When Gabriel Alladua and Ed Dunsworth met in 2016, neither knew then that the friendship and respect that was about to grow from their encounter would result in an award-winning book.
Harvesting Freedom: the Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada, co-authored by Gabriel Allahdua and Ed Dunsworth, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies, is written from the perspective of Allahdua, a former migrant farm worker from St Lucia and it is the first book ever to be published by a former migrant worker that reveals a disturbing system of exploitation at the heart of Canada’s farm labour system.
The book which was recently awarded the Speakers Book Award from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the Mayworks Activist Award for Excellence in Contribution to Labour Arts, is a deeply personal memoir that takes readers behind the scenes to see what life is really like for the people who produce Canada’s food.
Ahead of a book event at McGill University, we spoke with Allahdua and Dunsworth about “Harvesting Freedom”, Allahdua’s activism and the importance of bringing attention to the issues facing migrant farm workers in Canada.
Fighting for the rights of migrant workers
Allahdua and Dunsworth met in 2016 at the office of the then-Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, at a protest that aimed to highlight the unjust immigration policies that separated migrant workers from their families.
Allahdua, who worked as a migrant farm worker from 2012 to 2015, had recently sought permanent residency in Canada and began his work as an activist supporting the rights of migrant workers when he met Dunsworth in 2016. Allahdua and Dunsworth were both involved in the grassroots group Justicia for Migrant Workers and continued to run into each other at various events, protests, and meetings. A year after their initial meeting, Dunsworth invited Allahdua to speak at an event he was organizing in Toronto. On a car journey from Kitchener to Toronto, Dunsworth learned a lot about Allahdua’s experiences as a migrant worker in Canada and that’s when he raised the idea that Gabriel should write a book about his experiences.
“Gabriel has an incredibly powerful story, and he is an incredibly powerful storyteller,” says Dunsworth. Together, they set on a collaborative project based on several interviews Dunsworth conducted with Allahdua over 2019 and 2020.
Denied basic workers’ rights
Allahdua’s decision to collaborate on this book and share his story and experiences with readers stems from his continued work as an advocate for migrant workers’ rights. In Canada, migrant farm workers are not entitled to basic workers’ rights that other Canadians or international workers are allowed, such as employment insurance, and are rarely given the opportunity to apply for permanent residency in Canada.
“Reading the book, you will notice that migrant workers are denied and excluded from protections and laws that other workers in Canada have,” says Allahdua. “Migrant workers have a tied work permit, which means unlike a Canadian worker, they are not free to choose or change employers.”
The issue of tied work permits is the subject of a recent class-action lawsuit that seeks to abolish employer-specific work permits and issue open work permits to all migrant workers. A tied work permit makes it difficult for a migrant worker to change employers when they experience unsafe working conditions and exploitation, which is more common than people may realize.
“I want Canadians to understand that a lot of the basic rights that are guaranteed to them, are denied to the migrant workers in their country,” he adds.
Mobilizing Support for Migrant Farm Workers
The book serves as a tool to unite current migrant workers and other activists across Canada, with the general public. “Harvesting Freedom” is a chance for readers to hear first-hand how deeply these issues are felt amongst migrant farm workers like Allahdua. Moreover, it has the potential to reach migrant farm workers across Canada, Although reaching current migrant workers can be challenging, given language barriers and literacy rates amongst migrant workers.
“Many migrant workers are not bilingual, and a lot of them are Spanish speaking, so language is a barrier,” says Allahdua. “A lot of the English speaking workers are not literature, so that presents another challenge in how I will reach them [with the book].”
But that hasn’t prevented him from actively engaging with audiences across Canada. “Occasionally, I would run into somebody, or somebody would email me and tell me how they quote me during their presentation, or whatever work they are doing,” he says. “It’s like a strong endorsement [of the book].”
For Allahdua, even the simple fact that a book such as his exists is a positive symbol for migrant workers in Canada.
“When [migrant] workers know that there’s a migrant worker who has written a book that pushes for better conditions, they are happy, they feel there’s hope,” says Allahdua. “After [speaking] events in PEI and Nova Scotia, I saw that the book was being used as a way to mobilize support in those provinces [for migrant workers].”
A Hidden Reality
The reality of migrant farm workers that Allahdua depicts in his book is one that is hidden from the mainstream. Public relations campaigns, such as the “More Than a Migrant Worker” campaign that was featured in the LCBO’s magazine show a rosy picture of agriculture that belies the harsh reality of the exploitative nature of this type of work.
“Part of how we’ve always conceived this book, is seeing it as a tool for this broader advocacy work, and not just a vehicle for getting this issue attention,” says Dunsworth. “There’s been many times when the problems of migrant farm workers and exploitation of migrant farm workers has gotten more [media]attention, during the pandemic especially.”
Indeed, the pandemic brought to the fore-front topics such as Canada’s food security and the seasonal migrant farm labourers who produce and harvest Canada’s food during a time when international travel was restricted and when Canadians were being told to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. Unlike most Canadian workers during the pandemic, migrant farm workers were not given the option of working from home, and many remained isolated from their families back home due to travel restrictions.
A Call For Political Change
Unjust immigration policies, exploitative and unsafe working conditions, short-term “flexible” employment contracts, and lack of employment insurance are just some of the realities migrant farm workers face when they come to work in Canada, and Allahdua hopes that this book will enlighten readers about the realities and obstacles facing migrant workers who work tirelessly in the harvesting and production of the food we consume.
Moreover, Allahdua hopes that readers understand the impact their voice and reach can have in bringing these issues and demands to the forefront of the media and political agenda.
“These injustices are at every level of government, and they are human-made, not natural, laws,” says Allahdua. “Politicians keep saying it’s not an issue in their riding and I’m hoping people will pressure their politicians to change those unjust policies.”
A Call For Solidarity
Receiving recognition for the book has been significant for Gabriel. “Covid forced mainstream media to focus on the vulnerable and the difficult conditions of migrant workers,” he says. “We cannot change anything if we don’t talk about it, and now that Covid has started a conversation that the book is continuing, now is the right time for the conversation to pick up momentum and push politicians for change.”
Indeed, many of the issues migrant farm workers face are slowly trickling into mainstream employment in Canada.
“Migrant worker issues are not issues in isolation,” adds Allahdua. “Things such as short-term employment contracts are now being brought to mainstream employment.”
These are conditions that migrant farm workers have been familiar with for decades. Moreover, the production and sale of food is something that affects everyone in Canada.
“We are all connected by food, the food that we eat, the migrant workers who produce it, and food security is dependent on how well these workers are treated,” says Allahdua. “Because if workers are not being treated fairly, do you think food security will continue? If you want a well-secured food system, you need to ensure that the workers are treated well.”
People interested in supporting a petition for open work permits can consult the link here.