By Nick Fearns
The reaction to the first edition of ‘On the Farm’ has been described as “amazing.” The magazine, which recently celebrated its launch, focuses on highlighting the stories of migrant workers, some who have returned to Canada (and even Haldimand) year after year, along with providing useful community information to those workers.
Norfolk Community in Action (NCIA) Director Leanne Arnal, one of the magazine’s creators, said the work is “shining a positive light that is necessary right now.”
Arnal, who has been an advocate for farm workers over the last 18 years, says the publication, which is now working on its second issue, is written in both English and Spanish to reach as many workers as possible.
In particular, Arnal said, she was proud of pieces that gave the workers the chance to tell their own stories. Each magazine will showcase the stories of workers who have participated in the temporary foreign worker program since it began. The fall edition will feature the stories of workers from Jamaica and from Trinidad and Tobago.
“I love those feature stories because it gives them a chance to tell their own personal stories,” said Arnal. “It’s well earned – the hard work and successes that it’s brought in their families, the things they’ve been able to grow in their own communities back home.”
Other stories Arnal said she was proud of in the first edition include pieces that celebrate the individual off-farm talents of the workers, such as playing saxophone or being a DJ: “I’m really proud of all the articles in here and especially, I want you to know, proud of the fact that the community has really pulled together to get the great information to the workers.”
“I pride myself mostly on with the magazine of having a safe and informative place for people to come and get information,” she said, explaining “that was the ideals that I built the platform around, so that people know that it’s legitimate and that it’s good and safe information from the right resources.”
Examples of the information planned for the fall edition include details on public transportation options, information about setting up composting within the workers’ bunkhouses, and about the topic of shepherding. Each edition will also feature a story about the environment, she said.
“There’s gaps within different systems within governments from all the countries involved in the actual program,” said Arnal. “What I want to do is just focus on filling those gaps and getting the information to (the migrant workers) in a positive way and letting them tell the stories.”
“They’re more than just people that we see as we drive by working on the fields. These are people who come here for eight months, to up to two years, they’re here longer than they are with their families, who they leave behind at home,” she noted.
Arnal doesn’t do it all herself. It takes a team to put the magazine together, including the designer, photographers, writers, and translators.
Plans are also in the works to expand the footprint of the magazine beyond Haldimand and Norfolk counties into places like Niagara in the next spring issue, and by next fall, into the Leamington area.
Currently, the magazine is free, but Arnal is hoping to work out a model where farmers pay to get the issues delivered to the farm. In the future, she said, she hopes they will qualify for grants from different levels of government as well.
Arnal added that the magazine is currently accepting submissions and advertisers. Anyone interested can contact her at norfolkcommunityaction123@gmail.com or by phone at 519-277-1102.
