Virus gains in Spain reveal plight of seasonal farm workers

In 20 years since he left his native Senegal, Biram Fall has never slept in streets. This week, when he ran out of savings after failing to find work in rrn Spain’s peach orchards, he still refused to do so.

As part of an army of cheap labor that follows ripening of different crops across country, 52-year-old responded in May to an urgent call for workers in Lleida, a major gateway to surrounding fertile farmland.

But migrants er to recover from coronavirus-induced ecomic freeze exceed seasonal workers needed. Those who can’t afford crammed shared apartments roam city center endlessly, resting under porches in squares or in makeshift government shelters.

Refusing to risk contagion among m, Fall counted few euros he h left from selling snails ford along rosides and packed his things. Pinching his forearm, he questioned: “Does anyone think that virus cant go through black skin? That it only infects white people?”

“We are being left to sleep in streets, treated like if we were stray dogs,” he ded as he dragged a trolley along a highway, a plastic bag with a neatly folded duvet hanging from or arm.

pandemic may have slowed down in much of continental Europe, but amid dozens of infection clusters popping up across Spain, those among seasonal agricultural workers are particularly preoccupying health authorities as a possible vector for furr spre.

In town of Fraga, where fruit processing plants dot surrounding farmland of lush orchards, 360 infections over past two weeks have forced authorities to bring back first localized restrictions since country left behind a strict lockdown of nearly three months.

nearby county around Lleida, population 200,000, has been latest to go into lockdown, Catalan regional authorities anunced on Saturday, after infections in province doubled in a week, from 167 to 325. As missions to hospitals and ICUs are worryingly on rise again, an inflatable emergency ward has been installed at gates of a local hospital.

Any uptick is being scrutinized in a country on edge after losing at least 28,300 people to COVID-19, according to official records.

At peak of outbreak, back in April, fearing that a short of workers would leave fruit rotting in trees, agricultural unions and business associations vertised jobs that have attracted many more applicants than expected. Hail has also destroyed crops in some counties, creating what Lleida Deputy Mayor Sandra Castro calls “perfect storm” for a “social crisis on top of ongoing health crisis.”

Two vast tre exhibition halls have been filled with temporary, equidistant beds for more than 200 workers. Temperatures are measured on arrival, those who show symptoms of COVID-19 are tested and positives go into quarantine facilities.

But Castro said her government can only do so much, especially regarding migrants with permission to work who, according to city’s estimate, make up more than half of those who showed up despite travel restrictions.

“Since we condemn m to live in shows, y are at a high risk of having ir rights violated,” city councilor said. “That’s a big frustration to begin with, before we can face any or issue.”

Up to 470,000 migrants could be living in Spain trying to find ways to legally work and live in Europe, according to PorCausa, a Mrid-based foundation focused on stimulating thought around issue of migration.

In a recent analysis, PorCausa argued that regularizing so-called “paperless” is t only fair but makes ecomic sense in a country that needs younger taxpayers. issue is highly polarizing and a vote fishing ground for far right. Meanwhile, ruling left-wing coalition has stayed away from following recent examples of Portugal and Italy, only extending some temporary work permits for summer.

In Lleida, directionless migrants are a common sight and have led to complaints from residents, especially in this virus-ravd year. But many agribusinesses keep failing to provide eugh and equate accommodation for ir workers, as required by agreements with unions, said Gemma Casal, an activist with local Fruit with Social Justice platform.

She also said that authorities at all levels seem to improvise ir response summer after summer.

But main problem, she ded, lies within agricultural model. Disproportionate power by large food distributors to set produce prices means “farmers end up outsourcing ir labor costs to authorities who pay for shelters, aid groups or migrants mselves,” Casal said.

Ignacio Gramunt runs a private farm in Fraga that yields an annual aver of 500 tons of fruit where a dozen Bulgarian workers are picking flat nectarines bound for German market. As he of local fruit wholesale exchange, he is also witness to how squeeze on prices and investors seeking large-scale cost-saving operations are driving farmers out of business.

A net hourly pay of about 6.5 euros ($7.30) keeps locals away from fields across region.

“Migrants are essential for fruit industry,” Gramunt said. But he denies that hiring of “paperless” migrants is widespre in agricultural industry, a lifeline to region. Farmers who do resort to m face fines of up to 6,000 euros for each illegal worker.

Fruit with Social Justice is considering promoting an industry-wide certificate of good practices that European consumers can identify because export licenses are currently granted based largely on paper trail of labor contracts, allowing many companies to find loopholes and take vant of seasonal workers.

“European consumers seem to have awakened to exploitation by garment industry in far-flung countries,” Casal said. “But here we have 21st century slavery within EU’s borders and we do thing.”