Appreciating the Life & Dreams of the Seasonal Worker

Ambition and the desire for a better life beat in the heart of every Jamaican.

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One of our wise men Ambassador Anthony Johnson, our ambassador to the USA captured it well in his recent presentation on the history of education.   He sees Jamaicans as a dynamic bunch always on the move, be it escaping the throes of slavery, working the sugar cane fields of Cuba, or building the Panama Canal.

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In contemporary times, some of us are blessed with the pole vault of education, and have successfully used it to improve our station in life in the diaspora.  Some of us have been able to migrate and find good jobs to sustain a middle class life style.

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There is another important work group that we need to appreciate. The seasonal workers represent the abiding spirit of Jamaicans who want to make a difference for their families.  The technical name is the H2 workers, named after the visas granted to temporary workers (both in agricultural and non-agricultural areas).  The program in the US started in the 1940’s during the labor shortage of World War II.

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Well, how did these workers fare in realizing their dreams?

In 1990, the most significant documentation of the issues surrounding the agricultural seasonal workers was captured by renowned filmmaker, Stephanie Black.

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Her pioneering work captured the drama and injustice happening on a sugar cane plantation in Florida. This is just one of her many excellent documentaries capturing important issues related to Jamaican and other Caribbean life.

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The very much acclaimed Life and Debt captures the issues surround the impact of the IMF on Jamaica.  This will be an important work to revisit, given Jamaica is inching back to dialoging with the IMF in light of the prolonged  global economic meltdown.

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H-2 Worker won both the Best Documentary and Best Cinematography at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.  This important work was re-released on DVD at the end of April, and so we can add this treasure to our educational archive.

Here is H2 Utube trailer link

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We recently caught up with Stephanie for an interview, where she shared her reflection on this fine work and her perspective on the current seasonal worker issues.

Click to listen to interview

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This DVD captures the human drama as you can never imagine.   The letters shared between spouses, the impact on the kids, the relationship of the men in the bunk, the rip off of these men set in the larger economic struggle of an Island (represented by these workers) trying to find its sea legs in a unforgiving world.

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Your link to  Amazon purchase

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Our struggle will continue, and we can use the past experiences to help us support and influence new policies.  Our youth need to appreciate the weight of the journey and this movie provides the big picture context. Channeled anger can be used to strengthen our determination to overcome.  Let us remember:

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We are a people of “nuff hope”, a hope that will keep us striving, and striding until we reach home.