THE LEGACY OF MORE THAN A CENTURY OF BANANA PRODUCTION
(Fr. Gerardo Vargas)
Presentation
The year 1999 marks 100 years of the founding of the United Fruit Company, which under its contemporary name of Chiquita, has come to be emblematic of bananas. Chiquita has shaped the history and "development" of banana regions in Costa Rica and practically the entire Caribbean.
Banana production had its beginnings in Costa Rica in1884, a few tears prior to the founding of United Fruit, with the Soto-Keith Treaty which conferred on U.S. businessman Minor C. Keith the right to "organize" 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) of untilled public lands along with all the natural riches they contained. Despite its founding 15 years after the treaty, United Fruit has come to be the symbol of banana production in Costa Rica due to a history often characterized by feudalism and monopoly. With the support and consent of successive governments of Costa Rica and the United States, this all powerful company ruled its landholdings unchecked.
When presenting this second edition of the magazine " Foro ", we want to keep the symbolism of this moment from passing unnoticed –the hundreth aniversery of "Yunai" as it has been transliterated in popular speech—to try to carry out a needed reflection on the true meaning of this industry for Costa Rica. Since practically no "commemoration" of this milestone has been undertaken, nor reflection on the true legacy of banana production on the overall development of the communities directly involved , Foro Emaus has dedicated these pages to the discussion of an alternative assessment to the "rationality" the of narrow economic and developmentalist assumptions that permeate the vision and decision making of those who have held the reigns of government and business in Costa Rica.
With this effort, , we intend to contribute toward the recovery and of history ignored by the official record, in danger of being forgotten or left to be buried in the past.
The contents of this second edition of the Foro Magazine attempts, therefore, to contribute to these goals, presenting the charges that flow inescapably from a daily confrontation with the raw economic and environmental realities of the banana plantations as well as formulating proposals that seek real solutions to the broad and complex problems confronting the country.
We hope that the articles that follow can make a real contribution to the debate – so needed but so assiduously avoided. We hope as well as to make more widely known, the reality hidden behind the mountains – and national media’s smoke and mirrors -- separating the population of Costa Rica’s Valle Central and much of the rest of the world from the banana plantations of the Atlantic Region.
An unpunished tragedy
The aftermath of DBCP
Orlando Barrantes Cartin
Around the world, the health of an unfathomable number of banana workers, including that of tens of thousands Costa Ricans, was seriously affected by the application of an agrochemical called DBCP on the banana plantations. Many years after the facts have been proved, the agony goes on, still unpunished.
Due to the "necessity" to combat the nematodes affecting banana plantations and other crops worldwide, Shell Oil Company and Dow Chemical Company, began producing the nematicide DBCP (known by its brand names "Nemagon" or "Fumazone") in the nineteen sixties after years of study.
Between 1968 and 1979, some 5 million liters of DBCP were injected into the soil around the base of banana plants through manual applications by thousands of banana workers in the Atlantic and Southern regions of Costa Rica, to fight the microscopic worms found in cultivated soil. Workers used neither gloves, protective clothing nor any type of equipment to protect them from absorption of the pesticide through the skin or by inhalation.
The workers have insisted that they were never warned of the risks to which they were subjected. These workers were hired by US-based corporations such as Standard Fruit Company, Chiquita Brands and Del Monte Fresh Produce, as well as by the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture’s commercial banana project at the "Los Diamantes" Experimental Station.
The truth is that the workers were exposing themselves to a serious danger by coming in contact with DBCP several hours per day during months or years. Workers were exposed to DBCP from vapors that remained within the arch of the enormous banana leaves, or when preparing the product, many times by hand, in drums or barrels, or when the pesticide splattered off stones and other objects during application.
There are also known instances of accidents where a worker was literally bathed in the product. It was common practice for the workers to dump the product into streams to kill quantities of fish which were then consumed in their homes. So great were the quantities of DBCP absorbed by the workers that, during the night, their urine at times gave off the characteristic smell of the pesticide. Women and children who went into the areas of application to bring the workers their lunch remained in direct contact to the vapors for extended periods of time. Women were exposed in washing clothes impregnated with DBCP without any type of protection.
Clear Lines of Responsibility Pointing to Many Actors
The parties responsible for the tragedy of DBCP –considered by some accomplists in the greatest tragedy in the history of labor anywhere in the world– are the North American enterprises Dow Chemical Company, Shell Oil Company, Occidental Chemical Corporation, Standard Fruit Company (Dole), Chiquita Brands and to a lesser degree the Israeli state-owned enterprise Dead Sea Bromine Co.
Dow Chemical was the pioneer in the fabrication of the nematicide, whose active ingredient is 1,2-dibromo-3-cloropropane (DBCP). In 1958, a confidential memo to its managers explained that testicular atrophy, sterility and severe damage to the lungs and kidneys in animals had been detected following exposure to the pesticide. In spite of this and the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was unsatisfied with the minimal precautionary measures proposed by this and other companies, sale and distribution worldwide of DBCP was finally authorized.
In 1975, Dow Chemical alerted one of its major clients, Standard Fruit Company, about the effect that indiscriminate application could cause to the banana workers and decided to discontinue the sale of this product. The reaction of Standard Fruit was immediate. Due to its attractive low price, Standard Fruit promised to assume the responsibility for any future lawsuits in exchange for an ongoing supply of the pesticide. To both Standard and Dow this seemed to be a good business deal. They came to an understanding, signed an agreement governing future liability, and during the next four years, thousands of human beings in the banana plantations of the Third World were slowly sickened, due to continued production and application of DBCP. The workers were never alerted to the danger that they were being exposed to, nor were they supplied with any sort of protective equipment.
In addition to the workers that labored in banana plantations directly, another sector which is rarely mentioned by the press must be added to the affected population. This sector is the women who went into the areas of application to take lunch to their partners and who on many occasions applied the product while the banana worker ate his meal. Others who are rarely mentioned are the children, who besides taking lunch to the workers, sometimes remained hours with their fathers within the plant arch of the banana plantations. According to estimates, the total population affected by DBCP in Costa Rica reaches some thirty thousand persons, taking into consideration that the pesticide was applied between 1967 and 1979, and that more than 5 million kilograms of Nemagon were imported from the United States.
The dangers caused
The affected population suffers different levels of sterility (azoospermia, oligoospermia), testicular atrophy and pain, liver, kidney and stomach cancer, severe allergies, bone problems, sight deficiencies, menstrual and hormonal alterations, children with serious congenital problems, moral and psychological damage.
Efforts in United States or Costa Rican courts to have the injustice acknowledged, punished or compensation provided have also proved painful and have ultimately been largely fruitless. Costa Rican and North American attorneys were contracted to present lawsuits in North American courts against the culpable enterprises. These lawsuits never came to trial and a reduced group of workers have received settlements out of court with indemnities for sums that can be characterized as ridiculous. For instance, many of the affected Costa Rican workers received a sum of US$100, and few indeed received as much as $1000, while in the United States farmers and workers affected by DBCP have received an average of US$100,000 as an indemnity.
On November 17, 1998, affected workers who are members of CONATRAB held a march through the main streets of San Jose, where they demanded a solution to their claims. The solution to this problem touches various aspects. One is that the Costa Rican government allocate sufficient resources to medically and scientifically attend to the men, women and children who were affected by DBCP. To date, there is not one medical program designed specifically for this population, in spite of the fact that the State’s responsibility was confirmed in the Final Report of the government National Ombudsman’s office(Defensoria de los Habitantes), documented in File 250-23-October 1998. The Defensoria de los Habitantes has also insisted on the implementation of a pension program. The principal demand of those affected is a payment as compensation, to be provided by the agrochemical and banana companies that are responsible for the problem.
Hard Facts
The report issued by Costa Rica’s Defensoria de los Habitantes is very clear in pointing out the responsibility of the agrochemical manufacturing companies, the banana companies and the Costa Rican State in the exposure of the workers to DBCP. The report points out that thousands of people have not received any compensation and that they require medical and psychological attention. The report made a series of recommendations to the Executive Branch, among which the most important is the need to open negotiations with the companies so that the workers receive a fair indemnity. Furthermore, the report recommends specialized medical attention and pensions for the affected persons.
Thanks to the struggle which is being waged by those affected, the present government issued an executive decree that created an Inter-Agency Commission, formed by representatives of the National Insurance Institute (INS), the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Foreign Relations. During eleven months (December 1998-October 1999), this Commission carried out a detailed investigation on the DBCP problem. Now, the Commission is obliged to present a report with its recommendations to the Executive Branch. On Friday November 29th, 1999 the Commission gave a verbal summary to the leaders of CONATRAB where the main elements of the investigation were presented along with its recommendations. This report confirmed and expanded on the Report of the Defensoria de los Habitantes and makes recommendations to the Executive Branch which cover the three basic demands upon which CONATRAB had always insisted: pensions, specialized medical attention and the creation of an indemnity fund (the latter to be created with funds provided by the banana and chemical companies).
The complete report, together with its recommendations, was presented to Costa Rica’s President in the last months of 1999. It is necessary to wait and see what the President decides to do now, as well as the reaction of the banana companies. It is hoped that the effect of this report will be to help resolve the serious injury caused to thousands of people. CONATRAB is prepared, countrywide, to assure that the Commission’s recommendations will be complied with.
Hundreds of workers who were affected by DBCP meet every month, in all of the different places in the country where CONATRAB Committees function, to listen to the latest developments of their struggle and to make the necessary preparations to demonstrate their desire to continue forward. In their ongoing mobilization, they are the guarantee that the tragedy of DBCP will not go unpunished.
Damage to human beings and to the environment
associated with exposure to DBCP
STERILITY: The exposed workers suffer various degrees of sterility, that can generally be described as of aplasia of germinal cells (their bodies do not produce sperm). Some do not produce sperm at all (azoospermia), while others produce in numbers far below the normal level (oligoospermia). There are also men who exhibit high or normal levels of sperm, but of a deformed character. For example, sperm with limited mobility (teratospermia). In all of these cases it is almost impossible for the men to father children. This physiological sterility constitutes the chemical castration of thousands of men.
CANCER: It has been proven that DBCP causes testicular and stomach cancer. Among the workers who were exposed to DBCP, there have been cases of stomach, testicular, kidney and duodenal cancer.
DEGENERATIVE PROBLEMS: Some men manifest diverse damage, such as problems of the central nervous system, degenerative processes such as loss of teeth, muscular pain and loss of vision and blindness.
GENEALOGICAL AFFLICTIONS: Many women of the region where DBCP was applied have been unable to become mothers because they abort in the first weeks of gestation. Others suffer tumors, pains in their bones and muscular atrophies. They also suffer from hormonal disturbances and other alterations to their menstrual cycles.
GENETIC MALFORMATIONS: In the cases of persons exposed to DBCP who were later able to father children, their children manifest genetic problems. For example, a child was born with a severe red blood cells ailment and must receive weekly transfusions. The victim suffers from dizziness, heat flashes and walks with difficulties. There are hundreds of children with mental and physical problems.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS: The incapacity to produce children has caused serious repercussions, including impotence, severe depression, grief and confusion. These afflictions have resulted in loss of work, alcoholism and threats of suicide. Some of these victims require psychiatric attention.
SOCIAL REJECTION: The affected persons and their families are victims of social isolation. Many were abandoned by their wives. Some matrimonies agreed to seek other men without problems so the women could become pregnant, causing marital imbalances and separations. The sterile men are the target for social ridicule, since the culture to which the workers belong, measures a man’s value based on his virility, which is evidenced by the number of children one has. The children of the affected persons who have deformities or illnesses suffer humiliations from other children.
ENVIRONMENT: DBCP is considered to be highly persistent and mobile. Its decomposition in the soil is slow. It can filter through certain terrain. It is a contaminator of land and surface water.
Evidencing the tragedy
"Industrial studies....were maintained in secret from the local employees of the chemical companies and (U.S.) farmers who used DBCP in the plantations. Now, tragically, twenty years later, the sterilization predicted by the laboratory exams has become reality: a growing number of workers in the manufacturing plants and in the banana plantations claim the impossibility of having children. The Environmental Protection Agency finally prohibited DBCP for almost all its agricultural use in the USA, but the enterprises then distributed all of its saleable production overseas, where it continued to be used. The result was that more Costa Rican workers became sterile. The history of DBCP is horrendous."
Senator Patrick H. Leahy [re-translated from Spanish ]
OBSERVER DELEGATION TOURS PLANTATIONS:
LABOR VIOLATIONS VERIFIED
(by Hernan Hermosilla Barrientos)
A delegation of observers visited 2 banana plantations in the Atlantic Region of Costa Rica for an on-site examination of charges of labor rights violations on the plantations.
On Saturday October 16, 1999, a prestigious observer delegation visited 2 banana plantations in the Atlantic Region, with the purpose of on-site verification of repeated public charges by unions and the Foro Emaus coalition about labor rights violations.
The delegation included the Costa Rican Minister of Labor Victor Morales; his deputy Minister Bernardo Benavides; the Congressman José Merino of the Partido Fuerza Democratica ; Congresswoman Virginia Aguiluz of Partido Liberacion Nacional; the head of women’s division of the Defensoría of the Inhabitants Ligia Martin; and the International Organization of the Labor’s (ILO) Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean, Mr. Ian Chambers. Also participating were representatives of the Rerum Novarum Workers Confederation, the National Association of Public and Private Employees (ANEP), the National Union of Nurses, the Costarrican Union of Educators (SEC), of the Central American Human Rights Commission (CODEHUCA) and of the Student Federation of the University of Costa Rica. In addition the delegation was accompanied by journalists from TV Chanal 15, La Extra daily; weekly newspapers Seminario Universidad and Tico Times, as well as diverse leaders of the COSIBA and Foro Emaus who organized the tour.
On their first stop at the Plantation Duacarí 1, property of BANDECO (a subsidiary of Del Monte), the delegation heard the testimonies of the men and women workers who discussed the company’s drastic cuts in their salaries under the pretext of a crisis in the market.
With supporting documents which they presented to the representatives of the Ministry of Labor, workers recounted in detail, the harsh working conditions and employer repression that they suffer for their wish to freely organize themselves in a union.
Before some 100 people, the authorities of the Ministry of Labor, the ILO, Deputies to the National Assembly and others of the delegation some 10 workers speak publicly sometimes with tears but without fear, of the pain caused by the discrimination. They asked that everything possible be done to bring about a respect for law and human rights, especially those pertaining to the place of work.
The principal charges set forward by the men and women who spoke, related to measures taken by the company in response to the ostensible crisis facing the industry:
In the presence of Bandeco’s Labor Relations Manager, The Minister of Labor committed himself to address the complaints since -according to him- the company had assured him that every action taken had been undertaken in accordance with the laws. Nonetheless, he stated that his responsibility was first to preserve jobs and then to address salary reductions- a position which was severely criticized by congressman Merino and union leaders present at the meeting.
After this first stop, the delegation proceeded in a caravan of cars and buses to the Sixaola region, the southernmost reach of the Atlantic Region, to meet with leaders of the Union of Workers of the Chiriqui Land Company (SITRACHIRI). Union members in plantations 96 and 97 welcomed them with a work stoppage begun at dawn. The action was motivated by the unjust firing of the Union’s Secretary General Daniel Gutierrez days earlier.
In the midst of the great number of workers gathered on the farms, five indigenous Guaymi workers addressed the delegation, speaking of the exploitation and discrimination to which they are subject from managers of the plantations, which are owned by Chiquita. Later several of the representatives of the visiting organizations, the Minister of Labor and union leaders of the banana workers in neighboring Panama, spoke of their concern for justice, compliance with the law and the human rights of those laboring in the banana plantations.
Earlier in the afternoon of the same day (16th of October), the Minister had inaugurated the new installations of the "Office of Labor Inspection" in the town of Bribri. The office began its operations with the complaint over the firing of labor leader Daniel Gutierrez, top officer of the only Costa Rican banana union with a collective bargaining agreement.
As the various participants addressed the workers and delegation meeting on the Plantation soccer field, into the clear skies over Sixaola passed a small fumigation plane some six times as it went about its work fumigating the fields with potent pesticides used to combat the Black Sigatoka fungus. The overflights of the plane were threatening, seeming to say that the banana empire could controll the workers even from the skies: that it was not right that their arms should be idled in protest and their heart beats quickened with the cry for justice.
As the afternoon faded, the delegations took their leave from the indigenous workers, costarrican and panamanian, the women and children; with the faroff hope, but hope nonetheless, brought by the presence of the Minister himself and the possibilities that might come from the delegations presence, the solidarity and hard work that had brought it about. The beginnings of an awakening of a sleeping giant that senses that it possesses the right to exercize certain legitimate rights.
With this action, Foro Emaus is certain that it has contributed to pulling back the veil that has hidden the lives of banana workers and their communities from public view. The dream of liberty begins to take form and the communites find that others will join them in solidarity.
Being a banana worker becomes ingrained
Interview with Concepcion Medina (by Alvaro Rojas Valverde)
Concepcion Medina left his village in the Guanacaste province 50 years ago as a boy, to begin a journey which has been repeated by thousands of his countrymen during the long history of the banana plantations.
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ince the time he was 16 years old, he gave all of his strength and committed his whole life to the banana plantations there, he gained experience and fought its struggles. Coto, Valle de la Estrella and various farms of Pococi, were the names of places where he learned about the world of the banana plantations, always -as he says- alongside his work companions....Medina begins the conversation by closing his eyes halfway, as if to order his thoughts. He quickly runs through these 50 years. Sometimes he seems sad, like when he remembers about the time when some of his friends were fired, at other times he closes his fists, but the greater part of the time he is smiling, because --as he says-- at his 65 years of age he feels full of energy and the desire to live and to struggle.
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With great pleasure I will tell you some things about my life as a banana worker. I was born in San Antonio de Nicoya, in December of 1934. As you can see, I will be 65 years old. I left my village at the age of 15 and at 16 I began my life in the banana plantations, precisely at finca 52 (farm 52) in Golfito. From there I went to Valle de la Estrella. There I spent 4 years, and at the end of this time they fired me without paying me a thing. They accused me of doing bad work. The truth is that the one who did bad work was a man named Jonas, but, at the end, it was me that the whale swallowed.I went back to the Zona Sur (Southern Zone) and I was in Coto 52, 49, 63 and 54. In 1967 I came here to the area around Guapiles and I worked at a number of farms, Santa Clara, San Rafael (where I was for 13 years) and Finca Jardin. In 1986 I stopped working in the banana plantations, although I always tried to keep myself informed of how things were going in the banana plantations. It's because being a banana worker becomes ingrained and I was involved in this struggle almost all of my life.
When I began to work exporting wasn't done in boxes, but in bunches. The bananas were hauled on mules, using mats to avoid bruising. I came to know about the packing system at Valle de la Estrella. During these years, life was hard on a banana plantation. You had to rise at four in the morning because at five you had to be in line; this is what they call the place where tasks are distributed to each laborer. If you arrive after the hour, they make you leave. From then on it was a full day at work. You got back to the baches at five or six in the afternoon. There was no fixed hour for lunch. If you were working close to the canteen, you could go there to eat lunch. To the contrary, the canteen server sent lunch to you with a company car. The bad part was that sometimes the lunch got lost and you had to endure serious hunger.
The work was very hard. There were some very big bunches, ones that had up to 17 hands and weighed up to one hundred fifty pounds. You had to carry them on your back for up to 250 meters. It wasn't until later, when there were unions, that the companies were forced to string more cables so that the workers wouldn't have to haul the fruit so far. One was quite mistreated. It's not to give myself credit, but at this time it wasn' t just any man who was conchero.
In the Valle de la Estrella there wasn't anything to do for entertainment except for drinking guaro (an alcoholic drink made from sugar cane) and visiting whore houses. The great majority of us were single and we lived three by three in these baches. While some guys had their bunks, many others only had a simple piece of cardboard to sleep on. As far as health matters, it was pretty bad, there were a lot of illnesses, and not a thought of a hospital, the only thing there were dispensaries. Many people came and left again. They couldn't take it.
I heard about organizing for the first time in 1963. There was a union, but afterwards we found out it was paid by the company itself. They told us that the workers had such and such rights, and that the company had to treat us in such and such a way. But in reality everything was to the contrary and that union didn't do anything. Later, another appeared which was called the red union. I organized there for the first time, in the UTG, but at this time it wasn=t very strong. In the Valle de la Estrella there was no organization. I went around, together with other work companions, trying to create an organization. The company didn=t want the people to organize themselves for anything in the world, and there were many informers. These, and other companions were denounced and fired. I wasn't, I don't know why not.
The workers were mistreated and earned very little. There were people who came out bi-weekly with 120 colones (Costa Rican currency). The food at the canteen cost around 50 pesos, with the extras.
As for me, during my life on the banana plantations, I carried out many different types of work: embolsa (bagger), deshija, rodajea, palero, cortado (cutter), conchero, encargado (person in charge) and even capataz (foreman). This last job may seem strange to you, but I always felt that the most important thing was to do whatever job well, with a conscience, but without constraining the worker. Nonetheless, during the time I was in charge and foreman I saw some ugly things. Once I saw that a sack of fertilizer was hidden from a companion and afterwards they spread it around and accused him of dumping out the fertilizer. This companion bellowed with rage. He came to me and said: AConcepcion, you know that I am an old worker. How do you think I would get myself into this at this stage of the game? You know that I haven't emptied out the fertilizer; this is a trap so they can fire me@. I said to him: I haven't put the fertilizer there either. I am aware that you haven't done anything wrong. Poor thing, he was fired. I only remember that they called him Chomes.
On another occasion, there was a worker who was a carrero (carrier) and as he was working the rola (pulley) derailed from the cable and all of the banana bunches fell. The company sent for a lawyer from Guapiles; they told the worker that he didn't have any rights and that he was to be fired. If he didn't accept this, the company was going to file a lawsuit on him for the losses. They fired the companion without giving him anything.
Here in the zone of Guapiles, working on the San Rafael farm, I participated in various struggles for workers= rights. Also, I was a member of the board of directors of the STAPPG on three or four occasions (I don't remember that well). On this farm I participated in a bitter struggle. We were suffering from low salaries. So, we made a request to the company. This was on May 2nd, a day after we had gone to the parade for International Workers Day (May 1st). I got the people together and I told them: I am affiliated to the union, but now that we are going to go to speak with the administration, no one should mention anything that has to do with the union.
The response that the company gave was very bad; they offered a wage increase of only a few cents. After that, many workers decided to join the union. We went ten by ten, until we completed the number demanded by the law and we set out everything that was required for signing the convention. The convention was negotiated and for some eight years we were organized and protected by it. But the company never was in agreement with the union and they put in solidarismo. I remember that they held a meeting during work hours, which Father Solano attended, and as a matter of fact he had a little dispute with me. We didn't let the Father speak much and during this meeting he didn't convince anyone. The company did all of this even though the union was recognized and its convention signed.
During one of the strikes that we had I was imprisoned for 16 days, they accused me of being the leader. They imprisoned me together with a colleague by the name of Ema Hernandez, and I was in the prison, in San Jose, for 16 days. They tortured me there, asking me where we had the weapons, which was a pure fabrication. They struck me and crushed my fingers. Then one day, they simply told me, go now because you are free. One of the companions from the union that was called FENATI gave me 20 pesos and that=s how I returned to Guapiles.
Finally they defeated us at the farm, by pressure, settling up with the people, giving the worst work to the unionized workers and bringing people from another farm that was named La Teresa, where solidarismo was in place.
Right now I don=t work on the banana plantations. I made payments to Social Security since 1972, but I don't see myself receiving any pension. I went there a short while ago, but after hearing what they said to another worker, I decided it was better to leave. I still have strength and lots of work experience on the banana plantation. There are some tasks that perhaps I can no longer do, but others I still can carry out. The bad part is that the banana companies almost never give work to persons over 40 years old.
Now I see that things are pretty grim for the people. Look what is happening with BANDECO. They have settled up with almost everyone because of the story that there are problems with the fruit overseas. They have a trick. Today at 11 a.m. they settle up with the workers and later the same day they rehire them, but lowering the price of the different tasks. Now the workers make very bad salaries. Some people I know, who joined into solidarismo, I see them now and I tell them: diay, what happened, why doesn't solidarismo defend you? But what can you do, with solidarismo there are no rights for workers. A little while ago I heard Assembly Representative Merino asking the Minister of Labor to come and visit the plantations, come to the countryside, to speak with the people. I like this, I think that the law should be enforced in the banana plantations because right now the worker is bad off. The companies have gone back in time, like when there were no laws and they paid you whatever they felt like.
Presently there are a lot of reprisals in the banana plantations; the people are threatened with dismissal if they join a union. But it is a right that we all have and as I see things, only by organizing once again can the situation be improved@.
Health Risks for Women Banana Workers
Ana Victoria Naranjo
Although it is believed, in general, that men are the only ones who suffer health risks on the plantations, women banana workers are also very affected by situations that threaten their health, due to their responsibilities associated with banana production and to reproductive work.
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n Costa Rica, banana production, as with any other type of work, has an assortment of problems related to people=s health. One of the most well-known problems stems from pesticides and agro-chemicals which are utilized to protect the fruit from diseases and pests. The use of these pesticides has caused damage to people=s health; among which the most harmful consequences are sterility and congenital malformations that are transmitted among those persons who have come into direct contact with these substances. For example, in 1997, 277 men and 28 women were reported for intoxication from pesticides in the province of Limon, which is located on the Costa Rican Caribbean coast, the most important banana region of the country.This article will focus on the health risks of women banana workers, which occur while they carry out this economic activity. The most serious of them will be presented according to the women=s own perspective.
It is necessary to point out, as a general framework, that we have an integral concept of health, and do not only consider the concerns related to the need for protection against accidents. Health in the workplace should be complemented with the prevention of illnesses which, at the long term, can be contracted due to the tasks that are performed. Also, occupational health should be complemented with the constant promotion of integral health for both women and men workers. Experience with uncontrolled use of pesticides is a warning that the problem is not accidental or by chance, but rather, one which requires strategic or long-range attention.
Work and risks
While the women are in the banana plantation, the work they carry out is concentrated in the different tasks at the packing plant. Among the most important activities are the Adesmane@(cutting of the fruit into small bunches) and the washing and selection of the fruit, as well as the application of substances for its preservation and the packing itself. Each one of these work areas has associated health risks. Also, while in their homes, the women are responsible for washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, in addition to taking care of the elderly or children; women banana workers are overloaded with their daily tasks and consequently, the risks on their health are increased.
For this reason, specifically in the case of women banana workers, health problems are particularly complex and are not limited to the tasks they carry out in the packing plant or to other work directly related to banana production. Rather, women banana workers, as the majority of women in the world, carry out a double workload, which they carry out in part before entering the plantation and, after leaving it, every day, but especially during the weekends. This work, known as reproductive work, does not only benefit their family but society in general. Nonetheless, it also generates damage to their health and in this sense, should be taken into account.
Recently, organized groups of women banana workers in Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, through participative workshops that were held between 1998 and 1999, have begun to identify a series of risks that affect them. This identification is one of the first steps they have taken to convert themselves into protagonists of their own health. Below, as follows, are some of the results that were analyzed in the workshop.
Participatory identification and acknowledgement of risk factors.
The majority of women hired by banana companies, as was already mentioned above, work in the section of selection and packing of the fruit for exportation. Centered in the packing plant, the women identified some of the most common risks that they face. This identification was made, after having received basic training on the international classification of risk factors which was provided by the Association of Services for Labor Promotion (ASEPROLA) in participatory workshops that were held during 1998 and 1999.
The women banana workers consider the most important risk factors, in relation to the damage caused to their health, to be: ergonomic, chemical, biological, psychological, and social risks as well as risks due to the mode of organization of work and risks stemming from the double workload.
Ergonomic Risks
The ergonomic risks and risks due to the mode of organization are, in the first place, the risks derived from the women=s physical position during the work process. Generally, the women are standing up in all of the work stations that they occupy in the packing plant and this, with time, produces varicose veins and physical exhaustion. Also, the risks due to the mode of organization of work means that the women do not always have the possibility of stable work, with a specific weekly work schedule. The women=s work in the packing plants depends upon whether or not there is fruit and they themselves have to pick up the costs of only a three or four-day week. The repetitivity and the rutinary work of selection, stickering and packing were detected, in themselves, as risk factors of this group.
Chemical Risks
Another type of risk factor in this work area are the chemical risks. These are due to contact with residuals of pesticides on the fruits at the beginning of the packing process. As well, the women also must apply, by spraying, chemical components to preserve the fruit over time. This smoke and vapors cause skin allergies and respiratory problems.
Biological Risks
The biological risks stem from the constant dampness experienced by women in the packing plant while working around the huge tanks in which the bananas are floated. Here, the women run the constant risk of getting fungal infections, which fundamentally affects the nails of their hands and feet. Other biological risks that were detected by the women workers are the insect bites they receive at the beginning of the process, when the fruit comes in from the farm.
Psychological Risks
Psychological risks, especially during the selection phase, are caused by the plants= foreman=s poor treatment and excessive control of the workers; he keeps constant watch and insults the women workers while they select the fruit.
Social Risks
Social risks are tied to the type and low quality of salary that the women workers receive. Also, recently in Costa Rica, the gradual and systematic elimination of the social salary has begun to be included into this type of risk; social salary contemplates aspects which are very important, like housing, water, electricity, scholarships for study and transportation, among others. Another risk associated to this category is the small amount of mass training on prevention and integral health received by the women workers.
Risks caused by the double workload
At home, women are also faced with risks attributable to their different positions and responsibilities when carrying out tasks such as washing, ironing, cooking, handling instruments such as knives, fire and stoves. It is obvious that physical exhaustion can be transformed into the risk of premature aging and stress.
Protagonists of their own health
To be protagonists of their own health implies that the women take possession, in the most positive sense, of the information and the capacities needed to orient the companies= and the State=s occupational health labor policies. These policies should be oriented in favor of the interests of the women workers, with the aim to improve their quality of life and consequently, the level of life of their families. At this moment in time, this means establishing a set of elements, such as:
A. An understanding of health in an integral manner and knowledge of the damage that risks cause; these can be caused by accidents and occupational illnesses at the long range, and can be produced from productive labor as well as from reproductive work that the women perform.
B. Sufficient importance given and access to information and training for prevention.
C. Participation and collective decision-making in the construction of alternative solutions to the risks which have been identified. In this sense, it is necessary to take advantage of the opportunities for negotiation with the Company and to use these spaces adequately.
D. Maintenance of a constant preventive attitude.
While women workers actively participate in groups and spaces for negotiation around the topic of occupational health in the Company, they take possession of the norms, mechanisms and criterion for protection and prevention of their own health. In this way, they make themselves protagonists of their own health.
Crisis in Costa Rican Banana Industry?
Reality or Fantasy
Fr. Gerardo Vargas
In mid 1999, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that the European system for marketing bananas needed to be reformulated to be consistent with policies and directives on free trade defined by that entity. For this reason and the existence of an oversupply of bananas on the international market, some transnational banana companies have begun to cancel contracts of the men and women who work on the plantations and to rehire them on unfavorable terms.
Basic Facts
It is important to consider several aspects of what some people refer to as the "banana crisis". In the first place, it is important to recognize that the WTO has ruled that the current European system of quotas can not be maintained. This has forced the European Union to seek a new mechanism for the allocation of banana imports. Several of the sectors involved have made proposals as to how the new system might be implemented, and as is to be expected, each proposal has sought to protect its proponents interests. While Costa Rica has already made its proposal, some are expressing fears about the decision that will eventually be adopted, concerned that our country will not be able to sell all the fruit it produces.
Another important factor that comes into play in this situation is the existence of an oversupply on the international market, generated as a consequence of expansion of banana production in Ecuador, as well as the recovery of areas of production damaged by hurricane Mitch and the enormous capacity for banana production achieved by Costa Rica in recent years with the expansion of the late 80's and early 90's.
It is argued that Costa Rican costs of production are higher than in other countries, requiring that the fruit be sold at a higher price, placing Costa Rican fruit at a competitive disadvantage. Numerous studies have demonstrated that bananas produced in conventional plantations in Costa Rica are more expensive due to the high economic (not to mention environmental) cost of the technological package, especially the agrochemical applications used by the transnational and national producers.
Certainly, in other countries, the costs of production are reduced due to lower levels of social return ((investment/contribution)) –salaries and social benefits– which result in truly deplorable conditions for working men and women. An element of the current situation of which we must keep very much in sight is that at risk are the rights and benefits achieved thanks to many decades of struggles on the part of working men and women of Costa Rica.
It is important to recognize that the price of a box of bananas has fallen on the international market. Nonetheless, it is once again the independent producers and laboring men and women who will suffer the consequences. It was the three big transnational producers and marketers who decided to reduce the price paid to independent producers by 35 cents on the dollar per box of bananas, with the consequent impact generally on independent producers and banana workers. So, it seems to us that this is a "crisis" that the companies themselves have created with their corporate(business) irrationality, and of which they are taking advantage of to eliminate the minimum benefits won through long years of labor struggles.
The foregoing points to the fact that our country, Costa Rica, once again faces a situation of irrational business planning. Much was said some ten years ago regarding the negative repercussions to Costa Rica from the expansion of the banana industry –both geographical and in volume of production. We are now living with one of the manifestations of those prophetic warnings. Faced with the challenges of the situation they face, the banana companies have opted to initiate wholesale firings of their workers or cancellation of their contracts. The majority of these men and women are then rehired, but on terms that have changed completely: with lower salaries (there are (said to be) cases where wage rates are 30% lower), additional tasks, and longer work days. Also eliminated are some of the rights won through union collective bargaining agreements of more than a decade ago which had survived, if barely, under the so called "Direct Agreements" of recent years (e.g. payment of electric bills and cleanup of common areas around worker housing camps).
The firings and the elimination of benefits historically acquired, is justified by the companies in the rubric of the misnamed "banana crisis". Foro Emaus considers that the talk of crisis misses the mark, and is more of a "market adjustment": At its core, what is occuring is a battle between transnationals, fighting for shares of the international market. It is a great irony that these same transnational and independent companies that are currently asking for forgiveness of their debts and exemptions from taxes, scarcely one year ago were spending millions of colones on a publicity campaign (underwritten by the producers group CORBANA) euphorically announcing to the public the record annual export level of 116 million boxes of bananas, generating 663 million dollars in foreign exchange. How is it that it never occurred to them to distribute those profits more widely in their moments of plenty instead of now asking for assistance to minamize their losses ( more precisely, their diminished profits) that they themselves are directly responsible for because of the promothion of the unfettered and unplanned expansion of the industry?
Once again history repeats itself: when there is a bonanza, the riches go no further than the coffers of the banana companies, what is more, the profits are exported. When there is a "crisis" the consequences are shouldered on the backs of laboring men and women and drawn from government coffers, which is to say from the entire population.
Foro Emaus has advanced concrete proposals for ways to improve the agro-industrial production of bananas that is so important to Costa Rica. Recent meetings held with some of the transnationals, with the Environmental Commission on Bananas, with the Ministers of Public Health and of Labor, and recently with the President of Costa Rica, make evident our interest in contributing responsibly with concrete proposals to the solution of the important problems that burden the banana industry.
It is therefore noteworthy that there remains a group of banana producers who continue with a closed mind in regard to diverse proposals. from other sources. They continue to refer to "groups that traditionally have had an interest in discrediting the Costa Rican Banana industry".1 They insist that they will maintain the rights of workers, but this clashes with what has occurred on the plantations, corroborated by news reports which show evidence of the deterioration of working conditions due to the recent re-contractings.
It is very noteworthy that even Solidarismo –which under the direction of the John XXIII School has always remained faithful to the companies– appears to be in disagreement with what is happening on the plantations. In a recent paid newspaper ad, this institution (took the unprecedented step of making) (made) known its concerns with decisions taken by the transnational corporations: "The decisions taken unilaterally, far from facilitating worker-management understanding, can at times deteriorate labor relations.)2
The banana workers unions had already publicly condemned that selective firings were taking place, particularly of those workers affiliated or in sympathy with the unions. They have also protested the lack of freedom of association, the creation of widespread unemployment and the violation of the basic rights of laboring men and women. They have also made public their disagreements with new work contracts. These organizations are readying a series of actions which seek to defend the rights acquired through long years of labor struggles.
Several Proposals
In accord with the analysis laid out above, Foro Emaus proposes:
Banana production is an activity of great importance for the generation of employment in the Atlantic region, for this reason we need to interest ourselves in defense of the rights of working men and women. This is a grave moment and at the same time, another opportunity to seek adequate alternatives which help to recover social equality in the banana sector.
Complicity of the media
Unbalance in favor of the companies
William Vargas Mora
The media contributes, with concealment, to the shaping of a distorted image of the reality of the country=s banana plantations.
A
The most serious problem related to banana production in Costa Rica is the effect of the restrictions placed on the fruit by some European nations, but above all, it is the drop in international prices, which affects the producers.@ This is how Elena, a young Costa Rican journalism student, responsed to a question which was included on a written exam where I asked about what some of the country=s agarian problems are.Elena=s words reflect the media=s influence on a society which accepts as truth all that is reported and as valid whatever the newspaper pages state, television images show or radio waves transmit.
For this reason, as with Elena, thousands of Costa Ricans are unaware of what is seen at a simple glimpse when large banana farms are visited in the Costa Rican Atlantic zone. I am referring to, among other things, the infrahuman conditions that dozens of migrant workers live in (many undocumented), the low salaries they receive--the majority of times lower that those established by law--, despite the fact that the laborers work shifts that exceed 48 hours weekly, the danger that the workers are exposed to due to the application of highly toxic agrochemical products, and --of course-- the constant sexual harrassment suffered by the women working in the banana plantations and packing plants.
These aspects of reality on the plantations do not appear in the media. Moreover, they are hidden when the topic of the banana plantations appears on the front pages of the newspapers to pressure the authorities for policies in favor of new concessions, the elimination of taxes, the extension of benefits, the elimination of work contracts, among other measures. With tears in their eyes and broken voices, the transnational impresarios of the banana plantations comment on them, while fortelling, in an apocaliptic way, the ruin of this agro sector. However, in these cases not only the impresarios are those who fool the public by showing only one facet of the banana problem. The media, its directors and above all the owners of the media, encourage disinformation by forgetting basic aspects of their duty to provide information and above all, the social work that the media ought to be exercising in all society.
From the moment that the media denies the possibility for journalists to visit the banana plantations on organized tours given by entities such as the Emaus Forum, different church denominations, the Defensoria de los Habitantes (Governmental Inhabitants Defense Office) or simply one of the banana unions, the media impeeds the population=s contact with reality. The bias is increased even more, when the reporting or information gathers only the opinion of the impresarios, foremen or traders of the fruit.
Again, the journalist, by incorporating his own world vision to the facts that he analyzes and communicates, he distorts reality and therefore, making the principle of imparciality impossible. From the moment that a situation is defined as news, personal meanings and values and of course, the journalists= own vision about the facts that are being analyzed enter into the picture. We should remember that one=s perception of the world and ideology determine in a good part of what is or isn=t news. From this stems, as Villalobos mencions, Ainformation was and has been connected to power@.
Jimen Chan, on his part, recalls that in each piece of news other versions of the facts are incorporated. Therefore, the perception which is offered to the public is that of the journalist and the media. This is confirmed by Niceto Blazques, who says that Ahe who provides information does it from some individual or collective interest@. When content analysis is applied to the information treated in the media related to the subject of bananas, there is evidence of the bias in information in favor of the impresarios. One can observe very little protagonism of the thousands of workers of the plantations, the dozens of unions and of course, the neighbors of the areas surrounding the plantations which are affected on a daily basis, including by the small planes flying over that fumigate their homes, crops, roads and children in an indiscriminate manner.
These and other occurances are frequently denounced to the Costa Rican media but hardly ever reach the public.
Commercial Journalism
One of the explanations that we can give to this behavior of the media is related to the commercial ends of the enteprises that create and direct the media. Reproducers of the ideology of the economically strongest classes, the dominant criterion and interests are transferred to the information. The news, then, is observed, evaluated, selected and transmitted in funcion of the political and economic determinants of the countries of origin, of their own commercial and unilateral interests. ANewspapers constitute, as a general rule, commercial enteprises and therefore the laws of commerce rule, above all for the desire to achieve profits@, as defined by Werner Goldschmidt and is quoted by Novoa Montreal.
From this perspective, the news, more and more, is transformed into merchandise and fulfills the function of commercial competitivity, where the product must be Asold@ better than that of their rivals, and therefore the logic of the market determines with more frequency what is reported, who reports it and in what manner. The news, is converted in this way into a consumer product; thus, the businesses negotiate their news in appearance and content. The information loses, with this conversion, its capacity to accurately reflect the historical, political and cultural realities that give the facts their true meaning, according to Novoa Monreal.
With regard to the above, philosopher Rodriguez considers that, in competivity those who control the media try to present what is most suggestive and impacting. Therefore one cannot blame himself for the diffusion of sensationalist information to the public, as some communicators do, because behind the selection of what is published the Alogic of power@ is not in play. Considering this reality, the precedence of economic interest over the common good in some of the media, spaces are more and more reduced.
According to Novoa Monreal, the tendency would seem to be that Athe smaller newspapers, sustained by independent intellectuals, disappear absorbed more and more by millionare enterprises. In consequence, freedom of information, in general terms, continues to be freedom of a few in front of the rights of many.@ Thus, confronting the explosion of the globalization processes, the media becomes more and more hegemonic, concentrated in fewer hands, and is at the service of the economically stronger classes.
Social Responsibility
We can=t forget the press= social responsibility, since, as the Costa Rican journalist Guido Fernandez considers, the press Aacts as a tribune, it reflects and gives voice, with balance, to the different sectors of society with which it interacts and attempts to be guardian of society=s values and its aspirations@. Therefore, a journalists= task is based on supreme values like the search for truth, the right to information, the search for the common good, independence, justice and compassion, among others.
Many times, the conceivers of journalism will contrast with the commercial interests of the media enterprises. The efforts to bring these two positions closer have propitiated important meetings where impresarios and journalists have definded common agendas. Nevertheless, the eagerness for responsible journalism clashes, the majority of times, with the interest for profitablity sought by the media enterprises.
Censured information, changed titles, thrown out notes, expressed or suggested petitionsto not touch such and such a topic, requests to highlight or suppress a part of the facts, are only some of the pressures that can be placed on journalists by the shareholders or financial authorities of the media. I know of the case of a director of a Costa Rican paper that published a report on the inhuman conditions in some banana companies, as well as the results from scientific research on the mutagenic effects in the cells of women banana workers in the Costa Rican Atlantic region. Afterwards, he was Aconvinced@ to print on the back covers ads by the Corporacion Bananera Nacional (CORBANA) [National Banana Corporation] in an attempt to contradict the earlier research.
In all cases one would assume that information professionals should present the facts honestly, to promote debate, give spaces to different social groups and to compete responsibly with other means of communication. This should be permitted without pressure by advertisers or the owners of the media who intend to make journalism a lucrative and commercial profession.
Ethical Communication
With this panorama, ethic values emerge as elemental conditions for human, fair and truthful communication. Here, each participant in the information process should be able to express and understand the rest in his/her own name; he/she should not have to use the name of the different social institutions from where they are reporting.
For a commentary to be ethical it should be emitted by an individual who is conscious of the beliefs and ideologies that are behind the information, or by which the receiver can inform him/herself, given the highest and noblest ends that can be conceived for it. Of course, the commentary should come from persons who have their own voice. The media, being one of the most effective formers of public opinion, proposes scales of values and models of conduct that influence the construction of a personal identity, much in the same way as the family, schools and eclessiastic institutions do. In the case of information in the Costa Rican commercial media regarding the banana crop, imbalance is evident, disinformation is shameful and in many cases the content of the information favors the transnational impresario, damaging the badly paid immigrant worker.
Paraquat or Gramaxone
The Profile of Toxic Danger
Philippe Descamps
Paraquat, one of whose commercial names is Gramaxone, is the number one cause of pesticide poisoning in the country.
Pesticides kill more than just pests: according to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year some 220,000 people around the world die of pesticide poisoning, while another three million suffer acute pesticide poisoning. Although 80% of the pesticides produced are used in developed countries, poisoning cases are proportionally higher in developing countries.
Costa Rica is not immune to this problem: 827 cases of acute pesticide poisoning were reported in 1997. Paraquat, better known here by its brand name Gramaxone, is responsible for the single greatest number of these poisonings. Nationally, 23% of the total of pesticide poisonings is due to this product. Moreover, if we analyze the data from the Atlantic coast province of Limon, we find the incidence of accidents with Paraquat is even higher – 91 cases of a total of 305 – or 30% of all poisonings.
It is an unquestionable fact that Paraquat is the pesticide which causes the largest number of poisonings in Costa Rica. Paradoxically, this herbicide, which is most commonly used nationally in agriculture as well as in the patios of homes, schools, churches and other public places, is classified as "moderately toxic" - yellow label- and is considered not very dangerous to the general population. Considering this reality, it is very pertinent to dedicate a space to discuss Paraquat and to point out the danger that it signifies to the health of the population.
Paraquat’s profile
Paraquat is one of the "Dirty Dozen": a list of dangerous pesticides whose use should be prohibited according to the World Health Organizations (WHO) and the Pesticide Action Network (PAN). This pesticide is prohibited in various Scandinavian countries, and its use is restricted in the United States. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified it among the products that are possibly carcinogenic for human beings.
Paraquat is a highly toxic product for human beings. Many cases of acute poisoning and death have been reported caused by Paraquat. When Paraquat is ingested, burns are produced in the mouth and throat; this is followed by a serious irritation of the gastro-intestinal tract which provokes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms are thirst, shortness of breath, an accelerated heart rate, lesions in the kidneys, liver, and heart and bleeding in the lungs. Generally, healthy skin doesn’t absorb this product, but bruised or irritated skin can absorb it very easily.
There are two reasons why poisonings from Paraquat are very serious. First, there is no known antidote or effective treatment for poisoning from this product. Secondly, some symptoms can appear a number of days after contact with the pesticide.
In spite of the statistics, Zeneca (the product’s manufacturer), agrochemical distributors, as well as many agronomists and other scientists continue to say that Paraquat isn’t dangerous if it is used correctly. They affirm that due to Paraquat’s blue color, its unpleasant odor and the additive which provokes vomiting when swallowed, that accidental poisoning with the product is impossible.
In Costa Rica, Katherina Wesseling, a scientist from the Regional Institute for Research on Toxic Substances (IRET), of the National Autonomous University (UNA), has carried out a number of investigations on accidental poisonings caused by this herbicide. These investigations have pointed to important findings, among those the fact that slight wounds to the skin, including those that are barely perceptible, can allow for penetration of the pesticide into the body, which can cause grave consequences, including death. Another important observation from these studies is that protective clothing does not impede contact between the pesticide being applied and the skin. Dr. Wessling underlines that even diluted in solution, Paraquat can cause fatal accidental poisonings, and that the only way to eliminate the risks of such poisoning is to not use this product.
The Foro Emaus shares this opinion and is promoting a campaign for the prohibition of Paraquat’s use in Costa Rica. Paraquat is not a substance essential to agricultural production. Thousands of organic and traditional producers farm effectively without the use of herbicides since simple and inexpensive weed control alternatives already exist. As far as conventional agriculture is concerned, this product may be substituted by others that are less dangerous -although, always representing a danger to health. Many agricultural businesses no longer use Paraquat.
18 Reasons (with scientific support) to not use Paraquat