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Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada
Please join us for an in-person Toronto book launch of Gabriel Allahdua's Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada.
When and where
Date and time
Mon, Mar 27, 2023 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
Location
Ivey Library 20 Willcocks Street Toronto, ON M5S 1C7 Canada
Refund Policy
About this event
- 2 hours
- Mobile eTicket
"One of the only books by and of migrant farm workers’ experiences and struggles in Canada, Harvesting Freedom is deeply inspiring, moving, eye-opening, and motivating. An essential read that will shake you to your core."
– Harsha Walia, author of Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism
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IN-PERSON TORONTO BOOK LAUNCH
Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada by Gabriel Allahdua, with Edward Dunsworth
Monday, March 27, 2023
Ivey Library, New College, University of Toronto
20 Willcocks St, Toronto, ON M5S 1C7
6:00-8:00pm
Free admission; dinner will be provided.
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About the book and author:
In this singular firsthand account, a former migrant worker reveals a disturbing system of exploitation at the heart of Canada’s farm labour system.
When Gabriel Allahdua applied to the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program in Canada, he thought he would be leaving his home in St. Lucia to work in a country with a sterling human rights reputation and commitment to multiculturalism. Instead, breakneck quotas and a culture of fear dominated his four years in a mega-greenhouse in Ontario. This deeply personal memoir takes readers behind the scenes to see what life is really like for the people who produce Canada’s food.
Now, as a leading activist in the migrant justice movement in Canada, Gabriel is fighting back against the Canadian government to demand rights and respect for temporary foreign labourers. Harvesting Freedom shows Canada’s place in the long history of slavery, colonialism, and inequality that has linked the Caribbean to the wider world for half a millennium—but also the tireless determination of Caribbean people to fight for their freedom.
Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada by Gabriel Allahdua, with Edward Dunsworth, is published by Between the Lines, March 2023.
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This book launch is taking place as part of the CAR 315: Caribbean Foodways Across History, Culture and Diaspora course at New College, University of Toronto, taught by Chris Ramsaroop.
This event is sponsored by the Community Engaged Learning program, the Centre for Caribbean Studies at University of Toronto, and Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW).
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