Chris Ramsaroop/ Guest Columnist THE CLOSE-KNIT migrant community has faced another tragedy with the death of yet another migrant farmworker Tyrone Lee Jackson (40), from Jamaica. This was Jackson’s second journey to work in Canada under the Commonwealth Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (CSAWP). He leaves behind a loving mother and seven siblings. Many questions remain unanswered about how Jackson, an otherwise healthy young man, died during the quarantine period prior to beginning his work contract. Did congregant bunkhouse conditions contribute to his passing? Were there sufficient wellness checks by healthcare professionals? What were the checks and balances undertaken to protect him, if any, and who will be held to account? When he travelled to Canada for the second time, Mr Jackson would probably not have known that the community of Leamington, Ontario, the “greenhouse capital” of Canada, was in the midst of another COVID outbreak. Local public health officials were sounding the alarm at the rise of COVID numbers among the migrant worker community. At that point in January 2022, 13-14 per cent or approximately 275 workers out of 2000 workers were in quarantine either because they had tested positive for COVID, or were close to those who had. Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr Shankar Nesathurai ordered a pause on more workers arriving. Local politicians and growers were up in arms about the decision, and cited an impending crisis within the Canadian food industry if workers did not arrive. There has not been a single word of condolence from any politician or local leader since the passing of Mr Tyronne Lee Jackson. Their concerns are not about the health and safety of workers, but on the impact to their crops. After Mr Jackson’s death, one would expect immediate and stringent steps to be taken. In fact, the exact opposite occurred and it was perhaps unsurprising given the local context. Without consultations, or input from the community the chief medical officer of Ontario released COVID19 Guidance: Workplace and Living Settings for Seasonal International AgricultureWorkers (IAWs). Simply put: the document further imperils farm workers. Mere suggestions rather than mandatory provisions riddle the policy document. In effect, growers have carte blanche over the lives of migrants. This will have significant and deadly consequences as there will be no safeguards to protect workers from the spread of COVID or any other infectious hazards during this current pandemic. In addition, testing requirements to protect workers have been contracted out to private entities, which brings forth questions regarding privacy, transparency and accountability. In a country that praises itself for its high quality universal healthcare system, migrants are not being provided with the care they rightly deserve. The agricultural industry, as well as each level of government, has had well over two years to ensure that proactive measures would be developed, implemented and enacted to protect the health and well-being of incoming workers. Workers nor their families should not face the consequence because of the inactions of Canadian growers, bureaucrats or politicians. This is not an error, nor is this incompetence. It’s by design. While families and communities across the Caribbean suffer in silence, the Canadian agricultural system does not miss a beat. It keeps churning and producing without repercussions. It’s time to end this vicious cycle of violence and ensure the Jackson family and all those affected by the cruel nature of managedmigration are provided answers so the healing process can truly begin. 2 1965: AUSTRALIA bowled out the West Indies for 239 runs in just over four hours and then scored 32 without loss in 45 minutes on the opening day of the first Test match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. 1966: Queen Elizabeth arrived in Jamaica for a four-day visit accompanied by HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. It was a bright, full day from sunrise offshore, when the Queen’s Yacht, the Britannia, is escorted into Kingston Harbour by a colourful flotilla of local small craft until near midnight under the scintillating fairy lights on the grounds of King’s House, where the official reception is held. 1977: Mobilising unemployed urban youth to grasp the employment opportunities likely to be created in rural areas is identified as one of the major problems the country will face in its drive to increase production. Accordingly to University of theWest Indies economist, Dr. George Beckford, there were over 120,000 acres of land in the country lying idle. This Day In Our Past: March 3 1966: Queen Elizabeth being presented with a corsage of rare orchids by Marcia Johnson, daughter of the Supt. of the St. Catherine Fire Brigade, at the civic reception for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Spanish Town on March 3. Other from left are the Governor-General, Sir Clifford Campbell, Mayor of Spanish Town, Councillor A.U. King and the Duke. FILE ‘It’s time to end this vicious cycle of violence’ THE MONTHLY GLEANER | MARCH 3 - APRIL 2, 2022 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS WASHINGTON, DC: ONE OF Jamaica’s highways is to be named in honour of civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, renowned singer and actor of Jamaican parentage. So says Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness in a message to mark Belafonte’s 95th birthday anniversary on March 1. “AS we celebrate with Harry Belafonte, his 95 years, the Government and people of Jamaica … in this our 60th year of Independence … will name one of our highways after our titan, in his honour and in recognition of the long road to freedom Harry Belafonte has traversed on behalf of our people,” the prime minister said. He pointed out that Belafonte “is an icon whose pristine voice, soaring melodies, and music on the global stage magically matched the rhythm and power of his stride in the march for equal rights, justice, and empowerment”. In saluting his 95 years, the prime minister said, “Harry Belafonte’s fierce defence of the dignity and integrity of our people has inspired us to make our own commitment to the struggle towards the fuller, mental freedom asserted by Garvey.” Referring to Belafonte as a humanitarian and an activist, “We celebrate his unflinching political stance for the upliftment and fulfilment of the promise and power of the lives of the black race. Throughout, his has been a constant voice against racial prejudice not only in the United States of America, but in South Africa and anywhere in the world that injustice reared its ugly head,” he declared. Prime Minister Holness added that over the years, Belafonte “decried colonial oppression and has given a life of service to the campaign for the elimination of chronic poverty and disease, under-education, and economic hardships. Harry Belafonte is the name forever affectionately associated with uniting artists, philanthropists, and businessmen in the cause for African redemption, one such being the intersection of arts and politics in the still-remembered USA for Africa.” The prime minister added that “Harry Belafonte has walked with kings and presidents yet has never lost the common touch. From Jamaica to Rwanda to Kenya to Senegal, he has given voice to the voiceless, and hope to the downtrodden, appearing in a tonality and sincerity born out of the natural harmony of his artistic foundation, and vocation for transformation of the planet we occupy. “Born in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican parents, Belafonte experienced the spiritual reawakening inspired by the poets of the Harlem Renaissance, like our own Claude McKay, and the grit and acumen of the Jamaican ethos. Additionally, Belafonte’s time in a culturally rich and politically and historically potent Jamaica, together with his association with his mentor Paul Robeson and his spiritual backbone Martin Luther King Jr, propelled him courageously forward,” Prime Minister Holness concluded. Ja to name highway in honour of Harry Belafonte Phyllis Barnes phyllis.barnes@gleanerna.net NEW YORK Christopher Barnes - Manager (Interim) christopher.barnes@gleanerna.net Normadelle Rose - Office Supervisor normadelle.rose@gleanerna.net 92-05 172nd Street, Jamaica, NY 11433, 718-657-0788 Aubrey Campbell aubreycgleaner@gmail.com 2 NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THE WEEKLY GLEANER | FEBRUARY 3 - 28, 2022 | www.jam ica-gleaner.com | NEWS Phyllis Barnes phyllis.barnes@gleanerna.net NEW YORK Garfield Grandison - Manager garfield.grandison@gleanerna.net Normadelle Rose - Office Supervisor normadelle.rose@gleanerna.net 92-05 172nd Street, Jamaica, NY 11433, 718-657-0788 Aubrey Campbell aubreycgleaner@gmail.com
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