When A Woman Closes Her Eyes
When a person closes their eyes, they would describe the experience as a world of darkness engulfing them. Others may identify the quiet mindfulness that occurs as they become relaxed. However, for migrant farmworkers, the action of closing their eyes is not as uncomplicated or straightforward. As victims of complex labor, unfair conditions as well as poor living standards, migrant farmworkers experience an extreme lack of repose which leads to a struggle in care for mental health. This life of hard work becomes even further exacerbated when including female and mother migrant workers. Mothers raise their children to become the future generation, the community that uplifts leaders to continue traditions. Despite motherhood having such a distinct stereotypical image, the actual mothers who make up society are severely underrepresented and ignored.
Migrant women are a key focus of the various skills that women possess in order to survive in society. These women will travel with their families of various sizes across the country that they may or may not have immigrated to in order to access work. In these migrant farmwork jobs, these women not only maintain the position of caring for a family, raising children, and preserving a home but they are also working incessantly in the fields to earn a wage. The fact that they are a mother does not stop them from requiring employment that calls for long hours, physical labor, and unfair conditions.
The Geneseo Migrant Center originated to become a workshop that would provide migrant farmworkers with a place to express who they were and provide resources specifically for children. Men, women, and children who entered this center were provided a place of sanctuary to express themselves, find new artistic identities, and practice escapism. A popular activity among migrant workers (especially women) was brainstorming, writing, and performing poetry. Poetry allowed for individuals to creatively communicate their thoughts, emotions, fears, triumphs, and much more. In 1980, the Geneseo Migrant Center worked together with their participants to create “Following A Dream”, a collection of various poems that represented the experiences of migrant workers. This collection featured a multitude of themes surrounding labor, mental health, children, and their overall experience. One key subject that is repeatedly featured throughout the poems is womanhood, motherhood, and living life as a migrant female worker.
The title, “Following A Dream”, holds a multitude of meanings and representations for migrant workers. “Following A Dream” represents the fact that these women would leave their homes in search of work and a better source of income for their families. They are following the dream to have a better life, unknowingly in the footsteps of the women who started the movement toward freedom from oppression. The significance of “Following A Dream” falls in its honesty through the form of poetry to represent the fight and desires of migrant workers. This collection utilizes poetry as an elevated way to express deep, unsaid emotion. When considering women’s history, the complex work of these migrant female authors requires equal attention and appreciation. These poems provide a representation of the working class and African-American women and require keen attention to the poetic artistry that has been created.
A few of the women who find themselves included in women's history started invisible within society. Some of these women include icons such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, and Harriet Tubman. As they worked, dreamed, and advocated for themselves and their worth, the rights of women have increasingly become more accessible and appropriate. Migrant women who have followed a similar path to work in farm fields in New York have the ability and talent to create a change as well. The work featured in “Following A Dream” highlights the accomplishments of women whose names audiences do not know, whose poetry was published through a Xerox machine, and whose labor is consistently ignored due to racial and social class prejudices. The poetry of these migrant women is an achievement to celebrate and utilize to call recognition to these workers, women, and mothers who tirelessly provide for society.
In reading these poems, it is clear that the Geneseo Migrant Center was consistently working to aid migrant workers (especially women) through their emotional trauma in an expressive manner. Utilizing poetry allowed these women to tell their stories in the form of escapism and creativity.
The prompt of “when a woman closes her eyes” is utilized by these women as a recurring theme to capture the emotional burden carried through their everyday circumstances. There is no doubt that these women view themselves as mothers first, and people second. They pour their feelings out in these lines, expressing their loyalty to their children but exhaustion from constant labor and care. Direct wishes for the past to return as well as a chance to sleep through the present resemble the melancholy sentiments experienced by these women. It is obvious that these women feel extreme pressure to conform to the duties that society has placed upon them. There is no area for the privileges of “mental health days” when these women are constantly working to provide for and take care of their families. Migrant women hold a multitude of responsibilities to uphold and defend the well-being of those surrounding them. Their jobs are constant and consistent, with a never-ending cycle of work.
As readers witness the powerful testimonies provided by these migrant women, it is apparent that their messages should be spread and recognized. These poems give a genuine account of the deeper effects of migrant work as well as the ignored support and underappreciation by society. Now is the time to consider the truth of migrant women when concerning women’s rights. Direct statements such as these are clear evidence that these women deserve to be visible to all. One day, history will look back on this art and acclaim these women for their hard work and dedication.
The work of women maintains a key factor in the inner workings of societal function. Ignorance towards the efforts made by women and mothers alike is due to the patriarchal foundations of relationships and employment. There is an extreme lack of understanding of the dedication of women in their personal lives as well as their jobs, especially in regard to migrant women. Migrant workers face unfair living and working conditions, scarce pay, and few resources for further opportunities.
Through programs such as the Geneseo Migrant Center, there have been efforts to bring representation and awareness to the struggles of these people and women alike. However, there are still measures that are required of society to bring fair wages, working conditions, and overall equity to these migrant workers and women today. Without education on migrant workers, the majority of society will continue to ignore the source of their products and the injustice occurring in their own backyards.
Works Consulted
-- Phootgraph of Wanda Hope, at Marquart Farm Labor camp, Wyoming County (1976) Link to document
--Mattera, Gloria, "The BOCES-Geneseo Migrant Center: History and Development" New York Folklore 13 (1987): 10-15
--BOCES Geneseo Migrant Center Farmworkers, "Following a Dream: Poems by Migrant Farmworkers", 1980. Link to document