Harvest Workers Among COVID World's Last Normal Travelers

 

Alexandra 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.

Alexandra 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.

Eastern European seasonal¹ 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 earnings² home, where many people are poor.

At 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.

Around one in five Romanians works³ overseas. About 1.2 million of them have made a home in Italy. Thousands of others travel back and forth⁴ for temporary jobs in Italy, France and Spain.

When 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.

Workers can earn around 1,200 euros a month by working eight-hour days in Italy. By comparison⁵, they can make around 700 euros for a month of 10-hour days in Romania.

Alexandra 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.

Ichim 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.

One 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 housing⁶ at the farm.

"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.

Her 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 sparkling⁷ white wine.

Ichim joined a group of workers for the first Pino Nero harvest in September. The winery's full-time⁸ chief is Christian⁹ Florisan. He is also Romanian, as are many of the men who work the wine presses.

"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 finding¹⁰ people," said Florisan. He has lived in Italy for 14 years.

Florisan added that many workers are afraid of catching¹¹ COVID-19 and being forced to quarantine, which might use up all the money they have earned.

He estimated¹² 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.

All who came from Romania had medical exams, Florisan said.

As many as a million seasonal workers cross EU borders every year, notes the European Commission¹³.

When 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, suspicious¹⁴ neighbors contacted government officials to report returnees from Italy or Spain or France.

Now, Romania has Europe's second highest coronavirus death rate after Spain.

Ichim and her boyfriend, Dennis Sirca, were already planning to return to Romania and may have to quarantine when they arrive.

That 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.

"In Romania, we do not make money, we cannot make money working so we came here to do the grape harvest," she said.

After 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.

Words in This Story

vineyard – n. a place where grapes are grown to make wine

outbreak – n. the sudden appearance of a contagious¹⁵ disease¹⁶

quarantine – v. to live alone when one has a contagious disease

afford – v. to be able to pay for

confederation – n. an organization or group

wine – n. an alcoholic drink made from grapes

1 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

6 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

7 sparkling   

adj.发火花的，闪亮的；灿烂的，活泼的；闪闪发光的，闪烁的；起泡沫的v.闪光，闪耀(sparkle的现在分词)

参考例句：

• the calm and sparkling waters of the lake 平静的波光粼粼的湖水
• Other sparkling wines are often considered the poor relations of champagne. 其他起泡的葡萄酒通常被认为较香槟酒为次。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

13 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

14 suspicious   

adj.可疑的，容易引起怀疑的，猜疑的，疑心的

参考例句：

• A man was hanging about the house in a suspicious manner.一个男人在房子周围可疑地荡来荡去。
• He's so suspicious he would distrust his own mother.他这个人疑心太重，连自己的母亲也不相信。

15 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

16 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。