For indigenous farmworkers, critical info on COVID-19 came late — or not at all

Have we ever bothered to ask who has been harvesting our food during the pandemic? Or whether these workers have been treated fairly with adequate equipment to keep them safe from COVID-19 while working? 

During COVID-19, thousands of farmworkers in California were considered “essential workers” even as they were excluded from basic essential services. 

Ventura County is a home for more than 20,000 indigenous migrant people from the southern states of Mexico. The majority are Mixtecos, many of whom speak their native languages. The majority of Mixtecos and others indigenous people work in the county’s $2.2 billion agriculture industry.

Often, indigenous migrants face a lack of information in their native language.

Access to factual information in a timely manner could mean the difference between life and death during a crisis such as the pandemic, particularly for vulnerable and historically excluded communities such as Mixtecos. 

Ventura County was in the midst of recovery from the Thomas and Woolsey wildfires when COVID-19 hit in mid-march of 2020. During the wildfire crises, the county’s rapid response information system was not available in Spanish. Migrant families were trapped in their apartment complexes not understanding any of the evacuation messages appearing on their cellphones in English. Many farmworkers lacked access to basic safety equipment such as N95 masks and gloves, as smoke and ashes covered them while harvesting fruit and vegetables. Many workers had no other alternatives than to buy their own equipment to protect themselves while working. 

Farmworkers are among the lower paid workers in this country; they typically make between $15,000 and $22,000 a year. Affording additional expenses such as protective gear work and supplies impacts their economic situation severely. 

During COVID-19, information about safety measures from state and local governments were not getting to these communities in a timely and accurate manner, often because of the existing barriers of language and trust. It didn’t take long until the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in the indigenous farmworkers’ communities, where access to health care is a struggle. When it comes to COVID-19 testing and now the distribution of vaccines, indigenous migrant communities have been impacted disproportionately. 

With the support of the 2021 California Fellowship, I will be reporting on the impacts of COVID-19 among indigenous Mixteco communities here. I will be working with community members to guide my reporting, and I will be conducting focus groups to gather community input. The goal of the project is to capture community experiences during COVID-19, both struggles and triumphs.