could bring, the darkness from traveling at night, and the consequent injuries from stumbling into sharp rocks and cacti served as reminders of the sheer danger of journey. We were then given a demonstration of how to properly harvest strawberries. From this, we realized how many farmworkers were impacted not only by the unsafe working conditions (issues include back problems and pesticide exposure), but also by the extremely low wages.
The farmworkers’ regular exposure to pesticides is present both inside and outside the farm. Residents of the Buena Vista Migrant Camp, which is located nearly three miles away from Crystal Bay Farm, are also at risk. Pesticide drift, the chemical contamination of surrounding areas through both air (particle drift) and runoff, is detrimental to both the environment and the residents’ health, as the toxic sprays could cause anything from skin irritation to cancer. This issue is especially prevalent in low-income farmworker communities, as many of the workers and residents are unable to confront the local authorities for fear of being deported. Thus, it becomes part of a vicious cycle: farmworkers suffer direct and indirect abuse as well as poor working conditions; using their knowledge of the farmworkers’ undocumented statuses, the government and big companies oppress farmworkers to prevent them from addressing these issues; the next generation is born into these same conditions, forced into the farmworker life, benefitting the big companies profitting off of the farmworkers’ hard work.
On top of that, legislation regarding migrant camps previously limited resident children to a “50-mile rule,” where students would be forced to move at least 50 miles away from the camp for half the school year. This disrupted their education, contributing to the low graduation rates of students who live in subsidized housing. Fortunately, with the help of advocates such as Dr. Ann Lopez and the Center for Farmworker Families, the 2018 Budget Trailer Bill put an end to this, allowing families with K-12 students to stay at the camp year-round and effectively providing students with consistent education. Despite this major victory, there are many other factors contributing to unstable family life within the farmworker community.
We concluded the Farmworker Reality Tour with a warm meal in the home of a local farmworker family. As we ate, we listened to the story of a mother struggling to raise her two kids on her own after leaving her abusive husband. Her story was both moving and eye-opening, and it illuminated how the harsh treatment of migrant farmworkers could exacerbate their home life situation, complicating and worsening matters of domestic abuse and other non-work-related problems. Because of the constant threat of deportation, many farmworkers are unable to report domestic violence and other crimes to the police.
As each of us reflected on our experience after the tour, the extent of our privilege came into focus. Simply being born into U.S. citizenship and being able to go to school every day without interruption are things we take for granted. The Farmworker Reality Tour is just one of many opportunities for us to better understand a specific marginalized group and to learn to not only empathize with them, but also use our platform to spread awareness about the issues impacting them.
