We have many cane fields in the vicinity, and harvest is
in full swing. The government here
passed an edict that burning off the cane (the old way of ridding the stalks
from dry flack, and insects and snakes) was taboo. A couple of nights ago, the smell of smoke
penetrated the air, and that’s against the policy of the government. The next morning, the veranda and all the
grass around the place was littered with burnt crisp fibre and it was a mess to
try to clean up. Last night it was smoke again, and this morning, not so much
carbon fragments, but the wind must have carried them further afield.
I hope they finish quickly around here, because
the smoke is difficult to handle. It is
typical of the workmen to do the burning when people are in bed and too settled
to telephone any authorities. We are so
far out into the country that it would be miraculous if anyone of authority
should just happen onto the fact that they are burning. I am concerned that the
fire could jump into something that is more important than the cane field. The country has been without rain for a long
time, and all growth is dry. I would be
distressed to see another California
going on in this green oasis.
Cane cutting is very low on the employment
scale, and I think a lot of migrant workers from Nicaragua come into the
country to do the labour. It is similar
to the Mexicans coming across the border into the U.S. to do the work in the
vegetable and fruit fields. In Canada, a
lot of the field labour is done by people from Asia, mostly from India. Then the first thing that we realize is that
they have worked hard, pooled their resources and have purchased a big home
with thirty people from their family living together. They are accustomed to living that way. I haven’t been in Costa Rica long enough to
find out if the people from Nicaragua do a similar practice.
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