Bentley 1

Chase Bentley

Professor Shahrazad

CAS 115

15 November 2023

Harsh reality of Sugar Cane workers

Hodal, Kate. “The Mystery Epidemic Striking Nicaragua’s Sugar Cane Workers – a Photo

Essay.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Nov. 2020,

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/nov/27/the-mystery-epidemic-striking-

nicaraguas-sugar-cane-workers-a-photo-essay#:~:text=The%20men%20start%20their

%20work,in%20their%2020s%20and%2030s. The basis of this photo essay revolved

around a summary of the issues going on with not just sugarcane workers, but all laborers

in Central America who are suffering from illnesses of the kidney; in which Kate Hodal

expressed the possible causes for this (dehydration, overexhaustion, and lack of shade).

Hodal consistently raises awareness for issues of Central America and many third-world-

countries who are not getting the recognition they deserve. Within Hodal’s essay, she

provides a very important solution to this problem; which is the “Adelante” initiative. This

is a force that plans to work towards creating shade for these workers, and providing them

with more breaks and hydration. A health organization called La Isla Network found that

70% of laborers were in favor of reduced kidney illness after implementation of enhanced

breaks while working. Hodal’s essay is well-rounded, informational, and unique.

professional, Cleveland Clinic medical. “Kidney Failure: Causes, Symptoms &

Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17689-kidney-

failure. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023. The dire need for this overview of kidney failure is
 Bentley 2

because I plan to compare the symptoms and causes of kidney illness to the symptoms and

possible causes of the sugarcane workers in Central America. Provided by a healthcare

clinic, this article discusses lots of important information about the importance of the

kidneys, what happens if they fail, and how to prevent it. This article appears to be

proofread by Cleveland clinic professionals at least once a year; which allows me to

further infer that this is a credible source. High blood pressure seems to be one of the more

prominent causes of kidney illness/failure. Another form of kidney failure is acute kidney

failure. Some of the causes for this include: severe dehydration, untreated diseases, and a

urinary tract obstruction. Some symptoms of kidney disease are: cramps, throwing up,

itchiness, fatigue, and poor appetite. This source proved to be very resourceful and

efficient.

Boix, Vincent. “Farmwork in Central America: Back to the Bad Old Days.” Etui, 2013,

www.etui.org/topics/health-safety-working-conditions/hesamag/chemical-hazards-state-of-

play-6-years-into-reach/farmwork-in-central-america-back-to-the-bad-old-days. The

source provided by “European Trade Union Institute” goes over the nuances and

procedures that farmworkers in Central America go through on a day-to-day basis. Seen in

the title; back to the bad old days, is referring to how Central Americans were working in

horrible conditions centuries ago, but the conditions have not improved by much. Within

the farms, workers are occasionally drenched in aerial pesticides from planes that fly over

the agriculture. This is a quick way to obtain either lung or kidney issues. The money

gained is not nearly enough to be deemed worth all the hard work being put out onto those

fields. A lot of the workers will live in shacks on the farms, which are said to be unfit for

living in due to the unhygienic area and small square footage. The source is provided by an
 Bentley 3

activist group that participates in the awareness factor of many issues going on around the

World.

LNakhlawi, Razzan, and Razzan Nakhlawi. “From the Archives: What Wiped out These

Central American Sugarcane Workers?” ICIJ, 1 Mar. 2019,

www.icij.org/investigations/island-widows/from-the-archives-what-wiped-out-these-

central-american-sugarcane-workers/. This article posted on ICIJ expresses the

hardships and circumstantial situations that Central American sugarcane workers are

going through. A great example within the text explained how a 19-year-old man was

tested positive for an illness, but financially he was not sound; and so he made a fake

identity just to be able to go back into the field to work. However, this didn’t end well

for the man, because shortly after this decision, he passed away. It just goes to show

how desperate these people are, and how difficult it is to get by in places like these.

The author, Razzan Nakhlawi, who is primarily a journalist, did a great job in

explaining the issue going on with farmland workers in Central America, focusing

heavily on the mysterious plague that is killing a lot of these workers.

Crowe, Jennifer, et al. “A Pilot Field Evaluation on Heat Stress in Sugarcane Workers in

Costa Rica: What to Do Next?” Global Health Action, U.S. National Library of Medicine,

11 Nov. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2799305/ . This article takes a

very close look at the temperature in specific of the Central American parts in which

sugarcane is being heavily harvested. Jennifer Crowe, who is a part of the National

Library of Medicine, did a fantastic job at not only stressing the issue going on with the

workers; and all the labor they are completing, but also how the issues with their work are

leading to worse symptoms like kidney failure and other illnesses. Harvesting the sugar
 Bentley 4

cane by hand leads to many other dangers as well. As these dangers aren’t lethal, they can

be very discomforting in the future. (blisters, sores, torn skin, etc.) The harvest begins

every morning during the given season, and ends sometime in the late afternoon. This

article displayed many important facts and proved to be substantial.