The Golden Cage Focusing in on Vermont's hidden migrant worker population

Author: Roz Vara

The Vermont Folklife Center was filled to capacity Friday night as it welcomed the opening of its newest exhibit, "The Golden Cage: Mexican Migrant Workers and Vermont Dairy Farmers." Through a combination of photographs and interviews, the multimedia exhibit offers a glimpse into the life of Vermont's dairy farmers and migrant workers - who they are and what they hope for.

"We want them [migrant workers] to be seen as fellow human beings, ordinary brothers, mothers and fathers, not just illegal aliens," said Chris Urban, the man behind the project. Urban, who conducted and recorded audio interviews with farmers and migrant workers throughout Addison County, worked in conjunction with photographer Caleb Kenna to create the exhibit.

Both Urban and Kenna insist that the exhibit is in no way political; rather it is only an attempt to raise awareness in the community and the state at large.

"We want to humanize the situation, to show that they are real people facing real issues, crossing boarders, riding in vans for days and living with the fear of being deported," Kenna said. "I would see workers around town and I always wondered who they were, where they came from and what they were doing here. I hoped that this project would answer some of those questions for us."

Today there are roughly 2,000 migrant workers throuhout Vermont and almost 500 in Addison County alone. The majority of the workers hail from Mexico and earn $7 to $8 an hour in the state's dairy industry where they fill critical jobs as farm hands doing the majority of the milking, cleaning and general farm maintenance. Because most of the workers are living in the United States illegally, they are forced to live in isolation at the farms. Few have drivers licenses or speak English and many are frightened to leave the safe confines of the farm for fear of being caught and deported.

Greg Sharrow is the Director of Education for the Folklife Center and worked closely with Urban and Kenna acting as a "cheerleader, facilitator and mentor" as the duo turned its initial idea into a powerful exhibit. Sharrow emphasized the lack of understanding there is about Vermont's migrant population.

"People involved in farming understand it but this exhibit brings everyone else some understanding of the issues," she said. "I've talked to many people who say, 'How can it be that there are 2,000 migrants in Vermont? I've never seen a Mexican here.' The beauty of this exhibit is the attention that it brings to this hidden issue."

While the migrant workers live in constant fear of being caught and deported, the farmers have similar sense of fear as Vermont's dairy industry has come to rely heavily on the cheap, dependable labor that the migrants provide. These feelings are reflected in the exhibit in an interview Urban conducted with a farmer, who said, "I would definitely prefer something different than the scenario that is in place at this time. It is uncomfortable to me as an American citizen to have to feel that I'm doing something wrong." The farmers do not feel good about having to employ illegal immigrants, but are often faced with no other choice, as there are few people willing to do manual labor for long hours.

"It's difficult because the farmers don't want to break the law," said Kenna, "but they do need dependable labor."

Cheryl Connor works for the Addison County Farm Workers Coalition, an organization developed to "make the lives of the migrant workers a little bit easier in Addison County." The Coalition formed in response to the growing number of workers who have very limited access to health care, transportation and who struggled with the language barrier.

"People need to see that Vermont has diversity and that it's good. We want Middlebury and Vermont to understand the value the migrant workers are to the dairy industry. Vermont would not be the same without farms and Vermont can't run its farms without migrant workers," said Connor.

Connor worked in conjunction with a Middlebury College MiddView trip this fall and has helped construct a link between the College and the migrant community. Many students volunteer their time to help teach English or even translate for migrant workers as they receive healthcare.

"Middlebury students bring so much value to our coalition," Connor said. "They come in force and are so extremely helpful."

Middlebury College senior Sara Blaise Huddleston '09 is one of those volunteers. She speaks fluent Spanish and has often helped workers in Addison County by driving those without transportation to local grocery stores.

"I remember driving out one day to pick them up and it was really snowy and they were living in this little trailer next to the barn in the middle of nowhere. They basically had to stay in their houses. When I drove them places I was always really nervous about being pulled over because something as little as that could get them deported. It's so sad because Vermont needs them or else the dairy industry would collapse, and yet they have to live in such isolation."

In what is perhaps one of the exhibit's most powerful photographs, a Mexican woman is shown in a sunny milking room standing near a cow, her back to the camera. Next to the woman is her infant son sleeping in a pink and green mosquito net hanging from the ceiling. The caption accompanying the photograph reads, "That's the way things are. You are trapped, from the house to work, unless you have your papers in order."

The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 18 at the Vision and Voice Documentary Workspace in the Folklife Center.