Of El Conrato by Min Sook Lee - Movie Review Example

? El Conrato The movie El Contrato by Korean-Canadian and documentary filmmaker Min Sook Lee traces plight of Mexican laborers in Leamington, Ontario centering on a father of four children, Theodoro Bello Martinez.  The movie centers on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP) which entails the Canadian government’s agreement with Mexico and other Carribbean nations to hire workers for farms on seasonal basis. This agreement was initiated in 1966. Teodoro and “M” together with few of their Mexican natives make their annual immigration to Southern Ontario to help pick tomatoes.  “M” puts on a mask to conceal his real identity. For eight months under contract, immigrants would work seven days a week, without holidays. To make sure that no one remains in Canada after the contract is over, only married men are allowed to sign. Those eligible for the contract should have less than A-grade school learning.  A quarter of their pay would be deducted as taxes and costs related with their conveyance and lodging. The SAWP workers soon find themselves disillusioned as their dreams shatter in the face of inequality and ill-treatments in the foreign land. Once famous for Heinz tomatoes, one quarter of a billion pounds of tomatoes originates from the Leamington stretch. For eight months a year, the town adds nearly 4000 migrants who work hard under wages which perhaps no local residents would be ready to work with. According to 2006 survey, out of Leamington’s total population of 28,275, there are 7,485 immigrants (Statistics Canada).  A majority of these immigrants are from Mexico and Jamaica and work as seasonal laborers.  The job is tiring, under inhuman conditions and oppressive.  Despite claims by the western countries of their concern towards human rights, mistreatment of immigrant laborers with respect to their working conditions and medical needs indicates the contrary. Owners of tomato farms in Leamington depend heavily on Mexican laborers who have been contracted out to do the job. Yet, the treatment they receive from their employers and local residents is pretty shocking. One Mexican laborer complains in the documentary: “The majority thinks they bring us here only to work and that we don’t deserve to be treated as human beings”. The laborers often have to do hazardous jobs. Teodoro recollects an incident when a laborer’s eye was hurt while spraying. He was taken to the doctor only after long delay. They cannot afford to say no or else: “back to Mexico.” The immigrants after all need money desperately. If someone gets sick, solution is to send them to Mexico. The laborer in mask who does not want to invite troubles from the authorities cries, “I want to say to all of the employers that we are not machines, and I want them to realize, even a little bit that the money they have is thanks to the work of all the Mexican agricultural workers who came to Canada to work.” There are also instances when there is physical abuse. Teodoro narrates of an incident when through the windshield he saw one of his colleagues grabbed by neck and shoved against a van. He got out in help and protested: That’s not how you treat a worker! In the movie, laborers are instead told by Consulates and other state authorities to be careful from their side! The local residents often look in strange manners at these hard workers. Some look them with suspicion that they are here to take away their jobs. Eye chemistry of many dwellers is just insulting. However the local people do not realize that these workers have been hired only because they are ready to work at lower wage than the former. This is a clear instance of inequality. Teodoro complains: “They look at us strangely”. The managers live in luxurious mansions with their children playing in their swimming pools. They can spend time with their children unlike the migrant workers who are forced to live their home.  In contrast to he employers, it is disheartening to see workers in the movie packed into close quarters with little or no resort: “We’re packed in like sardines.” It is surprising for the outside world to observe contracted workers working almost like a slave in a large, developed country like Canada!  In the words of Teodoro: “When I first came to Canada, I felt locked in. This is a big country, but you feel confined. You feel uneasy.” After the publicity of the movie, some corrective actions may have been locally taken.  Whether such reforms are because of genuine interest, we can never be sure.  Such actions are often momentary to silence critics.  But one needs to comprehend the issue raised in the movie El Contrato keeping an eye on the broader picture of exploitation and inequality. This shows that globalization and increased wealth have still not improved the life of millions of poor laborers.  The process has benefited only few who have access to power or higher education.  At a time when gap between white-collar jobs and blue-collar jobs should converge, the realities are still very much different.  One can just have a look at tens and thousands of factories and farms not just in Canada but also everywhere from India and China in Asia to US and Germany.  There is just difference in the intensity of violation of human rights.  It is really disheartening to see immigrant Mexican laborers working hard in the movie El Contrato but deprived of fair treatment.  Teodoro recollects of one of his boss: “He yells and screams and has no manners to treat a worker. And he orders people around in fits of anger. He feels that by scaring people they will obey.” These farm workers in tomato gardens add utility to otherwise beautiful town of Leamington, Canada, which is also known for tourism.  Despite fears of repression, Mexican laborers are seen in the movie raising their voice for dignity and respect. But these laborers understand despite being treated like slaves, they have very little to do: The hardest part is that when you try to defend your rights, it’s easy for the boss to say: “This animal, next year, he doesn’t come back!” When many return to Mexico after 8 months of ordeal, they take a vow to never sign for the contract. One veteran sums it in the documentary, “When I first came to Canada, I thought only one or two and look – ten seasons I’ve been coming.” It is economic compulsion which forces such Mexicans come again and again. They have families to be looked after but no unemployment in hometowns. Tedoro who has four children under eighteen explains: “I believe it’s worth it because it’s for my family, right?” All their expectations and hopes are shattered when they face the reality. Laborers working in private factories are frequently allocated hostile quarters with below-standard sanitation facilities. This is often despite the fact that factories where such laborers are working running profitably. Most of the time, owners fudge data to undervalue their firms’ profits. This not only helps them grab profit without paying taxes but also makes them eligible to avail various state subsidies and loans for business revival. Workers are routinely deprived of their rights under factory laws. Despite claims of positive union participation in such countries in the private sector, the truth points something else. Teodoro was even lucky to board the plane as he together with few of his colleagues faced frustrating delay in recovering their money.  While the contract ends on Saturday, it is only after repeated phone calls that they manage to recover their sum on Monday, few hours before their flight is scheduled to leave.  The documentary is successful in highlighting discrimination against SAWP workers in a significant way and raising awareness regarding such sensitive issues of immigrants compelled to work under difficult conditions and their vulnerability taken advantage of.  As one moves more and more towards citizen journalism, hopefully such gross violation of human rights against all kinds of laborers will be eliminated from any civilized part of the world. In the words of Teodore’s teammate Leonardo Nieves Prieto: “I hope my countrymen who come after me will have a better time than those of us who are here”.                                   References 1. Lee, Min Sook. El Contrato,  National Film Board of Canada. 2003. June 11, 2011 from: http://beta.nfb.ca/film/el_contrato/ 2. Statistics Canada.  2007.  2006 Community Profiles.  2006 Census.  Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-591-XWE. Ottawa. Released March 13, 2007.  Web. 10 June 2011.  . Read More