Migrant Agricultural Workers in Lebanon - Our Harvest of Shame

Migrant workers are essential to the Lebanese agricultural industry. Although official statistics overlook this vast segment of workers, it is widely acknowledged that migrants constitute a large percentage of the workforce. The vast majority of these workers are undocumented immigrants coming from Syria in search of economic opportunity. Migrant farmers are concentrated in the Bekaa Valley, a Lebanese agricultural region sharing a border with Syria. Migrant farm workers in Lebanon face a number of psychosocial, socio-economic, cultural, legal, and physical barriers that have adverse health effects and contribute to social inequities. Workers occupy poorly constructed, overcrowded housing units that have insufficient lighting and ventilation, leafy roofs, and dampness. Small and temporary homes shelter several families, highlighting the extent of the migrants' poverty. These workers generally are of low literacy levels and are underpaid. Their working conditions are also substandard. The insecurity resulting from their fragile legal status is compounded by their limited access to medical, social, and governmental resources. Although agricultural work is one of the most hazardous occupations, it has not been considered an issue of social justice or human rights in Lebanon. This makes migrant farm workers' plights largely invisible to policymakers and labor advocates. The problems facing migratory farm worker communities are quite complicated and require that occupational health professionals in tandem with other labor advocates develop innovative solutions. Expanding occupational health research and practice agendas to incorporate the social determinants of workers' health will provide information to activists and the media—potential allies for migrant workers.