In high school, I knew this girl. He name was Esperanza. She was the daughter of a migrant farm worker and the only other brown skinned person in our entire school. Our graduating class of 64 students was from a rural high school in
Hannibal, New York. Esperanza didn’t stay the whole year, nor did she return for sophomore year. I wonder what happen to her all the time. She was a nice person. I can not even begin to know what being the child of a migrant farm worker is like, but I do know that no child should have to endure certain things.
The children of farm workers often have to travel with their migrant worker parents and logically that means a lot of things for these kids. You probably don’t think about it, but everyday you eat something that got to your table via the hands of the labor of these hard workers. They work 12 to 14 hours every day in order to make a living wage. Their children travel with them at times. Imagine every season interrupting schooling to move or getting sick.
“Salud Family Health Centers sends a mobile clinic at least once a week to the consulate to care for Mexican immigrants 
and their families, many of whom have little other access to basic health care.”
There are some protections for migrant worker families granted by the United Nations, under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which ensures that migrant workers have the same rights as national workers.
As I sat down for Thanksgiving dinner with my siblings and friends, my brother said grace. He said, “I’d like to thank everyone who made this meal possible; from the very first Earth tillers, to the very last food preparers. May we share this meal in the spirit of friendship and love. Let us spread that feeling through out the world.” I agree with this prayer and also, let us not forget their children.
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To learn more about Viktoria,
visit Viktoria Valenzuela.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.
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Viktoria, thank you for sharing.
Amidst the political turmoil, children are usually the forgotten victims. I hope we can all remember these kids and make moves to correct the wrongs in their lives.