"Swimming In The Canal"
"Tomato Pickers"
The children of the Pérez family and their pet chicken bathe daily in this irrigation canal next to where their father, Maxim, picks oranges. No signage is posted. When the parents were asked if they were concerned with the possibility of pesticides in the water, the children's mother, who works in a local packing plant, shrugged a simple, "No." Migrant workers have a 59 percent higher risk of contracting leukemia, and a 69 percent higher risk for stomach cancer than other Hispanics living in California - rates that have been directly attributed to their exposure to pesticides and other chemicals used in their work.
The photographs and text are by Rick Nahmias, from his book The Migrant Project: Contemporary California Farm Workers, published by the University of New Mexico Press. For a gallery of images and more information, see http://themigrantproject.com
This story was sent to me through one of the news groups that I subscribe to. It made me think back to when we were young and my brother, sister and I swam in the drainage ditch across from our house in Dinuba, a small farming community North of Bakersfield. It was only for three years but it makes me think. Something so small can make a difference in your life.
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1 comment:
Yeah, that would certainly give me pause. Creepy.
I think we used to be exposed to some kind of carcinogenic something-or-other in the little town in Indiana I lived in as a kid. I seem to remember my mom saying something about the power plant and a lot of cancer insurance sales men in town. Ugh.
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