Hello, my name
is Sumak Kawsay! I am 21 years old and work in Equador on a banana plantation. I get paid very little, one (US) dollar a day and sometimes do not get paid at all. I have to give all the money I earn to my family so that we can survive. My family took me out of school so I could go work on this plantation. Workers like me are not given any protective clothing, and we are exposed to a lot of chemicals that disinfect and clean the bananas before they get sent out.
Pesticides are sprayed on our plantation, and we are required to leave for two hours while this is being done. To make more money, however, most of us continue to work through it. I often feel dizzy and get rashes while I’m working, which is likely from the pesticides. When we do not please the plantation owners, they get very angry and sometimes beat us with whips. I wish I could find other work, but banana picking is all I know, so I will probably be here for a long time.
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