2022 Lent Devotional: Week 4
By Pastor Miguel Estrada
During the 2018 season of Lent, the Alliance for Fair
Food (AFF), the ally organization of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW),
recruited pastors and other Christian leaders who are in solidarity with the
CIW to offer short Lenten reflections that intersect lent, a time of discipline
and self-determination with the ongoing struggle for Fair Food. These
reflections were released to our Interfaith Network as part of our Lenten
reflection series.
At the same time that we at AFF were working on gathering
these reflections, a team of 7, farmworkers and organizers were in NYC for 3
months with the goal of mobilizing solidarity for CIW’s Freedom Fast, a 5-day
fast outside of the offices of Wendy’s majority owner and Board Chairman,
Nelson Peltz. The Fast was demanding that Wendy’s join the rest of the
fast-food industry in supporting CIW’s Fair Food Program (FFP), a program with
groundbreaking worker protections, including protections against sexual
violence, while at the same time protesting the ongoing human rights abuses
faced by workers in Mexico’s produce industry where Wendy’s was buying its
tomatoes.
It’s important to know that this action was being
organized in the context of the #MeToo movement. At that time, many women,
inspired by the unprecedented power of this movement, were looking for
long-term, proven solutions to sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.
An answer to this national scourge had emerged from one of the most unlikely
corners of society: the farmworker community of Immokalee, Florida.
For generations, farmworker women have endured some of
the most hostile working conditions this country has to offer. Farmworker women
have referred to the constant barrage of catcalls, groping, and sexual assault
as “our daily bread” in the fields, and in one study, four out of every five
farmworker women reported experiencing sexual harassment or violence at work.
But in 2011, after nearly two decades of hard-fought
organizing with consumers across the country, farmworkers with the CIW launched
the FFP and, within a few short years, put an end to sexual assault and other
human rights violations in the $650 million Florida tomato industry. By
harnessing public awareness and the purchasing power of more than a dozen of
the world’s largest retail food companies, the FFP has radically transformed
working conditions for tens of thousands of farmworkers and has been recognized
for its unique success by human rights observers from the White House to the
United Nations. Today, the FFP extends to seven states and several crops, and
all the major fast-food companies – McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell,
KFC, and Chipotle – are on board. All except for Wendy’s. Something that,
unfortunately, remains true to this day.
With the goal of bringing Wendy’s to the table, a busload
of farmworkers and community members left the warm comfort of Immokalee and
traveled to chilly New York City to fast for farmworker justice. Among those on
the bus was Rev. Miguel Estrada, the pastor at Peace River Presbytery's Mision
Peniel in Immokalee and longtime supporter of CIW. The following is his
reflection:
Like Nicodemus, looking for Jesus at night, I approached
the experience of fasting for five days with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
in front of the offices of Nelson Peltz in Manhattan with more doubts than
answers. I fasted with the intention of continuing the call to Wendy's to join
the Fair Food Program, which among other things promotes the cessation of
sexual abuse experienced by women in the agricultural fields.
Now, I can say that my secret visit to the Redeemer, like
the visit of Nicodemus, has opened my eyes to the light; to the desire to move
next to those who do not fear to be where justice shines in all its splendor. I
wish to be with those who do not fear being in the light, with those who do not
hide "because they know that their works have been done in God" (John
3.21).
My awakening to light, I describe it as follows:
I thought I knew ...
what it is to work hard, until I saw the people who do it
in the fields.
what it is to be abused, until I witnessed the
exploitation that befalls agricultural workers.
what it is to be poor, until I measured how little
farmworkers receive for their hard work.
what it is to sacrifice for others, until I saw the
commitment of a farmworker to their family and community.
what it is to suffer, until I knew the physical and
emotional pain of agricultural workers.
what it is to endure hunger, until I sat down at the
table with people returning from work in the fields.
what is to feel pain, until I heard the stories of
resilience of the peasants.
So, I also thought I knew ...
what is fair, until I realized that through my lifestyle
I am complicit by action and omission in a system that enslaves, abuses,
exploits, and sacrifices many for the well-being of a few.
what it is to be happy, until I saw the smiling face of
an agricultural worker after a long day's work.
what it is to enjoy the simple things in life, until I
heard the frank and spontaneous laughter of the children of the farmworkers.
what it is to be brave, until I witnessed how the
peasants put a stop to the abuser.
what it is to be in solidarity, until the one who had
little shared her bread with me when I was hungry.
what it is to have faith and hope, until I accompanied
the farmworkers on the road in the fight for justice even in the face of
opposition.
Lent is not over yet; the time of reflection continues.
Surely, I will continue to find that there are many other things that I think I
already know, but that in the light of my encounter with the Redeemer I will
have to relearn.
- Rev. Miguel Estrada (Penned in front of the offices of
Trian Partners, 280 Park Avenue in New York, NY)
We hope that Pastor Miguel’s reflection inspires you, as
it did us, to commit to the cause of farmworker justice. Today, 4 years after
this fast in NYC, CIW farmworkers continue in their search for
self-determination and continue to pressure Wendy’s to ensure protections
against sexual violence and forced labor by joining the FFP. You can stand with
these farmworkers by marching alongside them on April 2nd, in Palm Beach,
Florida. For more information, visit our website: https://ciw-online.org/.
