Shameful Harvest

In late July, the Durham News published an amazing op-ed written by a rising 10^th-grader at Carolina Friends School.  Lucas Selvidge’s “Shameful Harvest” talks about his experiences during a week-long service project at Episcopal Farmworker Ministry – a member of FAN. 

While there, Lucas did everything from sorting clothes to visiting labor camps, and he talks about the lasting impression that these experiences made on him:

Some evenings, Father Tony took us to the camps where the farm workers and their families live, where we distributed toiletries, clothes, food and toys. On our first night of visiting we heard that the men had been working in the fields since seven-thirty that morning. They had worked until dusk, which was when we showed up. Hearing that fact alone made me feel tired. I was exhausted from doing two hours of easy work that day. But they work in the fields from dawn until dusk every day for almost no money, which allows us to buy food as cheaply as possible.

No wonder they were too tired to play when our class challenged them to a game of soccer.

What we saw when we went to the camps was that when the farm workers finish their long day of work, they come home to living spaces that are not very pleasant. When I had first seen the farm workers and their children at Father Tony's church service, I had no idea that they were living crammed with lots of people into small trailers with inadequate heating, cooling and insulation, as well as no indoor plumbing, no privacy in bathrooms, and minimal belongings. And that they were working hard all day harvesting our food but barely had enough to feed their own families. Seeing it with our own eyes made a big impression.

Click here to read the entire article.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of the truth that all people deserve dignity in their homes and on the job.  I think we’re all grateful to Lucas for both the week of his life that he offered to others and for raising his voice to help improve their lives over the long-term.