Overview

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, Gabriel 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.

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9781771136181

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Reviews

This memoir disrupts a colossal silence in the history of Canadian food, labour, and agriculture. Through a mix of deft analysis and storytelling, Allahdua reveals the structures of power that have long suppressed the voices of migrant farm workers in Canada. - Simon Vickers, archivist and historian // Gabriel Allahdua has been a leading voice in migrant worker movements in Canada for decades. Now, he has gifted us this book, written with Edward Dunsworth, challenging the myth of Canadian benevolence, fairness, and multiculturalism in the immigration system. In this sweeping account, the authors expertly weave global histories of enslavement, indentureship, and racial capitalism with Allahdua's own experience as a migrant worker and his key role in migrant worker movements resisting labour, racial, and social exploitation. One of the only books by and of migrant farm workers' experiences and struggles in Canada, Harvesting Freedom is deeply inspiring, moving, eye-opening, and motivating. An essential read that will shake you to your core. - Harsha Walia, author of Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism // This well-crafted personal narrative takes us from St. Lucia in the eastern Caribbean to the vast commercial greenhouses of Ontario, all from the perspective of one migrant who defied the divide-and-conquer strategies of employers and the Canadian state. Through activist Gabriel Allahdua's calm, clear, and concise account of the 'roller coaster ride of being a migrant farm worker in Canada,' we become acquainted not only with the coercion and cruelty built into the programs designed by the state and the corporations to feed labour-power into our food system, but also with the resourcefulness and intelligence of those fighting to change them. An indispensable and illuminating record from a very brave man. - Ian McKay, McMaster University

“This memoir disrupts a colossal silence in the history of Canadian food, labour, and agriculture. Through a mix of deft analysis and storytelling, Allahdua reveals the structures of power that have long suppressed the voices of migrant farm workers in Canada.” – Simon Vickers, archivist and historian // “Gabriel Allahdua has been a leading voice in migrant worker movements in Canada for decades. Now, he has gifted us this book, written with Edward Dunsworth, challenging the myth of Canadian benevolence, fairness, and multiculturalism in the immigration system. In this sweeping account, the authors expertly weave global histories of enslavement, indentureship, and racial capitalism with Allahdua’s own experience as a migrant worker and his key role in migrant worker movements resisting labour, racial, and social exploitation. One of the only books by and of migrant farm workers’ experiences and struggles in Canada, Harvesting Freedom is deeply inspiring, moving, eye-opening, and motivating. An essential read that will shake you to your core.” – Harsha Walia, author of Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism // “This well-crafted personal narrative takes us from St. Lucia in the eastern Caribbean to the vast commercial greenhouses of Ontario, all from the perspective of one migrant who defied the divide-and-conquer strategies of employers and the Canadian state. Through activist Gabriel Allahdua’s calm, clear, and concise account of the ‘roller coaster ride of being a migrant farm worker in Canada,’ we become acquainted not only with the coercion and cruelty built into the programs designed by the state and the corporations to feed labour-power into our food system, but also with the resourcefulness and intelligence of those fighting to change them. An indispensable and illuminating record from a very brave man.” – Ian McKay, McMaster University

Author Information

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 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.

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