Harvest Workers Among COVID World's Last Normal Travelers
2020-10-19
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1Alexandra Ichim's hands moved quickly, cutting and dropping grapes into plastic containers.
2Nearby, a few Italian students also working in the vineyard tried to work just as quickly but could not.
3Alexandra Ichim lives in Romania.
4She had never worked in vineyards before traveling to Italy's Lombardy area for the September grape harvest.
5For the Italian work, the 20-year-old came on a 12-hour bus ride and returned by plane to Romania when the harvest was finished.
6Eastern European seasonal workers, many of them Romanians, are important for getting food to homes throughout Europe.
7Their willingness to work hard in temporary jobs for low pay makes them valuable in agricultural areas.
8They send most of their earnings home, where many people are poor.
9At a time when travel for work is seen as dangerous for everyone, seasonal workers are among the world's last border-crossers.
10The European Union does not offer them any special protection should they fall sick.
11Around one in five Romanians works overseas.
12About 1.2 million of them have made a home in Italy.
13Thousands of others travel back and forth for temporary jobs in Italy, France and Spain.
14When coronavirus struck, around a million people living throughout Europe returned to Romania.
15They ignored the Romanian president's calls to stay in place and avoid bringing the virus home.
16Workers can earn around 1,200 euros a month by working eight-hour days in Italy.
17By comparison, they can make around 700 euros for a month of 10-hour days in Romania.
18Alexandra Ichim speaks perfect Italian and has lived off and on in Lombardy with her mother since 2006.
19She was in Romania with her father when the coronavirus outbreak first struck Italy earlier this year.
20She was working in a factory, but it later sent her home because of the virus.
21Ichim left to join her mother nearly as soon as the borders reopened.
22At the time, Romania's infection rate was low, and no quarantine was required.
23But a few weeks later, a 14-day quarantine was required in Italy for travelers from Romania and Bulgaria.
24One area in Italy, Trento, permitted farms and vineyards to put in place "working quarantines."
25Seasonal workers were permitted so long as they wore face coverings and stayed in housing at the farm.
26"A company cannot afford to keep a foreigner for 14 days without putting him to work," said Roberto Caponi of the Italian agriculture confederation.
27Also, the fruit growing in the fields cannot wait, notes Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino.
28Her family's vineyard includes four hillsides in Rocca de' Giorgi, a small community about 60 kilometers south of Milan.
29The harvest starts with Pino Nero for Spumante, an Italian sparkling white wine.
30Ichim joined a group of workers for the first Pino Nero harvest in September.
31The winery's full-time chief is Christian Florisan.
32He is also Romanian, as are many of the men who work the wine presses.
33"Corona(virus) has brought the agriculture business to its knees more than any others. Everywhere, at home in Romania and here in Italy, we are having difficulties finding people," said Florisan.
34He has lived in Italy for 14 years.
35Florisan added that many workers are afraid of catching COVID-19 and being forced to quarantine, which might use up all the money they have earned.
36He estimated more than 50 percent of his workers are Romanian, but the numbers are down by 25 percent this year.
37Across Italy, wineries are down 36,000 workers, which means not all the fruit will be harvested in time.
38All who came from Romania had medical exams, Florisan said.
39As many as a million seasonal workers cross EU borders every year, notes the European Commission.
40When the virus first broke out, Romania's president asked citizens not to return from their jobs outside the country, but his appeal was mostly ignored.
41Many Romanians either needed or wanted to return for what would become weeks of staying at home.
42Back in Romania, suspicious neighbors contacted government officials to report returnees from Italy or Spain or France.
43Now, Romania has Europe's second highest coronavirus death rate after Spain.
44Ichim and her boyfriend, Dennis Sirca, were already planning to return to Romania and may have to quarantine when they arrive.
45That is fine with them because they made two to three times as much during the harvest as they could have in their "real" jobs.
46Ichim said she would do it again.
47"In Romania, we do not make money, we cannot make money working so we came here to do the grape harvest," she said.
48After borders closed last spring, Western Europeans realized they needed the Romanians and other seasonal workers for the harvest.
49German and British companies even sent planes to get Romanian workers.
50I'm Susan Shand.
1Alexandra Ichim's hands moved quickly, cutting and dropping grapes into plastic containers. Nearby, a few Italian students also working in the vineyard tried to work just as quickly but could not. 2Alexandra Ichim lives in Romania. She had never worked in vineyards before traveling to Italy's Lombardy area for the September grape harvest. For the Italian work, the 20-year-old came on a 12-hour bus ride and returned by plane to Romania when the harvest was finished. 3Eastern European seasonal workers, many of them Romanians, are important for getting food to homes throughout Europe. Their willingness to work hard in temporary jobs for low pay makes them valuable in agricultural areas. They send most of their earnings home, where many people are poor. 4At a time when travel for work is seen as dangerous for everyone, seasonal workers are among the world's last border-crossers. The European Union does not offer them any special protection should they fall sick. 5Around one in five Romanians works overseas. About 1.2 million of them have made a home in Italy. Thousands of others travel back and forth for temporary jobs in Italy, France and Spain. 6When coronavirus struck, around a million people living throughout Europe returned to Romania. They ignored the Romanian president's calls to stay in place and avoid bringing the virus home. 7Workers can earn around 1,200 euros a month by working eight-hour days in Italy. By comparison, they can make around 700 euros for a month of 10-hour days in Romania. 8Alexandra Ichim speaks perfect Italian and has lived off and on in Lombardy with her mother since 2006. She was in Romania with her father when the coronavirus outbreak first struck Italy earlier this year. She was working in a factory, but it later sent her home because of the virus. 9Ichim left to join her mother nearly as soon as the borders reopened. At the time, Romania's infection rate was low, and no quarantine was required. But a few weeks later, a 14-day quarantine was required in Italy for travelers from Romania and Bulgaria. 10One area in Italy, Trento, permitted farms and vineyards to put in place "working quarantines." Seasonal workers were permitted so long as they wore face coverings and stayed in housing at the farm. 11"A company cannot afford to keep a foreigner for 14 days without putting him to work," said Roberto Caponi of the Italian agriculture confederation. Also, the fruit growing in the fields cannot wait, notes Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino. 12Her family's vineyard includes four hillsides in Rocca de' Giorgi, a small community about 60 kilometers south of Milan. The harvest starts with Pino Nero for Spumante, an Italian sparkling white wine. 13Ichim joined a group of workers for the first Pino Nero harvest in September. The winery's full-time chief is Christian Florisan. He is also Romanian, as are many of the men who work the wine presses. 14"Corona(virus) has brought the agriculture business to its knees more than any others. Everywhere, at home in Romania and here in Italy, we are having difficulties finding people," said Florisan. He has lived in Italy for 14 years. 15Florisan added that many workers are afraid of catching COVID-19 and being forced to quarantine, which might use up all the money they have earned. 16He estimated more than 50 percent of his workers are Romanian, but the numbers are down by 25 percent this year. Across Italy, wineries are down 36,000 workers, which means not all the fruit will be harvested in time. 17All who came from Romania had medical exams, Florisan said. 18As many as a million seasonal workers cross EU borders every year, notes the European Commission. 19When the virus first broke out, Romania's president asked citizens not to return from their jobs outside the country, but his appeal was mostly ignored. Many Romanians either needed or wanted to return for what would become weeks of staying at home. Back in Romania, suspicious neighbors contacted government officials to report returnees from Italy or Spain or France. 20Now, Romania has Europe's second highest coronavirus death rate after Spain. 21Ichim and her boyfriend, Dennis Sirca, were already planning to return to Romania and may have to quarantine when they arrive. 22That is fine with them because they made two to three times as much during the harvest as they could have in their "real" jobs. Ichim said she would do it again. 23"In Romania, we do not make money, we cannot make money working so we came here to do the grape harvest," she said. 24After borders closed last spring, Western Europeans realized they needed the Romanians and other seasonal workers for the harvest. German and British companies even sent planes to get Romanian workers. 25I'm Susan Shand. 26The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29vineyard - n. a place where grapes are grown to make wine 30outbreak - n. the sudden appearance of a contagious disease 31quarantine - v. to live alone when one has a contagious disease 32afford - v. to be able to pay for 33confederation - n. an organization or group 34wine - n. an alcoholic drink made from grapes