The following story is a sad but true account of modern day slavery, child labor, and exploitation of the poor. In this case, the victim happens to be Ezequiel Ferreyra and his family, but there are hundreds of others currently trapped in this vicious cycle imposed upon them by Nuestra Huella, forced to choose between "eviction" in a foreign town (with no money, job, or place to go) and putting their children to work grueling days, handling dangerous chemicals in unhealthy conditions. The profiteers in this case are the egg producing company "Nuestra Huella", directly responsible for these atrocities, and the vendors who buy Nuestra Huella eggs, including Walmart and Carrefour among other companies. La Alameda and the MTE have called for a boycott of Nuestra Huella and those with whom they do business. Although The following text was translated from an email sent out by La Alameda, signed by both Gustavo Vera (of La Alameda) and Juan Grabois (of the MTE):
At 1:35AM on 11/16/10, Ezequiel Ferreyra, a 7 year old child who had been enslaved by the poultry farm company Nuestra Huella since the age of 4, passed away. A week before his death, they had been ready to operate, but the tumor had already taken over his brain. Ezequiel spent the majority of his short life surrounded by blood and chicken excrement while handling cancerous toxins (to kill flies and remove the excrement) in order to help his family meet the strict egg production quota which Nuestra Huella’s management imposed on them.
Ezequiel Ferreyra at age 4, already consigned to a life of servitude.
Ezequiel’s schoolteachers had already warned that the child was exhausted, and would sleep when coming to class. One day towards the end of September Ezequiel passed out and was rushed to a clinic in Pilar. For weeks, nobody had any news or updates on his health. The company strictly prohibited the parents to speak on the subject of their son with co-workers. The company convinced Ezequiel’s parents that if anything happened to Ezequiel, they would be held legally responsible and have their other children taken away. In exchange for their silence on the matter, they were offered medical attention for their son and a sum of money should Ezequiel die. Paralyzed by fear and desperation, the parents accepted the offer, blackmailed into silence.
Now we know that from the clinic in Pilar, Ezequiel was transferred to the Central Clinic of La Plata, where they detected a cancerous tumor on his brain. From there he was moved to a different clinic in Laferrere, where he was operated on partially reducing the spread of the tumor. However, Ezequiel continued to remain in serious condition. The company ordered his transfer to the Gallego Center where he was admitted into intensive care. In those few days the tumor reproduced itself and despite surgical efforts, Ezequiel’s situation worsened until his passing early Tuesday morning. The status of Ezequiel’s health remained a secret for days, guarded by the company which wanted to avoid at all costs, an investigation into the causes which brought this situation into being.
Ezequiel was brought from Misiones with his family at the end of 2007 by a recruiter working for the Alejandro Lopez Camelo, the president of Nuestra Huella. The recruiter earned $2,500 pesos (approximately $617.37 USD) for every family he was able to sweet talk into working for Nuestra Huella. Families were typically lured in by promises of escaping the extreme poverty in Misiones and being provided with a steady job, while living in a secure house where their children could grow up alongside nature in the countryside. The costs of the trip would be covered by the company and the family only had to accept the “paradise” they were so “fortunate” to be given. Choosing between a future of extreme and chronic poverty or a steady job and stable life, the choice was easy.
There are still approximately 200 children, working with same toxins
and living in the same conditions which led to Ezequiel's death
However, upon arriving at the “La Fernandez” farm, the reality of the situation differed immensely from what was promised. The father was put in charge of one of the sheds where he would collect thousands of eggs per day, remove guano, gather up the blood, and employ the use of toxins to remove guano and kill flies. The production quota imposed by the company was impossible to meet without invoking the help of the rest of the family, which was encouraged by the company foremen. If their quota was not met, they ran the risk of losing their job and being kicked out on the street, this time thousands of kilometers away from their home town, friends, and loved ones. Additionally, the family was informed that they owed a “debt” which was incurred during the trip to Buenos Aires. Such was the scenario that first led to the mother, and later the children, partaking in the infernal workdays at Nuestra Huella. The same situation was taking place in the neighboring chicken sheds, where families perform piecework (are paid by each unit produced rather than an hourly wage) in order to make up for the measly salary paid to the father, which amounts to less than that of a rural farm worker.
Guano
Hundreds of more families are enslaved in the same manner as Ezequiel’s family in some 70 farms dispersed throughout Pilar, Zarate, Campana, Exaltación de la Cruz and Córdoba where many children are assigned to the same fate as Ezequiel. Many of these farms are the property of “Nuestra Huella”, a business which has attained prestige as a leader in poultry farming, with such powerful clients as Walmart and Carrefour (http://www.carrefour.com/cdc/group/our-business/our-stores/). The dirty secret of Nuestra Huella and the companies with whom they do business is that they are collectively profiting off of slave and child labor, and are actively involved in human trafficking.
Between 2008 and 2010, hours and hours of film were obtained revealing the enslaved workers trapped behind electric fencing. Even with the Department of Labor verifying the existence of child labor in some 30 farms owned by Nuestra Huella, testimony from more than 40 victims of the company, video footage of the company’s operations and attempts to bribe those speaking out against these outrages, and precise data on the recruitment process, nothing absolutely nothing was sufficient for the Judges Graciela Cione and Adrián Charbay to issue a court order to reduce the servitude, child labor, slave labor, and human trafficking taking place. The fact that the president of Nuestra Huella, Alejandra Lopez Camelo, is a relative of Humberto Zúccaro (the mayor of Pilar), sister-in-law of Jorge Herrera (Secretary General of the UATRE), and that the ex-mayor of Pilar, Sergio Bivort, is an attorney working for the company, might help explain how Nuestra Huella has escaped legal punishment.
Since 2008, the workers of La Alameda and the MTE have denounced Nuestra Huella, compiling evidence of their use of slave and child labor. Hours before learning of Ezequiel’s death, a group of more than 200 activists marched to the two judges demanding justice for Ezequiel and for the heath and lives of the more than 200 children who work and live on the farms operated by Nuestra Huella.
Not only is Nuestra Huella responsible for Ezequiel’s death and the poisoning of dozens of other children and adults alike, now the company is hastily destroying evidence and intends to quickly move the body of Ezequiel, possibly to have him cremated. Outside of the reach of whichever judicial expertise jeopardizes their company’s operations and holds them responsible for the death of Ezequiel and the health of the other children and adults tasked with handling the toxic pesticides and chemicals used on the farms. La Alameda and the MTE now more than ever are stepping up their efforts to attain justice and are calling upon all honest citizens and journalists that condemn slave and child labor to carry forward La Alameda’s plea to break this vicious cycle.
The following link contains video footage of Ezequiel and other children on one of Nuestra Huella's farms:
