-4.6 C
Niagara Falls
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Support sought for migrant workers’ families in wake of Hurricane Beryl
NOTL farmworker Garfield Jess prunes an apricot tree July 31 under a clear sky and a temperature of 32 C. Weather-related issues are affecting migrant workers here and in their home countries. RICHARD WRIGHT

They help us put food on our tables and stimulate local economies —now, migrant farm workers in Niagara are in need of assistance to help feed their families and repair their homes in the aftermath of one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the Caribbean.

Hurricane Beryl, a category 5 storm, also tore through parts of Mexico and the United States in late June and early July of this year, making it one of the earliest tropical storms to make landfall in those locations.

On July 2, it became the earliest category 5 hurricane recorded in the Atlantic and only the second in its category to happen in July after Hurricane Emily in 2005.

At maximum strength, Beryl was the strongest July hurricane on record in the Atlantic, with winds of 165 miles per hour, or 265 kilometres per hour.

Here in Niagara-on-the-Lake, members of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change advocacy group have begun a relief fund to assist the families of 40 area farm workers with families in Jamaica and St. Vincent who have been impacted by the record-breaking storm.

“Our goal is for $150 (per) member, with more going to those most urgently needing food, roof repair, and flood recovery,” said a call for donations posted by the alliance on the fundraising support website, Action Network.

The group is quick to note that $150 Canadian dollars will go a long way to help the families in those countries.

“$10 can buy 10 chicken noodle soup mix packets,” it stated, adding that “$58 can purchase a large zinc roofing sheet.”

To make a donation, visit: migrantworkersalliance.org/hurricane-relief.

Heat waves here a problem for workers, too

This isn’t the only weather-related challenge farm workers are facing during the 2024 season.

The extreme heat in southern Ontario and Niagara this summer has caused other calls for actions to protect migrant labourers.

Justice for Migrant Workers penned an open letter to Premier Doug Ford on July 8 reiterating an exact call they put forth a year ago, asking for something to be done to address heat stress, poor air quality and exposure to chemicals and pesticides.

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