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Harvesting Freedom
Author(s)

Edward Dunsworth; Gabriel Allahdua

Publisher

Between The Lines

Publication Year

2023

ISBN: 9781771136181

Categories:

  • Sociology & Anthropology → Activism & Social Movements → Canada
  • Food Studies & Nutrition → Corporate Agriculture
  • Biography, Autobiography & Life Writing → Emmigration, Immigration & Migration
  • Biography, Autobiography & Life Writing → Labour
  • Sociology & Anthropology → Activism & Social Movements → Labour Movement
  • Labour Studies → Migrant Labour

 
View more details about this title on the publisher's website:

Go to publisher’s site

Harvesting Freedom

The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada

New!

In this singular firsthand account, a former migrant worker reveals a disturbing system of exploitation at the heart of Canada’s farm labour system.

When Gabriel Allahdua applied to the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program in Canada, he thought he would be leaving his home in St. Lucia to work in a country with a sterling human rights reputation and commitment to multiculturalism. Instead, breakneck quotas and a culture of fear dominated his four years in a mega-greenhouse in Ontario. This deeply personal memoir takes readers behind the scenes to see what life is really like for the people who produce Canada’s food.

Now, as a leading activist in the migrant justice movement in Canada, Allahdua is fighting back against the Canadian government to demand rights and respect for temporary foreign labourers. Harvesting Freedom shows Canada’s place in the long history of slavery, colonialism, and inequality that has linked the Caribbean to the wider world for half a millennium—but also the tireless determination of Caribbean people to fight for their freedom.

Contributors

Gabriel Allahdua

Originally from St. Lucia, Gabriel Allahdua worked as a migrant farm worker in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program for four years, from 2012 to 2015, before leaving the program to seek permanent residency in Canada. Now a leading voice in the migrant justice movement, Allahdua is an organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers and an outreach worker with The Neighbourhood Organization, providing services to migrant workers across southwestern Ontario. He lives in Toronto with his two adult children and his grandson.

Edward Dunsworth

Edward Dunsworth is a historian of migration and labour and assistant professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University. He lives in Longueuil, Quebec, with his wife and two children.
Chapter Contributors Pages Year Price
Included in the preface is the poem I Am Many Things as well as the details of Gabriel Allahdua’s early life in St.Lucia. The preface also discusses the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program …
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Edward Dunsworth 13 2023 $1.30
Part 1 discusses Gabriel Allahdua life in Mabouya Valley, St. Lucia, including his family life, education, his interest in agriculture, early career as a teacher, and time in Guyana. Part 1 also …
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Edward Dunsworth; Gabriel Allahdua 55 2023 $5.50
Part 2 discusses Gabriel Allahdua’s time working in a greenhouse in Leamington, Ontario, the "migrant farm worker capital of Canada", including the intense workplace conditions, …
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Edward Dunsworth; Gabriel Allahdua 61 2023 $6.10
Part 3 details Gabriel Allahdua’s activist work against the injustices that migrant workers experience in Canada. Part 3 also explained Allahdua’s process of leaving the program and …
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Edward Dunsworth; Gabriel Allahdua 37 2023 $3.70
The epilogue included a brief poem and a conversation between the authors about how the  Covid-19 pandemic has affected conditions for migrant farm workers.
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Edward Dunsworth; Gabriel Allahdua 8 2023 $0.80

Modal title

Canada Council for the Arts
Canada
Nova Scotia

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada. Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.

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