by LIANA FOXVOG
This Mother’s Day, please join me in taking a moment to consider the mothers who tend, cut, pack, and ship flowers.
Colombia is the second largest exporter of flowers, after the Netherlands. 75% of Colombia’s flower exports are destined for the United States. Women in the Colombian flower industry don’t earn enough to support their families, suffer sexual harassment, and are fired when they try to organize to improve wages and conditions. As you’ll see in these short videos created by our partner organization Corporación Cactus, their children are also burdened by the industry.
One girl, Yuli, said: “My mom starts work at 5am and gets out at 11pm. I hardly ever see her.”
Another girl, Marisol, said: “My dream, mostly, is to get ahead. I’d like to study languages and to sing. I’d also like to help my parents get ahead. If they make so much effort so that we can study, we have to show them that all of the effort was not in vain. That it was worth the pain of having been burned [by chemicals] in the flower industry, and having been constantly humiliated by the bosses.”
Hear more directly from Yuli, Marisol and other children of flower workers in the following clips:
• Colombian Flower Workers: Low Wages, Long Hours
• Colombian Flower Workers: Health and Safety
• Colombian Flower Workers: Impact on their Children
Help spread these videos by emailing your friends or sharing on twitter and facebook.
Please consider giving to ILRF today to help us continue to support groups like Corporación Cactus in developing educational and organizing resources.
In solidarity,