The Triqui People
The Triqui people are the indigenous population residing in the Oaxaca State in Mexico country. The community lives in a mountainous region divided into three regions: Copala is the bottom region; San Martin Itunyoso makes the middle part and the high area of San Andrés de Chicahuaxtla. The Triqui in these three areas use the Oto-Manguean language, and though the language varies, the groups of people in the three regions have numerous similarities. Homes indicate that the group of people migrated to these regions during industrialized agricultural production in Washington and California. The Triqui immigrants passed through hardships such as the scorching head and being put in jail by the Border Patrol agents from the United States (Holmes 2).
Ethnographic Field Study
When Homes was conducting the research on the Triqui population, he carried out an ethnographic field study, tacit dimension and participant-observation approach. Holmes followed the Triqui families during the migration processes and it helped in gathering data on how these people struggled to make a living, the oppressions and hindrances they had to face in daily life and the food system reality which was established on the migrant workers who did not have an option. Holmes was part of the migrants as he even moved with them across the border and through participation he was able to experience the heat, confrontation, and imprisonment by the patrol agents at the American border. Holmes even took part in their daily work and thus when writing, he was able to base his work on the Triqui people’s point of view using a dignified, humble and illuminating method since he participated in every event thus had first-hand information (Holmes 18).
Motivation for Migration
The Triqui people migrated as a way of seeking to make a better living and looking for survival for their people. They moved to the United States so that they could make a living. The Triqui used to move only during the productive season and later they would be back in their community. Most of them were engaged in craftwork, and the income would not be enough to take care of these people, and they thus opted to migrate to other big cities in search of better paying work.
Holmes' Experience
Holmes was "out of place" since his work was collecting data and writing about the life of the Triqui people, their original location, their movements through the scorching heat, being confronted and imprisoned so that they could access America and start making a living. Holmes was a physician and a medical anthropologist which means he exposed himself to conditions he was not used to so that he could learn about the life of the group of people. Through participation, Holmes was able to explain the personal experiences of the Triqui group and how they suffered which he also experienced, and these were physical sickness, inter-personal anguish and mental disturbances (Holmes 89). Holmes experienced structural violence when his aim was only to study the Triqui (Holmes 43). There were issues like social inequalities depending on gender, sexuality, class and race which Holmes included since he was studying the people as part of them. Unlike the migrants, Holmes accompanied and trekked with them illegally and even got jailed in the process before being deported. To get information, Holmes has to reside in the labor camps, yet he was a physician which means his life was easy. He was also used to light work in the healthcare center and joining the Triqui; Holmes had to pick berries, plant and harvest corn and take the sick workers to the hospitals (Holmes 33). All these activities made him feel that he did not belong there.
Neoliberalism and Triqui Migrants
Neoliberalism is the economic concept supporting free transactions in the market between the private groups without the interference of the government. It was accompanied by ideas such as economic liberalization policies like free trade, deregulation, and privatization. The spending by the government was also to be reduced so that the responsibilities of the private sector would be increased in both the society and the economy. The free-market concept meant that the producers were regulators of the marker such as determination of labor and production. Neoliberalism relates to the story of the Triqui migrants by Holmes where the farm workers faced through hardships when working for the private producers. The structural violence resulted since the government would not intervene and improve the situation of the laborers. The Triqui labored hard to produce fresh fruits, yet their bodies were broken as even the healthcare system did not support them (Holmes 24).
Healthcare and Structural Violence
The migrant workers are faced with lots of problems, and their health gets weaker by day. Structural violence can be used to explain the conditions of the migrant employees. There are no laws which protect these people, such as the amount of payment they should receive since in most cases they work for the private producers who only care about their products. The migrant workers are segregated depending on their class, gender, and race. Those who suffer most are the African Americans who are still considered as energetic enough to handle farm work and thus compensated less. These people lack enough food and medical care attention. The healthcare system mostly accommodates the citizens or those with insurance cover, which most migrant workers lack since they are in the country to get a living. The health status gets worsen depending on the harsh conditions the workers are exposed.
Impact on View of Fresh Produce
The book affects my view about fresh produce. I did not realize that there are people who suffer this much such as the migrant workers, who are in most cases responsible for the production of the fresh produce, to deliver the best in the market. I used to think that for such fresh produce to be available in the market, those responsible for the production such as planting and harvesting were happy people and they enjoy what they were doing after seeing the results of their hard work. I now feel that the government should intervene in production to ensure that workers, especially migrants are provided with adequate healthcare services so that they can be strong enough for the fresh produce production.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the government should intervene when it comes to hiring of workers despite being migrants. Those people move through long distances and face life distressing situations to get to other places where they could get work opportunities. It would be fair if structural violence would be stopped and life and health of migrant workers improved.
Work Cited
Holmes, Seth M. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. , 2013. Internet resource.
